Children playing on the new World Orphans soccer field in Iraq.
By Kate Borders, Director of Holistic Care
In our holistic approach at World Orphans we recognize the value of children getting to play and have the time to just be children and have fun.
This is why we are so passionate about creating a safe playful environment for the children of Iraq.
We recognize that because of hunger, war, abuse, poverty, sickness and other struggles, that many children around the world do not experience the freedom of having a childhood that includes fun and games and time to play.
So as we seek to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ and care for children in a holistic way that meets all of their needs, spiritual, physical, emotional and mental, we desire to include sports and games. I have found it to be the case everywhere in the world I have been, that a big step in connecting with a child is to play with them…which is why we value our HisKids Sports Program.
Both in the United States and around the world we have seen that sports and games are a powerful tool for both outreach and discipleship.
And in Iraq, an area of the world that’s hostile to Christianity, HisKids Sports will be an avenue to share the love of Christ with orphaned and abandoned children.
Discipleship: Sports and games as an avenue for discipleship – teaching and training children to help them better understand the Gospel and what it looks like to apply the Gospel to daily life and relationships. In the US we have seen success using HisKids Sports in both schools and churches, and we are pleased to announce that in November we will be doing vision-casting and training regarding an on-going HisKids Sports discipleship programs for our World Orphans partners. That will mean that in addition to outreach events done while teams are visiting, that our partner churches around the world will have HisKids Sports as a tool to use both in the homes where orphans are cared for as well as in children’s ministry at the church for an on-going ministry with children of the community.
We anticipate the opportunity to play being a door for relationships in Iraq that will ultimately lead to sharing the Gospel and discipleship.
