By J.R. Tidwell
Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Trussville First Baptist Church will soon be hosting a 12-week Bible study program called the Run For God 5K Challenge.
Run For God is an organization that uses running to help people connect their passion for running to their faith.
The Bible study program allows runners to combine faith and endurance training in a way that helps take people, even those who have never run, through their first 5K.
The 12-week program will begin Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. The instructor for the class will be Tanna Friday.
Run For God founder Mitchell Hollis began running in 2007 and quickly became hooked, according to the organization’s website.
By 2008 Mitchell had completed a marathon and was signing up for every race he could get his hands on, no matter the distance.
After a few years of this, Mitchell realized that running had become an idol for him and that he was putting running before his faith. Mitchell felt convicted and knew that he had two options: Give up a sport that he loved, or use running to further God’s kingdom.
The first thing Mitchell did was make T-shirts with a “funny-looking stick man” on them that read “Run For God.”
Mitchell began wearing these shirts whenever he ran. The shirt made people ask questions, and presented opportunities for Mitchell to tell his story.
While sharing his story with others, Mitchell discovered that there were a lot of people who were interested in running but didn’t know how to get started.
Feeling God working on his heart, Mitchell went to his pastor and started a 12-week class at his church that taught people to run while making connections between endurance and faith.
Other churches in the community heard about the class and asked Mitchell to teach it to others. The program gradually grew, and before Mitchell knew it, God had helped him write, design, and publish a 5K Bible study so that others could begin teaching the Run For God 5K Challenge.
Those who would like more information may visit www.runforgod.com. Anyone wanting to register for the class may register here or email the instructor at Tanna@runforgod.com.