New Ways To Grapple With Faith: How Churches Are Wrestling With Bible Stories
LONDON — Walk through the doors of St. Peter’s Church in the English town of Shipley, in West Yorkshire, and this Anglican house of worship can sometimes result in a very unexpected sight.
Forget rows of pews leading down to a main altar. Instead, you’ll find a large wrestling ring.
The Rev. Natasha Thomas said Kingdom Wrestling is “a charity that began in a church based in an old nightclub. It outgrew the original space, and the organizer, Gareth, asked if he could bring it to Shipley.
“I liked the idea, and we rented space to them for monthly sessions. It has worked well. People are intrigued, and I have received very positive responses,” Thomas added.
The WWE-style bouts are attracting people who might not otherwise have ever walked into a church.
“We had people come to church because the wrestling was taking place — even my roofer has said he planned to come! It has caught people’s imagination,” Thomas said.
Thomas added that wrestling can parallel the human struggle with life and faith.
“Wrestling is all about the story and drama of life, and it is in these stories that we realize the good guys do not always win,” she said. “It doesn’t feel fair, and so it is in real life when we cry out to God when we see and feel the pain in our world.”
Lasting about two hours, each session involves setting up a wrestling ring in the nave. The altar is screened off. The format is simple. Thomas enters the ring, introduces the session, recites a prayer, and then hastily hands the microphone over to the Kingdom Wrestling team. What makes these sessions different from standard wrestling matches is the fact that the teams act out Bible stories, including David and Goliath and the Resurrection.
Wrestling in some U.K. churches has become all the rage in recent years. (Kingdom Wrestling photo)
Gareth “Angel” Thompson, founder & CEO of Kingdom Wrestling. said David and Goliath is “a match between a small wrestler and a large wrestler.”
“For the Resurrection story, we have a good guy and a bad guy,” he added. “Someone approaches with money, the good guy gets beaten up, put in a coffin and the lights go out. When they come on again, the good guy is in the ring — alive and well. We explain the story, keeping it basic and interesting. It is pure storytelling, focusing on what keeps you from God. People have come to Christ as a result. Every event has a mixed audience, and the most exciting part is that the majority are unchurched.”
Thompson, a practicing Christian, founded Kingdom Wrestling after a troubled childhood and career as a pro wrestler. After being invited to a church and discovering God, he explored ways to use his wrestling skills as a means of sharing his faith with others. Kingdom Wrestling. he said, helps out with training schools, church plants and men’s groups. However, it’s the live events that have really captured the public’s attention because they bring to life the way in which everyone must wrestle with the concept of faith at some point.
“I started holding wrestling matches telling the stories of Jesus, and it attracted lots of people,” he said. “Then Covid hit [in 2020] and I felt the need to take the next step. I wanted to help people understand and follow Jesus and do more community work. I set up a training school, worked with a church in Bradford, and then came to Shipley for more space. I have never had anyone walk out after a match when we start talking about religion — they all stay and listen.”
As a result, some attendees have become regular members of the congregation.
“One is a tattooed guy who rides a Harley Davidson motorbike and came to the wrestling.” Thomas said. “He said he hadn’t felt he could come into a church before. When he came, he found he didn’t feel anxious and was welcomed.”
As word of the sessions grew, they began to attract considerable publicity — not just within the U.K. but overseas as well. Interest has come as far as Japan and the United States.
“We’ve had multiple media appearances, including the BBC with presenter Jeremy Vine, who let me wrestle him in the studio and praise Jesus live on air, which is quite a big deal in the U.K.,” Thompson said.
Demand for their services are also growing. Over the next few months, Kingdom Wrestling is booked to visit other churches across the north of England, as well as hold monthly events in London. They are also working with a student referral unit, supporting young teenage boys back into mainstream education.
Thomas said she has no doubts about the value of holding these wrestling matches inside her church.
“There is real potential to engage people who would never normally come into church,” she said. “The key is to have the pipeline ready for introducing people who are seeking ways to ask questions and learn more on a deeper level than the wrestling is able to provide.”
Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of British and international publications.