Why would you choose to lose?

No one would ever want to choose to lose, right? Over the summer, at the Euros, the Olympics, Wimbledon and all kinds of other sporting events, we’ve seen the glory that comes with winning – and, if you’re an England fan, the pain that comes with losing. So, why choose to lose?

Well, the simple fact is, that on a daily basis, courageous people around the world are choosing to follow Jesus, knowing that in doing so, they will lose. The choice to become a Christian might mean loss of family, friends, home, income and security, and for some there’s a greater cost… the loss of freedom, or even their life.

Pradip, a Hindu teenager from Nepal, had mocked his sister for becoming a Christian. But the same night he had visited a church with a friend, he saw a flash of intense bright light in his room. Confused, he started looking for answers, which he eventually found in John’s gospel:

‘I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’
(John 8:12).

In reading the passage he knew he had to commit to Jesus, and so he became a Christian. For Pradip, it was a winning choice, even though it meant being disowned by his parents, kicked out of home and forced to leave their village. Pradip, like many others, knows that choosing Jesus means losing much. But he knows it also means gaining a future, eternal life with Jesus, something so precious, it’s more than worth the cost.

Could you be inspired by young people like Pradip, and choose to lose something you love to raise money and prayer for Christians who have lost everything because of their faith in Jesus?*

Whatever you love, coffee, chocolate, TV, Netflix, Spotify, gaming, sugar, social media – whatever it is, could you give it up for a short time? Head to opendoorsyouth.org/choosetolose and we’ll send you a fundraising pack, including a guide, links to sponsorship pages and a series of stories to help you remember why you’re choosing to lose. We’ll help you choose what to give up and for how long, set a fundraising target and send you on your way.

Whether you are doing this as a youth group or holding the fort on your own, we’ve got you.

But that’s not all, the Choose to Lose Challenge isn’t just a simple fundraiser. It’s been designed to help you understand and connect with the reality facing our church family around the world:

“Our youth group … were given an insight into how it feels to be denied of something… This isn’t that common in our society and they were really challenged by the stories shared by Open Doors about people who give up everything for Jesus. They were left grateful, humbled and motivated to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ facing persecution around the world.”
Laura, leader at Mettle Youth Group, Lisburn Cathedral