As some people know, the YMCA was founded on biblical principles. The Y was created to allow a place where people can focus on their healthful living while being in a Christian atmosphere. I personally think this is a great idea because ones faith should be carried over into all aspects of life. Fitness can become extremely secular and lead people to become prideful. By having a gym that has Christian morals, can help alleviate some of this. However, I have noticed a trend that a lot of people do not know that the Y is centered around Biblical principles. Now I cannot say this for all YMCA’s, but it does appear that there may be a distancing from the principles they were founded on. A tough part of redemptive entrepreneurship can be sticking to the beliefs you founded your business on. Too many times when success comes, redemptive businesses get carried away with success that they forget to enforce what they truly stand for. I hope this is not the case for the YMCA because I feel the premise behind what they do is certainly needed in the fitness industry. Another reason it is so important to have a biblical foundation in this business sector is both mental and physical health. Many gym goers often struggle with things such as body image or anxiety. They use the gym as an outlet for there problems. It is good to have an outlet for your issues but that outlet would always be God. Lifting or running may make you feel better in the short term but not in the long run because those issues are just going to keep coming back. Having a gym that keeps your eyes focused on faith is something that 99% of gyms miss. I think there is an opportunity for other entrepreneurs to follow the YMCA but expand upon it.
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Hello! I enjoyed reading your post about the good work the YMCA is doing! My church back home meets in a YMCA and has benefited greatly by establishing a symbiotic relationship with this community center. I completely agree that the intersection between faith and fitness is rich soil to share the Gospel with people. It is sobering when redemptive businesses such as this get carried away with their success, I also hope the YMCA remains strong in their mission.
Connecting though Christ through fitness is very important. Wants us to live lives that are healthy and that are full of life and happiness. Though organizations like the Y (although like you said must have forgotten the original founding message of it) individuals can pursue they fitness journey and live long happy lives in Christ.
Hey Nick, this was a really good idea for a post! The Y has slowly been losing its ties with its original founding principles, but it should really be an outlet for people to go work out, but also have time alone with the Lord. Success has definitely gotten to the owners heads, but hopefully they will return to their founding principles. Great work with your post!
This is awesome Nick and I love that you are looking into things you are genuinely interested in. This was super great and really insightful!
Nick, I love your passion for this and I can tell that you have thought a lot about this over the years. The YMCA has suffered from serious mission drift and has chased the money and success for years. We have talked about this as a case study in some of my classes, and it is sad to see that they have lost the Christian values that they once had. I hope that you continue to pursue this passion of opening a redemptive gym and look to the Lord as your source of strength in that endeavor.