Urban Adventures - Graffiti Art

In 2017 there were 314 people killed in Philadelphia at the hands of violence (www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats) and there were 12,912 violent crimes (including homicide, rape, robbery and assault) (www.data.inquirer.com/crime).  On November 24, 2017 we lost one of our players, Jahsun Patton, to violence.  He was shot nine times during his visit with his sister over the holiday.  Jahsun was a senior in high school with a 3.5 GPA and he had just received his acceptance letter into college.  Jahsun was hired in the summer as a Timoteo youth coach, where he learned leadership skills as he helped run a summer camp for children in the neighborhood. Some may say that Jahsun’s untimely death was a real loss of potential, but we see things differently.  We were able to see Jahsun living out his potential as a youth as he coached and mentored children at camp.  Jah wasn’t just a potential leader, he was a leader and Timoteo was one of the platforms he was able to use to live out his potential.  One of the unique characteristic of the sports ministries we have written about is that they create a platform for youth to realize and live out their potential and in the process they bring about transformation in our community.  This is why we wrote this book, because we have seen firsthand how sports, done right, can change a community for the good.  We hope you enjoy "Playing for the City."