Soccer program helps draw street kids to the Gospel.

Ghana (MNN) — Every Child Ministries has combined soccer and Bible teaching, street kids and Sunday school children, and they have seen amazing success in their outreach to street kids in Ghana, West Africa.

Lorella Rouster is with Every Child Ministries, “Well, there’s an amazing response amongst street children to the gospel. It does take time to build up trust and friendship, but when you’re willing to relate to the children on a personal level, then that does come along, and we’re seeing a really good response to the gospel with the street children.”

There’ve been great benefits for the street kids and the church kids as they interact and play together. The kids from the Sunday school have benefited as they have learned the harsh realities of life on the street and have seen the street kids as real people. They have even extended love and care through spontaneously sharing things like clothes and toys with the street kids.

And the street kids have responded as they have been treated as normal children, accepted and befriended. The responses have been amazing, and ECM is praising God for the success.

But it is still a challenge, Rouster says, “Well, we certainly would appreciate prayer, especially that the children would develop a sense of personal worth, that they will understand that they are valuable in God’s sight. So many of them have just given up on life and so they’re willing to do anything because they feel they have no worth.”

Every Child Ministries also has outreaches to street kids through a new group garden project, literacy classes, and vocational training. ECM has seen some success in getting kids off the street by providing them with vocational training. But they need sponsors. Just $28 (USD) a month can provide vocational training for a street kid.