Our Story
The story of Kick for Christ began over 20 years ago. Worteh Sampson and Leo Gibson grew
up in Liberia during the country’s first civil war and spent much of their childhood moving from
place to place to avoid the fighting and turmoil. Although they didn’t know each other yet, they
both shared a passion and talent for soccer, which would cause their paths to cross many years
later.
In September of 2006, Leo traveled to Detroit, Michigan to try out for the city’s professional
indoor soccer team. Sampson was the team member who was assigned to pick up Leo from the
airport. During the car ride, Sampson and Leo realized that they were both Liberians and
Christians, and a rich and deep friendship began that has since spanned across several years,
two different professional soccer teams, and two states.
It was Leo who first thought of Kick for Christ in 2009 during his Bible study time and reached
out to Sampson to see if he wanted to be involved. Together they began collecting soccer
uniforms and equipment to send back home to Liberian youth. They visited local churches in
Kansas City and Detroit to share their mission and vision, and also began planning trips to
Liberia to deliver the goods they had gathered. They also organized free soccer camps for youth
living in urban Kansas City, Missouri.
Since the beginning, Kick for Christ’s purpose has been to use soccer and faith in Jesus Christ
to reach young people. The next mission trip to South Africa is set for summer 2017.