Aiming for excellence for their nation in life and at school is a commitment hundreds of secondary school students made during two rallies in Jos and Yola.

The Fellowship of Christian Students organised the rallies during June and invited students from all secondary schools in the two areas. More than 100 accepted the invite.

Grace & Light was the guest speaker at each rally. International coordinator Tassie Ghata shared our message of social righteousness in Jos and Yola.

She focused on two of our themes - work and corruption, plus sexual and gender-based violence, with the local volunteering teams then providing counselling for all students who wanted to talk.

“Most said they had never had an adult listen to them before, or one-to-one counselling. They were able to tell their stories, talk about issues in their lives and their ambitions for the future,” said Tassie.

“We encouraged them to aim for excellence in life and not copy the attitudes of adults who are poor role models. We encouraged them to work out what they can do differently to honour God and be positive role models themselves.”

Of the 135 students at both rallies, 66 chose to be tested for HIV, none was positive. Seventy rededicated their lives to Christ and 26 made a first commitment.

One School Visit

The Yola volunteer team also visited a secondary school during May, speaking with 282 pupils and testing 45 for HIV. Sixty students rededicated their lives to Christ and one made a first commitment.

Nigerian secondary schools were closed for several months earlier in the year by the government to stop kidnapping of pupils that had occurred at multiple schools. Subsequently, teachers were focused on catching up on lost learning time and not accepting from our volunteer teams.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• There will be no kidnappings at the start of the school year in September, pupils will feel safe in their schools and there will be time in the school day for Grace & Light teams to visit and share the gospel with students and teachers
• Students who rededicated their lives or made first commitments will receive support to grow in their relationships with God and remain faithful in righteous living that honours him