November 4, 2010

Encouraging Stories-Boxing Ministry Reaches Out to Urban Kids

Rattling speed bags and swishing jump ropes are not the sounds a person expects to hear at a Christian ministry, but some inner-city boys from Philadelphia are taking advantage of one of the freshest ideas in ministry right now.

Rock Ministries of Philadelphia is a boxing gym in the ghetto of Philly that offers free training in boxing and weightlifting to young men, if they attend a weekly Bible study.

Buddy Osborne, director of the program, has a history just like the boys he is trying to help. Raised by his single mother, along with eight other siblings, he had a remarkable career in boxing, eventually representing the U.S. in international competition. Then at the age of twenty-six, Osborne did a stint in prison for racketeering.

After he was released from prison, Osborne found Christ and became involved in inner-city missions. Eventually he developed Rock Ministries. He knew firsthand the appeal that a gym would have to a poor boy trying to "tough out" his hard life. His ministry has expanded into a truly great work.

Click here to read the entire story from the Clearwater Christian College student newspaper "The Angle"

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