By Charles Gardner —
In a quiet corner of northern England, a traditional looking Anglican church is regularly transformed into a wrestling ring where pent-up tensions are released, and the gospel is preached.
The man behind this new outreach is wrestling professional Gareth ‘Angel’ Thompson, a 37-year-old father of two, who told the BBC’s Claire McCollum how the sport is drawing many into church.
Interviewed for the popular Song of Praise program, he explained how fellowship and faith help men wrestle with their mental health.
Based at St Peter’s in Shipley, West Yorkshire, Wrestling Church was birthed when Gareth’s fellow wrestlers began to open up to him about their personal struggles after he became a Christian.
It helped that he had his own battles before faith changed everything. His father left home when he was a kid and he slept in a dumpster for two months after his mother, who had issues with alcohol, kicked him out onto the streets. He eventually ended up in a homeless hostel before finding work.
It was after being invited to church that he broke down in floods of tears as he felt love for the first time. Now, in a bid to help those battling with mental health issues, Bibles combine with painful-looking body slams to create a positive community of faith and fitness.
Wrestling Church blends Christian storytelling with professional wrestling theatrics. “Boil it down to the basics, it’s good versus evil,” Gareth explained. “When I became a Christian, I started seeing the wrestling world through a Christian lens. I started seeing David and Goliath. I started seeing Cain and Abel.”
After a brief homily and prayer, the church transforms into a raucous ring, where cheers of “knock him out!” fill the room and morality tales play out in headlocks and powerbombs.
“It’s not church as you would know it,” said Rev Natasha Thomas, the priest-in-charge. “But it’s bringing in a different group of people than we would normally get.”
In its first year, Wrestling Church baptized 30 people. But its mission stretches far beyond the monthly Saturday night matches. As well as the men’s mental health groups, Gareth’s charity Kingdom Wrestling also runs youth coaching, women’s self-defense classes and training for kids who’ve been expelled from school – all from the back room of the church.
Gareth adds: “The two things that helped me get my life back on track are wrestling and the church. The driving force behind the training school is sharing my story and using my past to help others.”
There is a biblical precedent for wrestling. Some 4,000 years ago, the patriarch Jacob wrestled with God all night. And his name was changed to Israel because he had struggled with God and with man and had overcome. (Genesis 32:28).
