19 Dec Invade & Redeem
There are some Christians who have issue with martial arts in general and with Christians participating in the martial arts.
At On Mission Martial Arts our belief is that, instead of abandoning the world of martial arts to the secular/anti-Christ forces, we prefer to invade** the world of martial arts with a Christ-centered alternative and pray that He will be pleased to allow us to be a part of His redeeming the world of martial arts for His glory!
It was a wonderful blessing for me and our staff to read this in an online blog written by a parent of three of our OMMA students as it confirms some of the impact the Lord is having through this ministry:
While my children were at the Dojo, I watched as the instructors, all of whom are strong Christians, worked with the students. No doubt that each of these men could inflict serious damage! Instead, they exhibited kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience and most of all self-control…Then the students broke off into pairs to work on skills. There was a mix of ages, sizes and experience. I was thrilled to see the older/bigger kids exhibit the same fruit they had been taught. Kindness. Goodness. Gentleness. Patience. Self-Control.
I watched as “Tommy” (the oldest and biggest of the bunch) worked with the smallest student – a high spirited, spunky little girl. I heard him speak words of encouragement, help her find her footing, and showed patience with her when she lost her focus. It was then that I stopped and wondered if it really mattered whether or not these adult instructors had neat handwriting, or could rattle off a 5 paragraph paper…… What I do know is that they are an example of Godly fruit and instruction which in turn enabled the students to exhibit the same fruit to others.
There is much to be concerned about in the world of martial arts: Eastern mysticism, exalting violence, arrogance, a worldview that says I can accomplish anything in my own strength, humanistic character development programs and an attitude where winning and self-glory reign.
We can run and bury our heads in the sand against this, or we can (as we strive to do increasingly at OMMA), ask the Lord to use us to raise up and against such things a martial arts organization that puts Christ at the center, the Holy Spirit as the one who brings inner peace, God as the object of all glory, peace over power as the preferred option, an attitude that says I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), character development with the Lord Jesus as our model and the use of the martial arts as a tool or vehicle for emphasizing service to others and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It would be our great joy to have you prayerfully consider coming alongside the OMMA ministry as a partner and join us in our fight to invade the world of martial arts and trust the King of Kings to redeem it for our good and for His great glory!
Thank you,
Marco
**Note: To be clear, when we use the word “invade,” we are not speaking of physical force, but rather moving out of our comfort zone and into enemy territory. The three enemies we strive with, in the power of the Lord, are the world, the flesh and the devil.