YOUTHBITES
Newsbites From Nairobi's Youth Ministry
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12) And in different ways, various members of Nairobi's youth ministry have in recent weeks set a great example in sports, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
SPORTS
The youth ministry, combined with the North region to field teams in the church's volleyball and football leagues. While the volleyball team lost the final to the east region, they showed heroic character just to get there, clawing back from losing their first two games in the league to win their next four in a row and qualify for the final. The football team triumphed over the Metro region to win the football title for the third year in a row.
Paul Malcolm, one of the teen workers, is a teacher at Kinyui Boys High School that is 67 kilometres from Nairobi. On Sunday 31st September he brought 22 boys from the school to church in Nairobi and after service there was a basketball match between the Nairobi church and the Kinyui Boys basketball team (which the hosts won!).
Says Paul, "Several of the boys came to me later and remarked at how friendly people at church were and how they really enjoyed their time with the disciples." A week later, Paul brought a fellow teacher from the school the 67 kilometres to Nairobi for Sunday church service.
LIFE
The apostle Paul compares the Christian life to a race. Kariuki Gathitu of Kenyatta University took it rather literally and entered the
Nairobi International Marathon in October. With great courage and determination, Kariuki managed to finish the 42-kilometre course, in a time of 5 hours (just 2 hours 55 minutes and 2 seconds outside of the world record!). While there were options of running the 10 kilometre or 21 kilometre course instead - and the option of quitting when the going got too tough on the full marathon course - Kariuki chose to run the 42 kilometres. Along the way he thought of quitting "a thousand and one times," but kept reminding himself that he had gone "out there to finish and not to give up."
Kariuki did not go out there with any illusions or pretensions that he would win a place on the next Kenyan Olympic team. Instead, "I decided to run the marathon because it presented a challenge. Out of the experience I got muscle aches, a busted knee and a lot of satisfaction. As I was running I was thinking of the spiritual marathon and the lesson that I must always stick to the plan no matter what."
LOVE
Several members of the teen ministry are now in university and have joined the campus ministry. It has been a time of transition and yet the brothers and sister have shown the same sense of love and family in their new ministry that they had in the teen ministry over the last few years. Reporting to campus two-by-two (very biblical!) JP Munene and George Barasa are at University of Nairobi, Erick Oduor and Brian Otieno are freshmen at Jomo Kenyatta University Of Agriculture And Technology, and Geoffrey Onyango and Sarah Wairimu are part of the spiritual family at Kenyatta University.
They all share that campus is a call to be more mature, responsible and disciplined. "On campus I am now responsible for personal financial management. This is a great difference between being in the teens and being on campus," Geoffrey says.
Looking forward to the impact that she sees campus having on her, Sarah says, "I want to have changed and grown when I leave here. I want to make the most of every opportunity and for my friends on campus to help me grow and to mold me to become a responsible person in life.'
They all share great dreams of excelling academically and making many disciples.
Jarrett Odwallo and Nancy Jebet, the leaders of the youth ministry, declared their love for life when they tied the knot in November in a lovely outdoor ceremony.
FAITH
Not allowing the fact that they are the only disciples they know of at their respective high schools, brothers (spiritually and biologically) Lawrence Ouma and Samuel Juma decided to have bible talks at their schools.
Lawrence is a third form (junior year) student at Milimani Secondary School and is chairman of the Christian Union club at the school. He invited the teen ministry leader, Samson Mokaya, over and had a bible talk with 17 of his friends in attendance.
Samuel, a freshman, is vice-chairman of the Christian Union club at St. Mary's High Academy and has also bee having bible talks with schoolmates.
"We were inspired by our father (Elias Aketch, who is in the full-time ministry in the East region), by our discipler, and by accounts of campus disciples doing really brave things on their campuses,' they share. Lawrence adds, "I am a disciple and so it is my responsibility to teach the truth."
More recently, after several churches came to the school and conducted group bible study, the students were asked to vote on who would continue with that program, and the students chose Lawrence's church. And now Samson has been invited to speak at the school three times a week.
At St. Mary's, Samson visited, expecting to hold a bible talk. Instead the principal gathered the entire student body of around 70 to listen to Samson.
PURITY
While many advocate for "safe sex" as the solution to the spread of HIV/AIDS, disciples preach and practise abstinence - of course! - i.e. purity, and JP Munene got to act out this message on a music video that has been airing on national television. He played the character of a teen who decided to change his life and then called his girlfriend and others to do the same. The song is called "Virusi," Swahili for "virus" and the video was produced by a group called "AMUAA," from the Swahili word, "amua," which means "change," but which is also an acronym for "A Million United Against AIDS."
The role appealed to JP when he was approached about the idea as it is in line with work that he does as a volunteer with HOPE worldwide Kenya. "The director of the video had found out that I do HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness work with HOPE and so was encouraged by that, knowing that I was not going to come and preach water but then drink wine, but would live out the message of the video. It was a lot of fun and I hope that the message got across."
Leonard Oduori and Mercy Wavinya are also in the campus ministry and were inspired to see JP on national television. Leonard says, "It is good to see a disciple in a group that fights for the safety of young people." Mercy shares, "I was so excited when I saw that it was JP, my brother in Christ, after initially not being sure that it was him. I was so happy for him."
Let us all be inspired to use the talents and opportunities within and before us to set an example that will be an inspiring, shining light to all.