Sport Faith Life 2026: Fresh challenges

Isaac (Chatham) reports on the 2026 Sport Faith Life weekend at the University of Nottingham.

The weekend gave me the opportunity to hear fresh challenges from God for my own faith journey, one that is naturally intertwined with both my love of sport and career within it. It was also an opportunity to hear testimonies of God at work in sport through The Salvation Army and other missional movements.

Having attended the London and South East divisional summer school and continuing to serve as a leader at divisional children’s camps, I had the privilege of getting to know Divisional Children’s Worker Charlotte Tanner and her story of using her football as a platform for ministry. She encouraged me to attend, sharing the impact the weekend has had on her over the years. With the location only a short distance from Loughborough, where I have just finished two years of studying, Charlotte’s invitation gave me the encouragement I needed to sign up.

From the moment the weekend began, there was a genuine sense of welcome and fellowship. It was inspiring to meet people from across the UK who use sport, physical activity and exercise in so many ways to serve God’s Kingdom. Our initial conversations invited us to share both the blessings and challenges of ministry.

Recently, I began working for Worcester Warriors rugby club within the analysis department, which takes the form of my university placement year. Having had the opportunity to serve in so many ways and build a great community at my church in Loughborough, the blessing – and challenge – that I shared was the chance to find a similar community and continue to serve, despite my change in location and circumstances.

I felt challenged particularly when we discussed using our bodies as worship. As a student, but also through my role in elite sport, a lot of the ‘value’ I bring is based on performance or achievement. However, the weekend reminded me that, while sport often measures success by results and performance, God measures me by something entirely different.

The whole weekend struck a great balance between activity, teaching and reflection. We were able to make the most of the excellent facilities, enjoy a range of activities together that built connections and friendships, and hear inspiring testimonies from those using sport and exercise in different ministry contexts.

To finish, we were able to share a barbecue, spend some time in worship, and watch a World Cup match on the Saturday evening, before some more time of worship and reflection on Sunday morning. I left encouraged by all that God is doing through The Salvation Army and other movements in a sporting context and challenged to be more intentional in using the opportunities he has given me.

Just as I took a personal invitation to attend, I hope that sharing my experience encourages others to come along to the next weekend and explore how God can use their passion for sport for his Kingdom.