Reaching the Youth for Jesus
Millions of Children
Africa’s population is expected to pass 2.4 billion by 2050. And by 2100, Africa will surpass Asia as the most populated continent. By then, one in four people on earth will be African!
So, what is happening right now in multiple African countries literally has the potential to change the course of history. I’m talking about CfaN’s Youth Campaigns, through which millions of young people have already made the life-altering decision to follow Jesus.
This aspect of Christ for all Nations has exploded over the past five years. Led by Jako and Karin Hugo, teams of youth evangelists will work in 25 countries this year, across the globe. This massive push has already resulted in over a million salvations just this year! But no one is slowing down. Let me break it down so you can see how this ministry to the youth works – and how it will continue to grow and grow.
The driver who couldn’t sit still
The beginnings of this now-global initiative were small and unnoticed. For many years, Jako Hugo was one of our truck drivers in Africa, responsible for getting our campaign equipment where it needed to go. Such journeys are always unpredictable in Africa. Sometimes it’s the weather that traps you somewhere. Sometimes it’s warlord roadblocks or bureaucracy that keeps you at a border for days or even weeks.
Now, anyone who has met Jako will tell you – this is a man who just cannot sit still. While others are planning, he’s already out there doing the job and moving on to the next challenge. He talks fast, he moves fast, and he loves to get things done. So, you can imagine how tough it is for a man like that to quietly hang around a border post for a few days.
I felt my heart burning
Home for Jako and his wife was Kenya back then. While Jako was gone for weeks or months at a time, Karin was running their youth evangelism ministry. So, when Jako would get stuck somewhere, he looked for opportunities wherever he found myself – chances to preach the Gospel to children.
This went on for years, until one day, during one of our big Gospel Campaigns in Africa, I overheard Jako talking about the impact of their ministry to Africa’s children, and I had to break in. As Jako shared with us, I could feel my heart burning. I knew the Lord had brought us to this point together.
Hundreds of Youth Evangelists trained
Jako no longer drives our trucks. He and his wife, Karin, now spearhead the rapidly-growing Youth Campaigns arm of CfaN. Together, they have trained hundreds of evangelists to preach specifically to children and teenagers. Those evangelists – all of whom have been through one or another CfaN training program – are sent out two-by-two. In a single day, teams may conduct anything from two to ten outreaches.
As well as preaching a simple, engaging Gospel message, evangelists pray for the sick, and we’ve seen many miracles happen. The faith of children is a beautiful thing to witness.
Working together to take cities
The goal of the “multiply and collaborate” vision that the Lord gave me was not to multiply ‘employees’ but rather to multiply independent, effective evangelists who will collaborate with us and each other.
That is exactly what is happening. Evangelists who have been through a CfaN training feel the Lord leading them to go on a Youth Campaign mission – and then they collaborate with each other. In this way, teams as large as a hundred evangelists band together to go and take a city’s youth for Jesus.
How CfaN supports Youth Campaigns
Are you wondering how we can possibly send hundreds of people into a country at a time? I think it’s important that you know your donations for African Gospel Campaigns are used for Gospel Campaigns. This astonishing growth in youth evangelism is possible because every evangelist is there voluntarily and pays their own way. They pay for their flights, their accommodation, their food, and even the petrol to run the Gospel trucks.
What Christ for all Nations does to support these teams, in Africa and around the world, includes:
- Providing equipment like mobile speakers and microphones
- The use of CfaN Gospel trucks when they are not being utilized for Gospel Campaigns
- Providing printed follow-up material (the What’s Next? booklets for kids and teens)
- Logistic support through a dedicated app that keeps track of areas reached and salvation numbers
- Maintenance and replacement of equipment – this has become a heavy cost, as the equipment is used almost non-stop throughout the year
We need to do more!
In September this year, a team of a hundred evangelists will head to Kenya for a Fire Wave – blanketing entire regions with multiple outreaches every day, aiming to reach as many kids as possible. The conservative expectation – based firmly on previous experience – is that we will see 1.5 million youth come to salvation in that time. Get this… that is just ONE of the Fire Waves planned this year!
Truthfully, we can barely keep up. In fact, some evangelists are now having to print their own follow-up materials, holding some back who feel called to go. We very much want to change that. Along with the need for 2 – 3 million booklets this year alone, we also urgently need more mobile sound equipment so every team can be heard.
Are you able to help us meet these needs so even more evangelists can go? I believe we have a God-given opportunity right now to change the future, as millions of children surrender their lives to Jesus. Can you see it with us? Can you imagine the impact they will have on the world?
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(here with the worldwide CfaN team)
