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Grahamstown, South Africa, sits nestled between tall hills. It’s a small, academic community with a major university and three private schools. Students come from all over southern Africa to attend Rhodes University in Grahamstown.

Most township children, like those from Joza, will never experience the rich lifestyle of many Grahamstown residents. Through soccer ministry, Grahamstown Baptist Church hopes to help build bridges and build relationships between the people in the rich community and those in the poorer township.

“There is an evident gap between poor and wealthy here in Grahamstown,” says Dirk Cortzee, pastor of Grahamstown Baptist Church. “[Working with township kids is] good exposure for church folk — it has an eternal value at the end of the day to invest in these kids’ lives beyond the World Cup.”

Volunteers from Tennessee are partnering with church members to teach the Joza boys soccer drills, stretches and passing techniques while also sharing the Gospel with them.

“(I came) to show the kids how God has worked in my life and to show them the love of Jesus Christ,” says Kyle Prince from Murfreesboro, who’s played soccer since he was 8 years old. “A lot of times these kids, they don’t hear about Jesus and they don’t hear the story and hope He offers. That’s our purpose, to share His love for them through these camps.”

During rest breaks, the volunteers tell the children about their relationships with Jesus. The boys gather around as the men share their testimonies and short stories from the Bible.

The boys and the volunteers brave the cold temperatures and rain to play together on the windy, muddy hilltop. They shout encouragement to each other, laugh together and pray together.

“We learned how to dribble a ball and how to pass straight,” says Tando, 16. “And we learned about Jesus.”

For more details on this soccer ministry, visit www.worldsoccerjourneys.com.

Jeffery Aaron, a writer for IMB’s Global Communication Team, is spontaneous and never knows what he’ll say next.