“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, I also labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (Colossians 1: 28-29)

We are so excited about what God is doing through News Release Basketball and Project Complete Africa. Every time I think about what He has already done over the last 5 years, I am so humbled. The vision He has given for this ministry is God-sized, and way too big for us to accomplish alone. But that is what makes it so exciting. God has already shown up in so many miraculous ways, and we are going to need Him to do it again in 2026! Here are some highlights.

Youth Camps

In 2026 we are planning on organizing seven camps, adding another camp in Zambia and Kenya to the camps we are already running. We don’t have enough weeks in the summer to fit all these camps, so we are processing through recruiting more summer teams or moving some of these camps to other schoolbreaks throughout the year. We are also talking to our ministry partners about running a camp in Ghana, and we have been asked to run youth camps in Liberia, Togo, Uganda, Botswana, and Malawi.

Program Development

We have been bringing much needed sports supplies over with us every time we go as a way to help support local programs and ministries. We have been able to bring balls, speed hurdles, cones, athletic ladders, coaches boards, whistles, uniforms, t-shirts, shorts, and (thanks to CBC) last year we brought over 300 pairs of shoes. This year we have been given the opportunity to fill part of a shipping container full of as much sports equipment as possible to be shipped to Kenya for our ministry partners there to use. This is a huge undertaking, but will also be a huge blessing for these ministries. More information will follow, but if you would like to help with this project please reach out to us!

I wanted to give the Hamburg Towers, our local professional basketball club, a special thank you for donating 10 big boxes full of t-shirts, practice jerseys, and uniforms to the project. What a huge blessing they will be!

Last year we started construction on 4 new basketball courts and 2 new soccer fields for our partner schools in Zambia. It was exciting to see 2 of those basketball courts almost finished. It will be really fun to run youth camps on them next summer! We established a closer managing partnership with one of the local basketball clubs in Lusaka to develop an overall program from the youth up to the men’s team playing in the top league in Zambia.

The goals are simple – train and disciple young people and coaches, run a high-level program that sets an example for the rest of Zambia to follow, and push the men’s team to an internationally competitive level in the BAL (Basketball Africa League). We are excited about this platform to develop a year-round impact, and ultimately share the love of Jesus with Zambia and the southern part of Africa – any excuse for a relationship!

Leadership / Coaches Training

God made some amazing connections for us in Ghana! As a result of one of those connections, we will be traveling to Ghana in July to speak at a Coaching Clinic. We were invited by the head of the Coaches Association in Uganda to run a Coaching Clinic there as well, but are still working out dates for that clinic. We also ran our first coaching clinic in Kabwe, Zambia on the trip, and have three other clinics planned for Zambia this summer.

Education

One of the key purposes for this trip was to introduce the Vice-Principal of Sherwood Christian Academy with one of our partner-schools in Zambia – The Good Samaritan School. We had a great time visiting the school, meeting the kids and teachers, identifying key needs, and planning how we can put a structure in place to help the school develop.

We were able to buy 70 new desks and school supplies for them last year, but there is so much more to do! We are so excited about impacting the kids in the community through a solid christian education.

We were able to help Obi Musongo get a full-scholarship to Randall University in Oklahoma. Obi has been part of our program in Zambia from the beginning, and is a special young man. He will be getting his BA degree in Ministry with a Minor in Business. The scholarship does not cover his ‘Room and Board’ however, so we are trying to raise $6,000-$8,000 to cover those costs.

This is such a life-changing opportunity for these students! We are in the process of developing a scholarship fund to not only help Obi, but open up opportunities for more students in the future. Including Obi, we have 3 more students with schools already lined up that we would like to send this year.

If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund, be a part of any of the many different things God is doing in Africa through News Release, or just want to stay connected, please contact us through any of the methods listed below. And if you are already a part of the team, I can’t thank you enough for making all this possible!

You are a blessing!!!