“Everyone’s got a beast they have to slay on the wall and personally as well.”
By Susan Akyeampong, SIM International
When you first look up at a climbing wall, it’s not always obvious how to get to the top.
The route up can be hidden and some holds feel just out of reach. You have to learn new movements, trust the next step before you can see where it leads, and sometimes accept that falling is part of the process.
In one Middle Eastern city, climbers are learning that these lessons apply well beyond the wall.
A Christian-run outdoor climbing group has created a space where people from all kinds of backgrounds come together, including many who might never otherwise step into a church or Christian environment. The group welcomes everyone from children as young as four, accompanied by their parents, to people in their 60s.
“Climbing brings in people from all walks of life,” says Daniel*, a worker serving in the city. “You wouldn’t necessarily think that these people would come together, but they do.”
On the wall, age, background and differences become less important. Everyone starts in the same place: learning, struggling, falling and trying again.
“Everyone is a beginner on the wall at one point,” Daniel explains. “Everyone is struggling to climb, whether it’s the advanced person who has been doing it for a little while or the starter.”
That shared experience creates a unique kind of vulnerability. Everyone knows what it feels like to struggle, to face something they cannot overcome alone, and to need encouragement from those around them.
Daniel describes these challenges as each person’s “project”.
“Everyone’s got a project. Everyone’s got a beast they have to slay on the wall and personally as well,” he says.
For Daniel, that is where climbing becomes a powerful opportunity for ministry. The vulnerability of climbing creates an openness that often extends beyond the wall. As people share their struggles and personal challenges, Christians have opportunities to point those they are walking alongside towards Jesus by sharing the gospel and demonstrating His love through the way they listen and offer support.
If vulnerability opens the door, community is what people find on the other side.
The encouragement climbers offer each other on the wall quickly becomes the foundation for friendships beyond it. Daniel says, “We all come around and encourage each other to push past that part of exhaustion, saying, ‘You can do it. You have a little extra in the tank.’.”
Daniel saw the depth of those friendships for himself when an injury meant he could no longer participate in the same way. Rather than carrying on without him, the group began asking a different question.
“What can we do that Daniel can do?” they asked. “How can we include him?”
Because his injury made high fives and handshakes painful, the group created their own unique greetings instead. Each person came up with something different: funny, unusual and completely their own.
The injury healed, but the handshakes stayed.
Moments like these, Daniel says, reveal what God is building through the ministry: a community where people who might never have met otherwise find friendship and belonging, creating opportunities to encounter Jesus.
That same season also opened the door to a friendship Daniel never expected.
When he first arrived in the country, he expected climbing to be the main way he built relationships and shared the gospel. But soon after his arrival, the injury meant he couldn’t participate as planned.
Looking back, however, Daniel sees that God used that unexpected season to create space for a friendship he might never otherwise have had.
That friendship is with Thomas*. Long before he ever met Daniel, God was already at work in his life.
The two met through the climbing community, and because Daniel’s injury left him with more time on the sidelines, conversations at the wall soon turned into coffees and a growing friendship. Thomas, who is Muslim, is curious about Christianity and, in Daniel, he had found someone he could explore his questions with. He shared dreams and unexpected experiences that had drawn him to ask deeper questions about who Jesus is.
“The Spirit is pointing him to Jesus through the Qu’ran,” Daniel adds.
Today, Daniel is walking alongside Thomas as they read the Bible together and explore who Jesus is.
For Daniel, watching it all unfold has been remarkable. Thomas has not yet given his life to Christ, but he is nearly there. “He’s so close,” Daniel believes.
No one plans their route up a climbing wall expecting it to lead to Jesus. But in this city, that’s where it’s leading. It’s a picture of how God works. He is creative, moving through unexpected places and friendships, and He will go anywhere to draw people to Himself.
Please pray
- For the climbing group to continue to be a place where people from different backgrounds find belonging, build friendships, and encounter the love of Jesus through the lives of believers
- For Daniel and the team as they continue to invest in relationships with people in the community. That God would give them opportunities and courage to share the hope of Christ
- For Thomas and others who are asking questions about Jesus, that God would continue to draw them to Himself
*Names have been changed
Could God be calling you to serve in the Middle East? We’d love to help you explore what that could look like. Talk to one of our mission coaches – contact us today.
