Plans for a Future and a Hope

Since the season is over through the winter months, I have been investing in our players one on two by taking them to our new offices and studying Jeremiah 29:11. I ask them to turn to the passage and read it aloud. Then I ask them what it means. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, to give you a future and a hope."

Lorenzo

Me: Lorenzo, have you ever felt hopeless before?

L: Yes.

Me: Can you tell me when?

L: When soccer was over. I was thinking, well what am I gonna do now?

Me: Really? Well, the Bible says that God has a plan to bring us hope. What does that mean to you?

L: That maybe he would let us have another soccer game.

Haha, how precious. Lorenzo is not a guy that says things to butter me up (unlike some of my others kids). He was very serious in his responses and it was amazing to hear how much hope he finds in playing soccer with us. What an amazing testimony to creating teams where these kids feel like they have a positive place to belong. 

That's why people join gangs, because we all have a basic need to belong. It always reminds me of the Lecrae lyric,"They say i'm good at bad things, at least they proud of me." We provide these kids with a role model in their coaches. Now that we have something they are interested in (soccer), we have the key to their hearts. And we pray they will receive Christ through holistic coaching.

After I have the kids write the verse out on a piece a paper to help them remember it I ask them, "In 10 years, where do you picture yourself?" Then we write down where they are now and some things to focus on to help them reach their goals for the future. Then we write down things that God needs to do to help us. Which is really EVERYTHING! But together we thought of a few things out of his control that could help Lorenzo achieve his goals. :) 

Check it out:

"But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard of him? And how they hear about him unless someone tells them?"       Romans 10:14