“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:11
For years, the sight of Chinkwita would spark fear in the community of Mitundi, just outside Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. As a local gang leader, he was a notorious thief, who used to terrorise and injure people with his panga (machete).
Blade in hand, he reflects: “When I was living the life of the flesh, I used to use this knife to get the things I wanted. I used it to make people afraid.”
Surrounded by negative influences as a child, Chinkwita began smoking, drinking, and stealing from a young age. Looking back on his childhood, he longed to have positive role models to guide him in the right way.
While mostly hanging out at the local bar with friends, he’d also sometimes retreat to the community ground to watch football matches and listen in on the half-time talk to the players.
There Chinkwita heard Sports Friends coach Loyde teach from the Bible and one day, he heard him share from Paul’s writing to the Corinthian church: “… do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? … nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were…” (1 Cor. 6:9-10)
It struck Chinkwita to the core as he felt God was speaking about him. He listened on as the Scripture was read and at that moment, he decided to surrender his life to Christ.
Walking side by side with coach Loyde, Chinkwita began to be transformed. As the pair met daily, he learned about the Bible, started attending church, and helped to lead football training and Bible studies. Although people were initially hesitant to accept him into the community, Chinkwita’s testimony was so striking it was impossible to deny.
For the first time in his life, Chinkwita felt truly accepted and loved and that he had a purpose. He started sharing the gospel with old friends and while some cursed him, others accepted the good news of Jesus.
“I’ve been saved, redeemed and now have a responsibility to tell others,” he says. “I can do this through sports ministry!”
Sports Friends trains and equips local churches and church planters to use the platform of sports for church planting, evangelism, and discipleship, and God can use all kinds of people to grow his kingdom… even a thief like Chinkwita…
This year marks 23 years since God began the Sports Friends ministry.
Sports Friends’ training focuses on helping local leaders to set up sports teams where youngsters can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and be discipled in their faith, enabling them to face life’s challenges with hope.
Today, more than 14,000 coaches from 11,000 churches are serving sacrificially – often in difficult and dangerous places – in 20 countries around the world and despite increased persecution in some of these areas, the Sports Friends ministry continues to expand.
If you’re looking to combine your love for sports and your love for Jesus in a ministry context with Serving In Mission, contact [email protected]
Please pray
- Give thanks for Chinkwita’s incredible story of transformation and that he’s now a faithful follower of Jesus.
- Praise God for how he uses the powerful platform of sports to share his message of hope with young people, their families, and their communities.
- Praise God more than 65,000 people have come to faith in Jesus through the ministries of Sports Friends-trained coaches in the past 10 years.