Ministry
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
- Matthew 6:33
In the pursuit of sporting success, there was a large turning point in my career when I realised that no gold medal could bring lasting satisfaction to my heart. I discovered satisfaction was not found in a performance but found in a person. Everything changed when I was introduced to Jesus. It was not the religious kind of meeting that presents itself once a week, but it was an intimate encounter, which has impacted every single day of my life since I made a decision to follow Him. This decision has overflowed a love in my heart to see His will done and gospel known in every nation, stadium, school, church and community I travel to.
High jump was once a performance-driven passion to bring meaning to life, yet now with God, it is an international platform to make the unbiased, consistent love of the King known.
Everlasting Crowns
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
Mission: To encourage, empower and equip athletes to transform culture through the love of Christ.
There was a moment in 2017 whilst spending time with Christian athletes, that I realised the peace and freedom we were experiencing in sport through faith was completely countercultural, it was radical. It came into my heart that the gospel was too good not to share in our community, and simultaneously the same conviction came into my best friend Naa’s heart. We shared it and from a simple phone call, the beginning of Everlasting Crowns began.
The focus of this ministry is to see fellow athletes transformed by Jesus’s perfect love, planted in churches, and discipled to be a blessing to every place they are sent. Our passion is gathering sportspeople across local and international events for bible studies and prayer meetings, forming a network of believers. Our hope is that they rise up to not only have faith, but compete with an eternal perspective. We have witnessed the beginning of a movement in sport of what it looks like to be set free, where our journey in sport is not contrary to growing in our relationship with Jesus, but strengthens it! Outside of the season, we gather for weekly Zoom calls to continue discipling athletes from home.
To minister and share the testimonies of God moving in the sport world has been an honour I have cherished over the years. My itinerant ministry career increased exponentially after the Tokyo 2020 Medal testimony was released. The opportunities to speak and minister transcended denomination, language, cultural barriers - for just as God had placed me in an international platform in sports, He gave me a key to enter many of His churches with power to help share the gospel to all.
In Australia I am based in a local church on the Central Coast of NSW, and in Europe I am often based in Switzerland, partnered closely to the ministry Beyond Gold. Since 2022 my husband Rhys and I have been travelling across Australia, America, Asia and Europe together to share as one.