In March, Amanda and Vladimir Rodriguez started FutBíblia (Bible Soccer), a small group designed to introduce Jesus to teenagers who were spending time on the streets and exposed to drugs in the São João Batista neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Their strategy combined sports and Bible study.

"We raised our children here in the community and saw many enter the world of crime, some even dying. And that consumed us. We prayed that God would give us guidance on how to attract the boys," said Amanda.

"They were used to playing soccer on Saturdays, so I came up with the idea of ​​soccer on Monday nights. That's how we started," said Vladimir.

More than 40 boys participated in the first meeting. A month later, we started taking them to church to set up the Pathfinder Club, which was the main objective," Vladimir said.

In April, the Sírios Pathfinder Club was officially established with almost 50 children and teenagers. The project grew quickly and gained enough supporters to run classes Monday through Sunday. Mondays are for FutBíblia; Tuesdays and Thursdays, tutoring; Wednesdays, church; Fridays, small group meetings; and Saturdays and Sundays, Pathfinder Club meetings.

The tutoring came about after a brief conversation. "My brother heard the principal of the neighborhood school saying that they were having a lot of difficulty with the curriculum and offered to tutor the class," Amanda said.

When FutBíblia started, there weren't enough Bibles for each teenager. They paired up for Bible studies during meetings but were unable to study at home.

A friend of Vladimir's was able to provide a solution. "I remembered my friend Claudio, who works selling books and Bibles, and it was God who made me remember him," Vladimir said.

Claudio was excited about the project and, with the help of another friend, secured a donation of 40 small Bibles. But Vladimir wanted the Bibles to feel special.

"I wanted them [the teenagers] to have an extra special affection for them. That's when we thought about personalizing them," he said.

Amanda and Vladimir made personalized stickers for each teenager in the group. The Bibles also came with prayers written specifically for each teenager.

Arthur Miguel, one of the club's younger members, learned about Jesus at FutBíblia.

"After I started going to the meetings, I changed everything, even the way I speak. Today I pray three times a day: when I wake up, before eating, and before going to sleep. And I do it alone. I love being here with my friends. Now I'm going to read the Bible at home too, with my mother," he said.

Emunuelle Leite, another young club member, joined the group to spend time with people her age.

"Since I didn't play soccer, I only went to be with them. Later, when the club started, I was one of the first to participate. Today, I'm already preparing to be a unit counselor [leader in the club]. I'm very happy with the Sírios, and the Bible is beautiful. It will go everywhere with me," she said.

On September 27, the clubs saw two of its members baptized. Club leaders believe others will soon decide to be baptized.

The first fruits have already begun to be harvested. Last Sunday, the 27th, two teenagers were baptized. The expectation is that other young people will make the same decision in the future.

The original article was published on the South American Division Portuguese news site.