“Mud, mud, glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.” So went the lyrics of The Hippopotamus Song made popular by the British duo Flanders and Swann back in the 1960s.
At The Gathering 2016 we had plenty of mud, mud, glorious mud. Organised by Christian Vision for Men, The Gathering was staged “in a field near Swindon” on the same weekend as Glastonbury, where, incidentally it’s always muddy too. Any self-respecting hippopotamus would have felt quite at home.
Despite the mud (did I mention it was muddy?) over 2000 men came from all around the country to hear inspiring speakers and challenging Christian teaching. There were football tournaments, classic car displays along with bar skittles, archery and chess, for those who preferred less active competition.
Passion for Sport went along to chat to delegates about the work we do to introduce sports fans to Jesus through media. Appropriately enough, our stand was in the Mess Tent….
There was plenty of interest in our National Ten Pin Bowling Competition in October, designed to provide a great social event for men’s groups and raise money to help Passion for Sport introduce sports fans to Jesus through media. Find out how your group can be involved here.
One of the people who visited our stand was Arthur White. Arthur is a former World Champion powerlifter who once had everything until cocaine, steroids and an affair wrecked his life leaving him with nothing. Then he met the living Lord Jesus and his life completely turned around. Today he has a passion to tell others about God’s mercy and love. We recorded his amazing story to share with listeners to our Planet Sport programme.
God is still in the business of changing lives. That’s why we’re so passionate about introducing sports fans to Jesus. You can help us today by making a gift here and by praying that the sports fans we meet through media will become committed followers of Jesus and in time tell others about the love and mercy of God themselves.