The pre-dawn stillness is broken by the shrill blast of a whistle at 7 am, as the first match of the day commences. Playing early in the morning and late in the afternoon allows the teams to escape the midday heat of this barren desert landscape. Just days ago, our team was crossing the deep waters of Lake Turkana to reach the isolated El Molo people—540 souls who had never heard the Gospel. Now we find ourselves back in familiar territory, surrounded by 300 energetic secondary students from villages across Northern Kenya, their excited voices echoing off the walls of Nairibi Church where they’re housed between matches. This is the beautiful complexity of cross-cultural missions: one week ministering to the most remote unreached people group we’ve ever encountered, the next week engaging students through the universal language of the ‘beautiful game’, soccer. The same Gospel that penetrated centuries of spiritual darkness on Komote Island is now being proclaimed under the desert sun to teenagers whose lives will soon scatter back to schools and villages across the region. From the shining waters of the Jade Sea to the thundering feet on the desert soccer field—the kingdom of God advances through every context, every culture, every conversation.
This year’s tournament represents unprecedented growth that has created what we lovingly call “good problems.” With 300 students now participating—including teams from Lontolio village joining us for the first time—we’ve had to completely reimagine our approach to housing, feeding, and managing this ministry opportunity. The Nairibi Church building and Sunday school classrooms have been transformed into temporary dormitories, with sleeping mats covering every available floor space. Between matches, the challenge of feeding 300 hungry teenagers becomes a logistical miracle that requires careful planning, generous community support, and no small amount of prayer. But these challenges pale in comparison to the joy of seeing students from our established church plants finally able to participate alongside their peers from other villages, creating connections and friendships that will extend far beyond the tournament boundaries.
We were uncertain how long our pioneering ministry with the El Molo would last, and we wanted to build in enough days to effectively reach the El Molo people as well as try to plan for every contingency, including vehicle breakdowns or delays resulting from finding a ‘closed’ community on the shores of Lake Turkana. As a result, we reached out to Benjamin and Josephine Kijabe, who serve with Africa Gospel Church in the missions department of their home office, asking them to join David and myself as speakers for this year’s tournament. This decision to expand our teaching team from two to four members has transformed the tournament from a student-focused event into a comprehensive community ministry opportunity that we never could have anticipated. While Benjamin and I alternate days teaching the students on the soccer pitch at the conclusion of each morning’s second match, Josephine has been able to engage with the ladies of the nearby manyattas in equally transformative ways. Her work with these women—teaching important life lessons and beginning the critical process of helping them work through trauma they’ve experienced—addresses needs that this culture rarely encourages or supports. The alternating teaching schedule between Benjamin and myself has created a powerful rhythm of practical and spiritual instruction. When Benjamin engages students in discussion format about fostering healthy communities through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I’m able to follow up the next day with deeper spiritual teaching about the character and nature of who the Holy Spirit is and where we see Him promised throughout Scripture. What began as a contingency plan due to El Molo uncertainties has become a ministry model that reaches the entire community in ways we never imagined possible.
The focus of this year’s teachings for the students was deeply intentional, designed to engage both returning players and new students from Lontolio alike with transformational Gospel truth. Throughout several ministry engagements this summer, I kept sensing that there needed to be more teaching and understanding about the nature of the third part of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit. Engaging the students here in Nairibi with this Gospel truth was a natural segue into what the Holy Spirit had been guiding me toward, creating practical opportunities to equip these students to live transformed lives even after leaving this “sacred ground.” Our focus extends far beyond merely providing a highlighted event—though keeping students occupied and engaged in positive ways while the school break winds down has practical value. More importantly, we’re fostering lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ who can go forth from this place with confidence, knowing that they are carrying the Light of Christ back to their home villages and schools.The overarching theme “The Holy Spirit Empowers Us to Live Transformed Lives” is speaking deeply to our students, giving them not just inspiration for the moment, but the theological foundation and spiritual roots they need for sustained faithfulness in whatever context God places them.
The practical teaching methods we’ve employed have created powerful breakthrough moments throughout the tournament. Benjamin’s object lesson using two small trees—one withered with shallow roots, the other deep green with roots penetrating deeply into the soil—became an unforgettable visual for our students about the difference between surface-level faith and sustainable spiritual life. My follow-up lesson built on Benjamin’s foundation by highlighting Exodus 18, where the people of Israel first encountered the awesome power of God’s Spirit as Mount Sinai was engulfed in flames. I pointed to the horizon, to the looming silhouette of Mount Moile here in Naaribi, and asked the students to imagine Moile equally engulfed in the fire of God. Then I connected this parallel of God’s present Spirit in Exodus 18 with Acts 2, where that very same Spirit again appeared in wind and fire, this time as tongues of flame settling on the heads of each apostle, symbolizing the Spirit now come to dwell with all those who believe in Jesus. The promise Jesus made in Matthew 7—that those who ask will receive, those who seek will find, and those who knock will have the door opened—this is the promise of the Holy Spirit given to each of us. I concluded by acknowledging that just as the children of Israel were afraid to come close to God’s presence in Exodus 18, there may be students even now who fear to approach God and “ask, seek, and knock.” Right there in the middle of the soccer pitch, we gave students the opportunity to pray, asking for the Holy Spirit to become manifest in their lives or to receive Jesus for the first time. Many students responded to this soccer field altar call, praying both to receive the Holy Spirit’s transformation in their lives while others prayed to receive Christ for the first time.
As regular tournament play winds down, we are all looking forward to the final championship match that will cap off this transformational week. This wholly community-focused event will conclude with a closing ceremony and community meal, where every member of the community will be invited to share in the celebration of a successful tournament and participate in a common meal together. But our vision extends far beyond the final whistle and closing ceremony. These 300 students will soon scatter back to boarding schools and home villages across Northern Kenya, carrying with them more than memories of goals scored and matches won. They’re returning with deep spiritual roots—the kind that can withstand the storms of secular education, peer pressure, and cultural challenges. The confidence of Christ they’ve gained through understanding the Holy Spirit’s empowerment isn’t just tournament inspiration; it’s the foundation for a lifetime of transformed living. Whether they find themselves sharing their faith in resistant villages, standing strong in secular schools, or simply living as lights in their communities, they now know that the same Spirit who appeared in fire on Mount Sinai and descended on the apostles at Pentecost dwells within them. From the sacred ground of soccer fields to the everyday ground of their daily lives, these young disciples are equipped to carry the kingdom of God forward into every corner of Northern Kenya.
From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. Acts 17:26-27