Making a Way for Kids to Encounter Christ

Do you remember Maria?  

We met her when we visited her village in a remote part of Tanzania. She is a precious girl who attends a school that our friends and partners helped us build.  

When Maria was born, her family took her to a witchdoctor, who put a little hoop earring in one of her ears and said that if she ever removed it, she would surely die.  

But recently, we heard an exciting update about Maria! In school, Maria had accepted the Lord and loves Him very much. But however hard she tried to be a good student, she was struggling.  

So, one day in her prayer time at school, she felt the Lord impress on her to remove the earring that she had worn since birth.  

Facing The Witchdoctor

Now that was kind of intimidating, but it was time for her to take a stand against what the witchdoctor had told everyone…because now she was not the witchdoctor’s; now she was in God’s hands.  

Her family and everyone who does not know the Lord was afraid for her and her health. Yet she decided to take out the earring. Maria took a stand, and now she is flourishing.  

In fact, she is now excelling in her academics and is the best student in her grade! And she tells everyone that it’s all because of God in her life. How amazing!  

We want to thank you from the bottom of our heart for giving Maria and all of her classmates the opportunity to learn about Christ. Your support helps us reach children just like her every day, including those at our St. Louis Dream Center.  

More Than a Game

The St. Louis Dream Center Sports Program is one such tool that’s helping shape kid’s lives in the inner city. An outreach of Joyce Meyer Ministries’ St. Louis Dream Center, the program is located in one of the poorest areas of St. Louis, where drugs and gang violence are far too common.  

But the Dream Center staff has found that they can impact a child’s life for the better by providing them with positive alternatives like sports after school and on weekends.  

Instead of getting caught up in dangerous situations on the streets, the children who participate in the sports teams do better in school, gain confidence in their abilities by being part of a team, and receive encouragement from their Christian coaches and mentors.  

They also build character, integrity and discipline through learning about teamwork.   

And all of it leads to the opportunity to pray with the students and share Christ with them. Each practice ends with a devotional, and the coaches pray with their teams at every game.  

On top of that, whole families have even started coming to church because of the Sports Program.  

Thank you so much for your support, which helps make these outreaches—and the valuable relationships that are formed through them—possible.