Sojourner #007: The Sojourner Boxing Club Runs For His Glory

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV)

On January 4, 2025, members of the Sojourner Boxing Club gathered together on a cold Saturday morning to do something that most people would never do unless they were being chased - they ran five kilometers. Why? So that the name of the Lord might be kept holy among the nations (Mal. 1:11). Now, lots of people run for distance - there is nothing inherently special about running itself, but running for God’s glory alongside other believers, so that the Gospel might be taken to the ends of the earth? There is something very special about that.

The Gospel is good news for all who are weary and heavy laden, for real sinners who are in need of a great Savior, but who can believe in Him of whom they have never heard? Someone must take the Gospel to the nations, and this run was conducted so that people might hear of the salvation that God has worked about from all eternity. In keeping with the greater values of Sojourner Magazine, under which the Sojourner Boxing Club operates, there was an opportunity for participants to give directly to Harvestfield Church to support their mission's efforts in taking the good news of Jesus Christ to every tribe, nation, and tongue, beginning with their own communities. 

Braving the cold, runners met in Rainbow City, Alabama for a casual 5k/1mi run through the Vivian Maddox trail system with one rule: no runners left behind. They ran together - running side by side - building one another up along the way, looking to Jesus all the way.

Runners gathered before the run began

Before the run began, Jake Rogers welcomed runners and thanked them for coming out to support the club, speaking briefly out of Hebrews 12, encouraging runners to have a greater realization of the Kingdom of God in their own lives, fixing their eyes on Jesus, and running with endurance the race before them; whether that be the literal run they were setting out on or the run that every Christian embarks on, whether they are a “runner” or not - to run for His glory instead of for earthly treasures that are rapidly passing away. Brian Haskins, one of the Elders at Harvestfield Church, led the group in prayer, thanking God for the opportunity to gather together for Kingdom purposes under the banner of our common salvation in Jesus Christ.

Following the prayer, the runners took their marks, and Carson Grant gave the countdown. “Everybody ready? Alright, let’s roll. Three…Two…One…Go!” And they were off.

While the run is over, our prayer is that none of the participants have stopped running - taking one step after another, not for temporal gain, but that His name might be great among the nations.

About the Sojourner Boxing Club:

The Sojourner Boxing Club is an international organization that was founded in 2024 in an effort to magnify the name of Christ among the nations through the development of a Biblical theology of health and fitness.

In our endeavor to better live out the Kingdom mandate given to us by God and to be good stewards of the resources that God has graciously afforded to us, it is vital that we keep our eyes firmly fixed where they ought to be. 

The Westminster Shorter Catechism reminds us that our chief aim in life is to honor God. Before anything else, we must honor Him whose Kingdom endures forever and ever, whose dominion has no end. Our goal in life should not be to amass worldly treasures and pursue fleeting pleasures, no, it should be to give glory to His name. 

From this vantage, we begin to see things differently. 

The fitness world today is full of vain, self-glorifying, sensual self-idolatry that promotes an un-Biblical model for personal identity and fitness. To many, the temptation may be to flee from maintaining physical fitness altogether in the name of fleeing from temptation. 

Yet, as those who have put on Christ, our desire should be to find the Biblical approach to stewarding the bodies that God has given us in a way that honors Him. The believer who has been radically changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ is free to pursue God’s glory in all areas - by faith. The law has been written on their hearts and they will spend the remainder of their days being sanctified by God until their final glorification.

In this state of being between two worlds - a citizen of heaven sojourning here below - the believer must be equipped to face adversity and trial, to serve those around them, to teach sound doctrine, to defend the truth, to love the least of these, and ultimately to give their very lives for the sake of the Gospel.

Their concern cannot be for vain pursuits; therefore, the application for physical fitness becomes clear: 

• Those who belong to Christ must seek to honor Him with their lives. 

• They should be strong. 

• They should run with endurance. 

• They should not merely shadowbox - they should step into the area. 

Not merely to receive an earthly prize, but to bring glory to His name.

Simply, while Christians should seek to maintain their physical bodies, their greater ambition should be to grow in Christ’s likeness. This Club is designed to aid believers in that effort.

The Apostle Paul addresses this in 1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

Accordingly, the Sojourner Boxing Club is for those who will press on to know the Lord, who will seek to honor Him with their lives, who will race to receive an eternal prize that will never pass away, who will step into the arena and fight for His glory, and for those would lay day their lives so others might live.

Visit the Sojourner Boxing Club Website here.