“If you could dip your finger here, I bet you could feel how deep the darkness is. This is the reality of our world.” -Sports Friends Nigeria team leader, Ishaya. Sports Friends has served Nigerian youth for over 15 years. Nigerian leadership has long ministered in...
“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16) Although the COVID-19 crisis has caused much suffering,...
“We responded to COVID-19 by identifying the needs of coaches, players and their families, knowing that we work in a context of poverty… Many people are hungry. There is no food.” -Ishaya, Sports Friends Nigeria team leader Ishaya, Moses, and Icy, Sports Friends...
It was early in the morning as the woman approached Coach Moses’ house. Perhaps her four children were still sleeping at home. She was doing whatever it took to feed them since the pandemic had pushed her husband over the edge and he had run away from home, leaving...
In Nigeria, young people face incredible barriers. The economic, political, religious, and tribal divisions within the nation threaten their identity as young men and women made in the image of God, who are born to bring refreshment and renewal to their land....
God loves people, loves justice, loves unity, and loves to use acts of loving service to overcome the challenges of this suffering world… Even in the case of waste management in certain areas! One of the first churches in Nigeria to work with Sports Friends has been...
In Nigeria, young people face incredible barriers. The economic, political, religious, and tribal divisions within the nation threaten their identity as young men and women made in the image of God, who are born to bring refreshment and renewal to their land....
Serving changes our lives. Surrounded constantly by all kinds of needs, we’re all daily presented with the opportunity to either give our lives to others, or try to keep them for ourselves. Our Sports Friends staff in Nigeria know firsthand the struggles of life in a...
Sports Friends has been present in Nigeria for 14 years. Currently there are 8 full-time national staff facilitating the training and ongoing support of nearly 3,700 active coaches. There are almost 75,000 young people playing on soccer teams around the country,...
Training coaches is an integral and expanding part of the Sports Friends ministry. While it takes many forms and is an ongoing work, the Basic Training is the foundation. Churches send men and women who would like to voluntarily run a local sports ministry team to a...
On this month’s edition of Meet the Team, we’d like to introduce you to Ishaya, our SF Nigeria Director! Name: Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa Role with SF: SF Nigeria Team Leader (Country Director) Favorite Sport/Team: SFN FC (Sports Friends Nigeria Football Club) Favorite Bible...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria Youth are a blessing to any community because they have strength as a great advantage on their side. But when their strength is not well focused, it becomes a great disadvantage within the community they live in. Over the years we have seen...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria "I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt." Acts 7:34 Culturally, in many parts of northern Nigeria, girls are not...
By Moses Gyok, SF Nigeria Camp is unarguably a very big event that provides an opportunity for kids to give their lives to Christ, but it is also just a beginning in the process of discipleship. Uwenruza David Dama is 11 years old and is committed to knowing God. He...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria "... and the darkness could not comprehend it." John 1:5 The history of northern Nigeria today is characterized by violence resulting from insurgencies. Life is full of uncertainties within this region, and so people are fleeing/migrating...
By Solomon Pam, SF Nigeria A long walk of obedience with God can be challenging, but is also very rewarding! Discipling young people is often a part of that long walk of obedience. Discipleship takes time, energy, and a steady commitment of patience. And even in the...
By Monday Kimkwat, SF Nigeria God is greatly at work through Sports Friends, impacting the lives of young people and reaching their families in ways we can only imagine. It was during a camp that I met the young boy this story is focused on. While waiting for all of...
By Ishaya Inuwa, SF Nigeria Today we bring you a story from one of our missionary coaches. Presently, we are witnessing a great harvest through the work of Evangelical Missionary Society of ECWA (EMS). Many of these missionaries live in difficult terrains; they don't...
By Moses Gyok, SF Nigeria Coach Saint is a student of Anglican Seminary in Jos, Nigeria. Because he knows how much having mentors affected his own childhood, Coach Saint has always wanted to minister to kids. One day, Coach Saint was passing through the streets to his...
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. Psalm 119:105-106 A Nigerian man studies the Bible by candlelight. Photo by Austin Mann
Sports Friends served 129,647 youth around the world last year. Each of those children has a story - a family and friends, likes and dislikes, fears, hopes and dreams. These young men from Nigeria wanted to share a very important piece of information about themselves...
God has brought many amazing people from all different backgrounds to work in the Sports Friends ministry. This month, we are featuring Jemimah, a staff member of Sports Friends Nigeria. Fun fact about Jemimah - she was the very first full-time employee on the SF...
By Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa, SF Nigeria “Thank you, Sports Friends. Our young people are being transformed…” Above are some of the words spoken to the staff of Sports Friends Nigeria by the president of a denomination called Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN). He spoke...
By Ashley Sullivan, SF International Support Services, U.S. Meet John (left) and Moses. These men are my Sports Friends co-workers, and I had the awesome privilege of hanging out with them for two weeks in January while visiting their home country of Nigeria. In many...