Teenagers Rule!!!
...A weekend of trophies

It was a weekend of double teenage delight as the teens of the Lagos Church had a full day of fun and lively sporting activities as well over a hundred of them participated in this year’s edition of the Teens Sports Day under the watchful eyes of coordinators and teen workers from the seven different regions of the Church. And barely 24 hours later in far away South Korea, Nigeria was at centre stage as some of unheralded teenagers made the world stand in awe as they won the FIFA Under-17 trophy for the third time!

“It has inspired me in so many ways. I learnt never to give up but work till the end and appreciate team work. It has also taught me how valuable team members can be when we realize we all have different strengths and can work together to achieve a goal” observed Rume Aghoghovbia from the Islands Region

The Church event which was held at the prestigious Union Bank Sport Complex along Bode Thomas Street in Surulere, Lagos witnessed the staging of over ten events in which many of those who participated went home with various prizes provided by the Church.



“The event was interesting and much fun. It should be taking place more often. It afforded us the opportunity to be friendly, taking more time to know each other and expressing our feelings in an open and frank manner” expressed Owolabi Tytler, a teenager from the Surulere Region of the Church. For Bobby Steven Emeh from the Ikeja Region, “its sheer fun and a positive tool for bringing people together. I have learnt not to be temperamental. Sometimes you just have to let go. You don’t have to win all the time. Sometimes we all just have to cope with the other side of winning. I made new friends today both from my region and from the other regions and I intend to keep those friendships to the glory of God’s name.

From the start of the day it was obvious that teenagers were out to savour the rare opportunity to express their positive energies in a church-wide sports competition as they encouraged their counterparts who were participating in various events with loud applause, boos and jeers.

There were activities for the teenagers to participate in as they formed two groups with Group A composing of Oshodi/Isolo, Ikeja/Ketu, Ojo/Apapa and the Surulere regions while the Ogba/Agege, Islands and Shomolu/Mushin regions made up the Group B.

“Stressful and tiring but interesting all the same and fun too. I learnt the values of teamwork. Without that you can hardly achieve anything. We should hold this more often as the benefits that are just too much to ignore” said Isioma Izagbo from the Shomolu/Mushin while Tunji Ereola from the Ojo/Apapa Region adds “It was nice. It exceeded my expectations. I thought it was just going to be football alone but it was an event that was full of surprises. It was good for everybody to come together and work as a team. It brought back memories of the Church Olympics. It was good getting to know others, their talent and abilities”.

Some of the events for which gold, silver and bronze medals were up for grabs include the Spin and Run event, 100 metres male and female, Sack Race male and female, Spoon Egg and Lime Race, Blind folds for teens and coordinators as well as the star events of the day, the Male and Female football competitions.

The teen workers were not left out of the actions as they got the chance to flex their ageing muscles and do the old timers’ reminisce: “I remember when I was in your age I was the 100 metres champion in my village.” Needless to say the teenagers actually got to find out who among the uncles was probably a hot shot as they claimed.

Glory Igbuku from the Ogba/Agege Region summarized “It has helped us to burn fat even though I have little. I participated in football in a real match. It was my first time. It was fun and challenging. It was fun to be part of a group”.