MARYLAND HEIGHTS — The gospel is a contact sport and boxing the forum at former “biker bar” church, Have Bible Will Travel (HBWT), where truth is proclaimed with the intensity of burning engines and screaming wheels.
At 5:30 on a Thursday evening, 40-plus people gather in a circle to pray. Each one has spent the last few moments getting loose and warming up. Ladies tie up their hair and men begin to wrap their hands. Everyone has come to sweat.
Three times a week Have Bible Will Travel opens its boxing gym to the public. Sanctioned by USA Boxing, the gym can draw anywhere from 15-60 people a night. Not only does the church help train up to a dozen sanctioned fighters itself, but it also is host to professional boxing events.
“I think it’s timely and it’s real,” said Pastor Pat Rankin.
The last pro event that took place at the church drew more than 400 fans, and Rankin speculates about 50 percent of them were unbelievers. Witnessing booths are set up to engage people with the gospel through games and challenges. Rankin emcees the events and with much ceremony makes sure the message of Jesus Christ is heard by all.
“It’s the easiest form of witnessing that can ever happen. God brings the people. All we have to do is show up,” said Rankin.
The ministry began with a member of the church who was a retired pro from the St. Louis area. Mike Wood is a seven-time Golden Glove champion who decided his life needed a new direction the day his daughter was born. He professed a faith in Jesus Christ at a Men At the Cross conference about the same time he began attending HBWT. He and Rankin thought boxing might be a good vehicle to reach those who, like himself, would not have a reason to fellowship with other believers.
The time spent in the gym is not always completely devoted to working out. There is corporate prayer before each session and occasionally time is taken for Bible study.
“It softens their hearts,” Wood said when asked about what value men take from their time in the gym. “People don’t think this is a soften your heart type of thing.”
They call themselves a “come as you are” church and are all too familiar with the hard hearts that linger in the dark corners of society. The church found its humble beginnings in biker bar Bible studies and tattoo shops. They went from a few meeting in home groups to a congregation of 1,600.
With the Great Commission as their banner, the boxing gym is just one of the tools they employ to share the good news of Jesus Christ. From addiction counseling to the food pantry, HBWT seeks to care, both spiritually and physically, for all those they find in need.
“Prayer and compassion is the engine room that drives this church,” Rankin said.