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When Christ returns, He tells us He will reward those who loved and served Him. "Come," He will say, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me . . . [for] whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:34–40).
While the spiritual condition of our hearts is of eternal importance, God also cares deeply about our physical and emotional needs. That's why so many SIM ministries have both physical and spiritual facets. In everything we do, we want to emulate the heart of Christ!
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Pass It On
Planning for the distribution of your estate at death so that it's in harmony with God's plan of stewardship is one of the most important decisions you will make.
To do so, you need to be informed about such things as income and estate taxes, probate, the use of a will versus a revocable living trust, charitable trusts, and many other complex issues of estate planning.
SIM has a program in place that will help you with your estate planning needs. For more information about this program, please contact Mike Dey by e-mail at mike.dey@sim.org or by phone at (800) 521-6449. |
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With more than 60 percent of Ethiopia's population under age 25, SIM's Sports Friends may be one of the most powerful and effective tools available to spread the gospel.
Sometimes one of the most effective ways to get your foot in the door for evangelism is from the backside of a soccer ball. That's what Negash* discovered when he moved into a Muslim village in Ethiopia to begin a sports ministry called Sports Friends.
Negash had just started building relationships with the people of the village when he was given the opportunity to invite one boy to attend an SIM sports camp. Negash chose Abdullah, a boy of about 10 years.
Although Abdullah was one of the youngest boys at camp, he quickly became a favorite and had a lot of fun playing with the older boys. When he returned to his village, he spoke constantly about what a great time he |
| More Than Just a Game While learning soccer, kids hear the gospel and develop godly character traits like selflessness, sacrifice, and respect for authority. |
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had--how much he was loved, how he had learned godly character, and how he had the most fun of his life!
Abdullah's enthusiasm made his parents and the village leaders want to meet the man who had given Abdullah such a wonderful experience. And so the door was opened for Negash to share the gospel.
Now Abdullah, his brother, his parents, and 28 others in his village have placed their faith in Jesus, and a worshipping church has been planted in this previously all-Muslim village!
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Abdullah's story is just one of many exciting examples of how Sports Friends is impacting lives in Ethiopia. More than 100 new churches have been planted, many in previously all-Muslim communities, thousands of youth and members of their families have placed their faith in Christ, and tens of thousands of young people are being discipled through church-centered sports ministry programs--and that's just the beginning.
With more than 60 percent of Ethiopia's population under age 25, SIM's Sports Friends may be one of the most powerful and effective tools available to spread the gospel. |
Sports have a way of breaking down barriers. Even in communities that are hostile to the gospel, when you throw a ball onto a field, the kids come. When they do, the sports field is turned into a real-world classroom where young people learn not only sports, but also godly character traits like selflessness, sacrifice, perseverance, commitment, unity, and respect for authority. And whether the leaders are coaching or conversing with these youth, they take every opportunity
they can find to weave in the gospel.
These young people hear and respond to the message, and through them, the gospel reaches their families and communities. Churches are then planted, and the gospel continues to spread.
When sports ministries were launched in Ethiopia in 2002, no one could have predicted how mightily this simple, yet powerful evangelistic and discipleship tool would be used by God to impact lives.
Today, despite all that has already been accomplished, we believe we are still in the early stages of developing the Sports Friends program. More important, we believe we have only just begun to see how God is going to use church-centered sports ministry to draw the people of Ethiopia to Himself.
*Not his real name.
Project Number - ET 092764
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Soccer is played by millions of people in almost every nation of the world, giving sports ministries an open door to evangelism almost everywhere they go.
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