One ministry taking that danger seriously is ZimZam Global, a church-planter training organization that approaches children’s discipleship first.

“With the rise of terror groups in Africa, you would realize that the most affected people are children,” says Francis Kataka Kubondo with ZimZam Global. “Wherever there is an attack, definitely the children suffer most.” 

Children’s school attendance and church and family life all come under threat when terrorists strike. Some may be exploited in the worst of ways.

Children are also vulnerable to accepting Islamic State jihadism themselves. Kubondo explains that extremists will sometimes enter communities the same way that Christians do. They might offer humanitarian aid or school sponsorship, gaining influence.

(Photo courtesy of Fatima Yusuf via Unsplash)

“They target areas where people are poor, [they] target area[s] where there is some form of instability, and then they present themselves as a solution,” he says. 

Yet there is a crucial difference: “For Christianity, we are driven by love, as opposed to the Islamists, who are driven by fear.” 

ZimZam Global’s vision is a church for every child. Today, they serve in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, and their reach is expanding.

“Most [other] church planting trainings focus on adults, but for us, we do it the other way around. We first of all reach out to children, and then through children, the church planter can gain access to family and then through family, now a church can be birthed,” says Kubondo.

The next generations in Africa are on the line, so please pray! Pray that instead of being exposed to Islamic extremism, many more children in Africa will accept Christ, join God’s family and serve His good Kingdom purposes. Pray for more believers to join the work to reach children for Christ in Africa. Pray for resources ZimZam Global needs to carry this mission forward. 

“Our biggest cry in Africa is for God to provide opportunities in His own ways so that we can move up to the northern part of Africa and share the goodness of Christ in those areas,” says Kubondo. “As of now, the engagement is very low.” 

Header photo is a representative stock photo courtesy of Michael Ali via Unsplash.