(Photo: Canyon Creek Church) Canyon Creek Church's Brandon "The Fight Pastor" Beals (left) ministers mixed martial artists like the UFC's Jeremy Stephens (right) during their training and fights.
The leader of a Pacific Northwest church is gaining national attention for praying over pugilists.
Canyon Creek Church's Lead Pastor Brandon Beals started his congregation in Everett, Wash., seven years ago. An avid mixed martial arts (MMA) fan, he's since taken on the role of "Fight Pastor”" for many of the region's MMA fighters. Boosting brawlers' confidence and faith in Christ through support and prayer, he now counts nearly two dozen fighters among his 1,000-member flock.
"I view myself a missionary to the MMA community," Beals told The Christian Post. "Missionaries go to people groups that are unreached and untapped. God gave us a platform so we thought we'd try reaching this community."
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Beals said his love for MMA began when he saw an advertisement for the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view in 1993, and decided to try it out. Instantly hooked by the sport's technicality, he said he's remained steadfast in his fandom and seen MMA grow by leaps-and-bounds. Most MMA bouts let fighters use multiple fighting styles to knock out, submit or win by points over their opponent over a period of either three or five rounds, each five minutes long.
"In MMA, anything is possible," Beals said. "You never know what's going to happen. These guys are exceptionally disciplined only to lay it on the line for a few minutes every three months."
By 2008, Beals had built a reputation among Washington's fighting community as a devout MMA fan and an even more zealous Christian. He soon started a blog at FightPastor.com and chronicled his challenges comforting competitors as they trained, won and lost matches. Though he typically ministers to local grapplers, he said he's also served as a chaplain for the UFC's Jeremy Stephens and Demico Rogers.
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