Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
As Christians get back into a workout routine in the new year, a commitment to physical fitness also can promote spiritual fitness, as a groundbreaking ministry in South Africa demonstrates through its innovative crossfit approach to community outreach.
Gabe Fisher felt called to establish a ministry that could mentor young people through fitness. He began by developing his capacity as a coach and found a way to start running classes without owning a gym, joining the growing trend of faith-based fitness programs.
“I went to my local affiliate that I had been attending for the last few years and said ‘hey, I’d like to start coaching. In turn, can I run my outreach through you?'” he said. “And that was the birth of L327. It stands for Lamentations 3:27, which is ‘it is good for man to bear the yoke while he is young.’ And it was a personal verse that was very instrumental to me when I was a younger man.”
Over a three-year period, the ministry grew through donations of used equipment and athlete sponsorships. But when the host gym relocated to another suburb, transportation became a costly and time-consuming challenge. In 2023, on their first visit to South Africa, American supporters Brian and Kristin Rappé felt God’s call to establish the gym that they were wanting to open, not in Indiana but rather in South Africa, joining a growing movement of fitness-based outreach ministries.
READ: Why are South African Pastors Living in Poverty?
“I truly believe that God wanted this,” Kristin said. “This was his plan, and we just were in the right place at the right time. So I just feel really, really lucky to be part of it.”
The gym’s logo is a symbol of the Fisher family’s mission — to “care for the people in the shade of our tree.” The shade tree seemed appropriate, cofounder Lindsey Fisher said.
“We’re not trying to change the whole world,” she said. “We’re rather looking at who God has given us in our small circle here. How can we work to introduce them to the Lord and improve their lives in the process? Let’s focus on that.”
CrossFit Masiphumelele now operates in its own space, where paying gym members and sponsors help fund the ministry of L327 Fitness. As a non-profit organization, the team is reaching athletes who would otherwise not have access to such resources and professional coaching.
–Alan Goforth
