West African youth are passionate about soccer; Alliance people are just as passionate about why the “world’s sport” is a platform for outreach. “If you can imagine the following generated by U.S. professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf and NASCAR, with hunting thrown in for good measure, it would be summed up in one sport—soccer!” exclaims a marketplace ministries worker in West Africa.

A young man in my church, Samba, senses God’s call on his life to reach the lost with the good news of Christ. I want to encourage and challenge him to go for it!

So when Samba showed interest in starting a kid’s club for elementary-aged boys and girls in our neighborhood, I was right there alongside him, playing games, singing songs, having fun. But after a few months without much growth (only the kids from our church were coming), we re-evaluated. It became clear to Samba that we needed to do something different.

Soccer, of course! Kids love soccer here!

Success

From the first week we started the soccer outreach, we have never had a shortage of kids eager to participate. We run a skills clinic, scrimmage, and then discuss the skill we practiced—and hopefully used!—in the match and how it correlates to a life skill. (For instance, one week we focused on juggling—keeping the ball in the air, using only a prescribed part of the body, such as our head, foot, or thigh, etc.). We then talk about how this skill is important to control the ball during a match.

Recently, I asked the group “What is the muscle in our bodies that is the most difficult to control?” We had all sorts of funny answers. For the record: your brain is not a muscle!

But one boy got it. “The tongue,” he said.

Biblical Truth, Senegalese Wisdom

This is significant for Senegalese people, who recognize that there is real power in the words people speak. The tongue has the power to bless and to curse, build up or tear down.

Words are not just meaningless tools—they carry power, and we know it’s not easy to control that kind of power. Through this example, I was able to describe how, as a follower of Jesus, He has given me His Spirit, who lives in me, to help me control my tongue and use it for good.

By using basic soccer skills, we’re able to keep pointing to the love, truth, and power of Jesus so that one day they will choose to follow Him as well. By the grace of God, we are already seeing hopeful signs that these seeds will grow.

One of the boys, Bouba*, has shown much interest. He has come to several church events, hangs out with the pastor’s sons, and has even opened the door for the pastor’s wife to begin a relationship with his mother.

What You Can Do

Read more from Brian about the power of soccer ministry in the January 15 alife.

Give to the Great Commission Fund—partner with Alliance workers, like Brian, who are spreading the good news effectively through creative outreaches that include soccer ministries.

Pray for Alliance workers worldwide who need wisdom for how to effectively reach people in their spheres of influence with the good news.

“In the West we have so many choices for food. But right now in Burkina, for many there is nothing to eat!”

Sporadic rainfall this year has caused severe drought and skyrocketing food prices in the West African nation. In response to the crisis, ACCEDES, the relief and development arm of the national Alliance church of Burkina Faso, is distributing food to 2,000 families in dire need. Assisted families will receive two bags of grain weighing 220-plus pounds each.

“According to our field survey,” says ACCEDES director Robert Sanou. “Many children are at high risk of malnutrition, and many families have begun selling their household goods to buy food.”

Three-Pronged Relief Plan

ACCEDES will carry out relief operations in the Boucle du Mouhoun region and Houet provinces, where it already has a presence. Response to the crisis is threefold:

• Ten communities will receive information about the consequences of climate change and desertification; they will also receive training in how to mitigate these changes and manage disaster.
• Grains will be provided at no cost to the poorest of the poor—without religious or ethnic discrimination; the disabled, widows and orphans, the elderly, and those affected by HIV/AIDS will receive special attention.
• Those who can afford to pay a small amount for the food will be asked to do so; funds raised will be used to set up a micro-finance system to improve the economic situation of 500 families.

“Food supplies will be transported by truck and secured in safe storage areas rented by local churches,” Sanou observes. “We expect to see great spiritual impact in the local churches because of this project.”

What You Can Do

Pray for the people of Burkina Faso who are suffering because of the food shortages.

Give directly to CAMA’s Africa Famine Relief fund. Give Now

Read about the dire situation in Burkina and across the Sahel—the climactic, geographic zone between the Sahara desert in the north and the Sudanian Savannas in the south. Note: Clicking on this link will take you off of the C&MA Web site.

“Naturally, the little girl, who saw my resemblance to the Colonel and heard me talk about Christmas, declared me to be “Kentucky Santa,” says Ken, whose ministry is made possible because of generous giving to the GCF.

In December 2011, I stood in front of more than 80 people, mostly young children with their mothers, feeling as if I were dreaming. My wife, Kathy, and I—along with Pastor and Mrs. Takahashi of Mihara City and a few people from the Mihara Alliance Church—had just finished presenting the gospel at a Christmas gathering in the churchless mountain town of Daiwa. For several years, Kathy and I have worked with the Mihara Church to conduct monthly gospel meetings for about 10 to 15 people, most of them non-Christian farmers. The new pastoral couple of the Mihara church, Pastor Takahashi and his wife, hope to begin a church here someday soon. On that morning, probably every family group was represented. What a step forward! After more than 80 people had heard the good news—most for the very first time—I stood there a bit tired but enjoying the moment entirely. 

I have put on some weight in recent months and am looked upon as a classic, gray-bearded grandpa. Often children just stop and talk with me.

After the meeting, a little girl stood at my feet with her friends. With a huge smile, she pointed at me and squealed, “Kentucky Santa!”

What in the world did she mean?

Several years ago, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) of Japan had a brainstorm: Nearly all of their restaurants installed an almost life-sized, painted fiberglass model of “Colonel Sanders” at their entrances. This statue of the Colonel has become practically an institution. During the holiday season, all of the KFC restaurants gird their “Colonel Sanders” with a Santa Claus outfit. Everyone in the country recognizes that symbol. This brilliant move has made Kentucky Fried Chicken almost synonymous with Christmas.

Naturally, the little girl, who saw my resemblance to the Colonel and heard me talk about Christmas, declared me to be “Kentucky Santa.”

Even though I’m Ohio-born and now a Floridian, I don’t mind. She, and probably everyone else who attended the gathering, will remember that morning for a long time, maybe forever. They sang Christmas carols and enjoyed delicious snacks. They experienced the uproariously fun and gospel-laden puppet show presented by Pastor and Mrs. Takahashi. They took home gifts of food and Christmas tracts. And, oh yes, they heard “Kentucky Santa” tell them about the real meaning of Christmas.

What You Can Do

The Youngs request prayer for rural outreaches and church-planting ministries in Daiwa, Kurose, Yasuura, and Higashi Hiroshima City. “The first three have no churches at all; the fourth has only one church for every 30,000 people,” they write.

Pray for the Youngs as they continue to share the good news of Jesus with the largest unreached people group in the world—the Japanese.

Pray, too, for Alliance workers around the world.

Give to the Great Commission Fund—partner with Alliance workers like Ken and Kathy to share Christ with those who haven’t yet heard the gospel.

Be sure to check out alife’s January 15 issue that includes more stories about the powerful, Kingdom-expanding impact of children’s ministries.

It was a typical children’s club at our home in Ollombo—under the carport that has expanded into a youth shelter. Lekonga, 10, who never misses club, came to me at the end of a meeting in May 2010 in tears. God had been convicting him of his disobedience to his mother, he said, and he asked for prayer.

I have found that when the children ask for prayer, they are really asking for help. (It’s an opportunity to counsel them and talk about real problems; it also gives them the opportunity to confess their sins to God.) So I directed Lekonga to a young man who is our neighbor and recently became a follower of Jesus. Since he speaks the local Lingala language (and I am still learning!), I asked him to counsel and pray with the child.

Victory!

After nearly three years of doing children’s outreach here, it was the first time one of the kids had come to us for spiritual help—a breakthrough for this community that is shrouded in animistic, superstitious beliefs.

For example, we tried to learn and spell each child’s name last year, but then they refused to attend because they thought we would curse them if we knew their names. (Often the children give other names, rather than their own.) One neighborhood family even forbade their children to attend—because white people eat children!

Despite these cultural challenges, club is the highlight of the week for the children. (We began with 25  attending; today we average 90.) Each Wednesday, an announcement is made to the neighborhood on a loud speaker. Celestin and Jeanne Mayala, our Congolese colleagues, help with the meetings, in which we sing, sing, and sing Bible songs in French and Lingala. Our lessons and teachings, such as showing courtesy and respect for others, are all biblically based.

Also, the children earn awards for memorizing verses and the names of the New Testament books. We received a shipment of Gideon New Testaments, which the children can earn by memorizing verses.

Coloring Is a Highpoint

Even the young children learn Bible verses. (Some of the very young confuse my last name, “Bill”, with Bible, so they call me Madame Bible. I love that!) But the highlight of the meeting is coloring a picture of a Bible story; the children had never had the opportunity to color until they attended our meetings!

Steven loves club, but he must bring his fussy baby brother, which is common in this community where children are responsible for their younger siblings. (We are prepared with a blanket that lies on the floor for the nappers and babies.) One day recently, Steven said that he hadn’t heard the announcement the previous week, so he had missed the meeting! He was so sad.

We reminded him that we meet every Wednesday from 3–6 p.m., without fail, unless there is a big rain. We even meet in the extreme heat and humidity (100 F!).

Some local officials have visited our children’s meeting because they’d received good reports about our teaching. God has blessed our group. We account our success to the Lord, who has enabled us to be faithful each week, and to sharing good Bible teaching in a fun atmosphere with leaders who are good Christian models. Most important, we communicate God’s love to love-starved children.

Transformation

As for Lekonga, his life has changed since that spring day. He is happier than he used to be, and his parents say he is less difficult and more obedient. A bright student, he reads and understands French and is a joy to have in club where he actively listens and answers questions. “I like club,” he says. “It is fun and interesting and challenges me!”

Because of your prayerful support of the Great Commission Fund, children like Lekonga have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ at the weekly children’s meeting in Ollombo, Congo.

What You Can Do

Give to the Great Commission Fund—partner with Alliance workers like Teresa Bill to share Jesus with children and families alike, who are all in need of the life-changing good news.

Pray for Alliance workers around the world.

Be sure to check out alife‘s January 15 issue that includes more stories about the powerful, Kingdom-expanding impact of children’s ministries.

Updated: January 19, 2012

I especially look forward to our January Dakar Academy outreach each year; this year it’s the 20th to the 22nd. A missionary friend and I take a small group of senior boys to the site to set up the camp before the rest of the team arrives. We haul and filter water and have everything ready when the main group reaches the site on Friday.

As soon as everyone arrives at the site, they stow their gear in their tents, break into teams, and get to work.

Prayer Needed!

This year we will be going back to the same area we were in for the 2011 Thanksgiving outreach. It’s a challenging place—99 percent of inhabitants are adherents of the dominant religion and have little Christian influence.

If this outreach is to be effective, however; it will be because friends like you are praying for us. Outreach would be little more than an activity if it wasn’t totally immersed in prayer!

I wish I could take you on the outreach with me—it’s incredible! But it’s not for the faint-hearted.

No Complaints

These kids are amazing. They work hard from 7 a.m. to about midnight each day. Depending on the team they’re on, they’re either building a church, painting, performing with puppets and doing drama in the village, or taking care of medical needs; the list goes on.

From about 8:00 p.m. to midnight all of the kids are involved in conducting the evangelism campaigns. (Our plan for this outreach is to share Christ in 14 villages.) No matter how tired they are, you never hear any of them complaining.

When I say that we need your prayers, I am serious. We will be taking 146 people, including students and staff as well as overseas workers, national pastors, and evangelists. We will travel in 14 vehicles, hauling trailers, generators, a cement mixer for building a well, sound equipment, and much more into the bush. Once in the bush, we will drive on rough roads (some little more than cow paths), and we will minister under difficult conditions.

But amazing things happen, and we are looking forward to God working and changing lives! Stay tuned for updates.

What You Can Do

Pray for a successful January outreach; pray also for Alliance workers the world over.

Learn more about our work in Senegal.