An opportunity arose in northern Nigeria this year that at first seemed (to my sometimes-stubborn commitment to vision statements) to be outside of YLI’s scope. Our vision is to disciple young adults but earlier this year we received an invitation from a high school student group at a rural boarding school. I saw some photos of the students and they looked very young. My initial response was skeptical: How serious will high school students really be about being discipled? This could be a waste of time and resources on kids who won’t appreciate it. It’s alarming how off-base my initial reactions can be at times! Thanks be to Jesus for His providence. He’s the only qualified leader of YLI and His agenda won.
I wish I could show you the faces of these joyful, beautiful, vibrant young people, and the bare and aging school buildings where they live, and learn; but considering the intense persecution level in this part of Nigeria, I can’t stomach the thought of putting them at risk in any way by posting recognizable photos online. For their entire lives, violence toward Christians has been their known reality.
Carrie and I are blessed parents of a college student, a high schooler, and a middle schooler. I acknowledge that they encounter real challenges as Christians, which are not to be minimized; but the thought that they might lose their parents or be kidnapped, or killed simply because they are Christians does not enter their grid. Those tragedies do occur in northern Nigeria, and across Africa.
Thanks to a a government quota, Christians make up 10% of the student population at this boys boarding school. Their rights are not equal to the Muslim students though, and they are not treated with the same privilege and human dignity as Muslim students. For example, only a Muslim is allowed to fill the position of head boy at the school. That honor and respect would not be bestowed upon a Christian.
A couple weeks ago when our lead Nigerian Coach and I were both in Ghana, he described that, although the students experience a steep personal cost for following Jesus, their mindset is not to protect themselves by hiding or blending in; but to serve and evangelize their Muslim peers. He told me that YLI has been very useful to them at this point of need by giving them some practical guidance in relationship evangelism, joining Jesus in the work He is already doing in the lives of their Muslim friends, and effectively making disciples.
It is sobering to think that YLI may not have had the opportunity to join God in this beautiful work, if (instead of trusting our Nigerian leaders) I had stayed stuck in my initial reaction. It’s just the grace of God! And we trust in God’s grace to protect the lives of these young disciples, whose faithfulness requires carrying a cross that most of us will never know.
Please join us in praying for their lives!
Ash Zook
Executive Director
youngleadersinternational.org 