“So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ Or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:31–33
I am challenged by the radical faith of the leaders around me as they labor to make Jesus known “amongst all people” in some of Nairobi’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.
One of these young leaders is Coach Alan. Alan leads a basketball program in the Dandora neighborhood of Nairobi. Dandora, like most of Nairobi’s inner-city neighborhoods, is a place where the local church has been ineffective at engaging its youth. Our ministry team has found sports to be an attractive alternative gathering space in which to care for young people, share life, and share the good news of Jesus.
Unfortunately, the youth sports environment, despite its enormous Kingdom potential, is an extremely challenging one for coaches and leaders to be financially sustained. This is especially true in our poorer communities. During a raw moment at a recent team meeting, Coach Alan opened up about this.
“If the shepherd (coach) is ok, I’ll be in a better place to feed the sheep (youth). Sometimes it’s so hard to feel like I have something to give them. I’m at practice but my mind is somewhere else, on paying rent or where food is coming from. Sometimes it feels like I’m just there to pass the time. Having peace of mind would really help me to think wider and bigger. I’m really tired of living in survival mode, but if I leave, how will we keep these kids engaged and off the streets?”
Coach Alan is a shining example of someone who is truly living on the cutting edge of what it means to trust Jesus’s promise in Matthew 6:33. “Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (food, clothes, shelter) will be given to you as well.” For nearly ten years Alan’s been hustling in the midst of great uncertainty to make the most basic of life’s ends meet so that he can be a good shepherd-coach to his kids.
I’m challenged by Alan’s consistent and enduring life choices to trust God for his needs, so that he can be a witness to the goodness and love of Jesus.
Questions for Reflection:
What are the pockets/missional spaces in your area that will likely require radical faith to reach all people with the good news of Jesus?
What possible new steps of radical faith is God calling you to in order to see the Kingdom of Jesus take root on the margins of your community?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brad Ibs has been a part of InnerCHANGE / Novo since 2002. Along with his wife Rachael and two children Marna and Luke, they have been living in Nairobi, Kenya since 2008. Brad recently became the Africa regional director for InnerCHANGE. In Nairobi, he mentors and equips missional sports coaches. (If you want to give to support these coaches ministering on the margins, you can make a gift here.) Together they seek to love Nairobi’s marginalized communities in Jesus’s name by forming and multiplying caring, disciple-making, community-transforming sports ministry hubs.