To say that youth ministry in El Salvacor is difficult would be an understatement. Violence is all too common. Security is scarce. Gangs assert control over entire neighborhoods throughout the country.
But God, in His mercy, has opened a door for Youth for Christ to start preaching the gospel to young people. Staff have begun the outreach through two programs.
The first program is called Campus Life, which was developed in two schools: one in the city of Santa Ana, and another in the capital city of San Salvador. This program consists of talks about Christ, activities, and some games played in the schools. Kids like it because it is a break from the monotony of the school day; teachers have welcomed it because they were having problems with the boys who were in control of their neighborhood. Teachers of various religious backgrounds are seeing it firsthand and coming together in agreement: Jesus is the way to solve the problem of violence from which El Salvador suffers.
A second program called Ubabalo, is a soccer ministry that was born in South Africa. Ubabalo means “God’s mercies”.
In El Salvador, soccer is the main sport, so it is not uncommon for boys to accept an invitation to participate in the program. Youth for Christ sees these boys every 15 days at school, and every Saturday the group joins together in the community court. Through Ubabalo, God has also opened doors to weekly gatherings for discipleship.
Thank you for joining together with us in praying for God’s continued blessing on the Youth for Christ ministries of El Salvador.
