Mission Partners

Grace Church Bath partners with Christians in Sport and Jem Hovil through BUILD and Crosslinks

What is Christians in Sport?

Christians in Sport is a UK based charity that aims to reach the world of sport for Christ. They mainly work with sportspeople in competitive and elite sport, forming a movement of sportspeople who love Jesus and love sport.

What goes on in Bath?

Locally we have a group that meets at the University of Bath, and the Bath Local Network.

How is GCB supporting Christians in Sport?

GCB has supported CIS financially, partnering together as we all seek to bring the gospel to the world of sport.

Jem, what is your day job?

I’m a UK-based mission partner seconded to serve remotely with the BUILD initiative. BUILD stands for Biblical Understanding for In-service Leadership Development, and is a grassroots church leadership training programme I had the privilege of co-developing with the Church of Uganda. It has since spread to neighbouring countries over the years. My main role is to run BUILD Partners, a UK charity that supports BUILD, as well as help coordinate the growing work.

What does that look like in practice?

BUILD operates by training trainers at a more formal level to use a locally developed curriculum to deliver training to groups of church leaders in local, non-formal settings. It consists of 10 modules aimed at giving people who lead churches, most of whom have had little or no training, the biblical, theological and practical tools they need.

BUILD is based mainly in Anglican churches, and has coordinators in the different countries. It is really well established in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, but also has projects and presence in Ethiopia, Burundi, Congo and among the South Sudanese refugee community bordering Uganda.

How are you supported in this?

I’m a UK-based mission partner with an organisation called Crosslinks. They are an evangelical Anglican mission agency with expertise in global mission and a living commitment to biblical faithfulness. We were selected and sent by them in 1999 and lived first in Uganda for eight years and then South Africa for six, before returning to Bath (where I grew up) in 2013. Crosslinks continues to support and encourage me in my work. I also have a fantastic group of co-trustees who keep me on track. Finally, a few churches pray for me and the work, and it is wonderful to not only be a member of GCB but to be supported by the church – a real privilege.

How can we find out more?

Please ask me about it all and please pray for the work – it is beyond stretched. I post news at buildpartners.org and prayer news via crosslinks.org (search for Jem Hovil there)