Ugwum (12) is a young disciple-maker, learning to follow Jesus in everyday life – at home, at school and on the football pitch.

As far back as I can remember, my mum and dad have read the Bible and prayed with me every night.

We’ve always done lots together as a family. Every Friday evening we do family fitness, and at the weekends we play games like Uno, Connect 4 and the Family Game. 

Football is a big part of my life too. We play together, and my parents take me to matches and training. 

One of my favourite things is that on the 6th of every month, my mum and I spend time together – just the two of us. We picked the 6th because it’s the date of my birthday. It’s something I really look forward to. 

Looking back, I can see it’s all part of how my parents have raised me – getting alongside me in everyday life. 

Knowing God from the very start 

According to my mum, I could read the Bible by myself when I was three and a half because we started reading it from day one. There’s even a photo of me as a baby with a massive Bible next to me! 

Now that I’m older, my faith has become more my own. I either read a devotional in the morning or listen to a devotional podcast during breakfast. We still pray together too – sometimes even in the car on the way to school.

I gave my life to Christ when I was four. My parents explained the gospel to me, and I understood it as the good news that Jesus came for everyone, died for our sins so we could be forgiven, and rose again so we could have eternal life (John 3:16).

When I was nine, I chose to be baptised. It felt like a fresh start – like my old life was behind me and I was a new creation, just like it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Through all of this, I’ve come to believe that the purpose of life is found in God.

Faith when life gets tough 

Not everything has been easy.

When I was eight, I moved schools and got bullied. For a while, I didn’t tell anyone. But eventually I told my parents, and we prayed together. They also spoke to the school. The bullying stopped. 

What’s amazing is that now I’m actually good friends with that boy. 

There have been other challenges too – like struggles with behaviour, friendships, and the pressure of my 11+ exams. It was a really stressful time, but my parents supported me the whole way, and we prayed a lot. 

In the end, I got into my first-choice school. I’m really thankful for that – and for how my parents walked with me through it.

Football, friendship and faith 

As I’ve grown up, I’ve started to live this out myself – especially through friendships and football.

I invite my friends to ‘Friendship Sundays’ and family fun days at church. One family I know from school are Muslim, and they’ve come along because we’re really good friends. We play football together, hang out at each other’s houses, and watch films.

We also invited the brothers to our holiday football club – and now they’re really keen footballers too!

I think football helps so much. It brings people together naturally. You don’t have to force conversations – it just happens while you’re playing, laughing and being part of a team. Especially with big tournaments like the World Cup, everyone’s already excited about football, so it’s a great chance to invite people in.

Playing the long game 

One of the most important friendships in my life actually started in a really difficult way. 

The boy who bullied me when I was eight eventually became my friend. As we got closer, we started having deeper conversations.

One day he asked me, ‘Are you a Christian?’

I said yes, and he replied, ‘I could tell.’

That really stuck with me. 

After that, he started asking more questions – about God, the Trinity, the Bible, and what I believe. We kept talking over time.

Now, two years later, I can see how much he’s changed. Recently, he got baptised.

He’s now one of my closest friends.

Living it out every day 

For me, following Jesus isn’t just something I do at church – it’s part of everything: my family, my friendships, even football.

It’s in the small things – praying in the car, inviting someone to a game, being kind to someone who wasn’t kind to me. 

I think growing up like this has shown me that discipleship isn’t about big moments all the time. It’s about the rhythm of everyday life – and being willing to include others in it.

And sometimes, all it takes is a football to get the conversation started.