Run for God - Slidell, La

01/28/2025

We’re thrilled to announce our 2025 partnership with Junction 311 Endurance Sports and Big Beach Marathon! This collaboration brings BIG perks for both the Upward Running and J311 communities:

✨ For Upward Running Members: Discounts to every J311 event.
✨ For J311 Participants: An exclusive Upward Running discount code to join our RunClub community.
✨ Save the date: Our graduation race weekend will take place at the Big Beach Marathon 2026 in gorgeous Gulf Shores, AL! 🏖️

It’s going to be an unforgettable Upward Running Family Weekend filled with running, connection, faith, and fitness!

PS- The 2025 Big Beach Marathon weekend is happening this weekend, and we can’t wait to cheer on this year’s participants. Follow them along on social media to join the excitement and start dreaming about our race weekend next year in Gulf Shores!

09/22/2024

09/08/2024

Let’s Run!!
Whether you're just starting out or you've been running for years, it's always the perfect time to lace up and hit the road.
Running isn't just about fitness—it's a journey of faith, perseverance, and growth.

Every step you take brings you closer to your goals and deepens your relationship with God.

So, let's run with purpose, run with joy, and run for Him!

09/06/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/8jdrvPRxZU6tQAgD/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Episode 232 -
If you struggle at all with worrying, this week’s podcast is for you. Dean and Mitchell explain how worry and fear go hand in hand and how God wants us to worry and fear less. Then Dean compares growing a crop to running and our faith.
https://youtu.be/S4xeSmxWvr8

03/07/2024

Listen to the voice!

01/31/2024

The Empty Pursuit of More

Greed.

It wears like an invisible cloak, blending seamlessly into the fabric of modern culture. It silently seeps into our desires, clouds our judgment, and distorts our values. Greed always seeks more—more validation, more status, more comfort, more things.

But the irony of greed is this: the more earthly possessions, status, or validation we gain, the more we are left dissatisfied.
In Luke 12:15, Jesus warns how this illusion of fulfillment through relentlessly collecting more blinds us to true contentment and purpose and is an empty pursuit:

“Then he said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.'”

True fulfillment doesn’t happen when we store up possessions or pursue unending comfort. True fulfillment is found when we’re anchored in contentment, gratitude, and a deep relationship with God that leads to seeking His kingdom and righteousness (Luke 12:31).
Where do you have an endless craving for more—more validation, more comfort, more possessions? Are there areas of your life where the constant pursuit of more might be overshadowing the pursuit of God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Luke 12:31)?

07/24/2023

For Immediate Release : July 24, 2023
Upward and Run for God Merge

Upward Sports is pleased to announce today that it has expanded its sports ministry through a merger with Run for God Ministries.

“Our mission is to promote the discovery of Christ through sports,” Upward Executive Director Kevin Drake said. “We’ve always done that through helping churches to conduct sports leagues for children and youth. Merging with Run for God will allow us to reach adults as well as young people. It is a major extension of our ministry.”

Run for God conducts courses that connect Bible study and running training through the parallel principles of faith and endurance. These courses have been taught in over 6000 locations including churches, schools, prisons, and community centers around the world.

Upward Sports helps churches reach out to their communities by providing sports leagues. The ministry started in Spartanburg, S.C., and has had over 7 million participants playing basketball, soccer, cheerleading, volleyball, flag football, baseball, and softball.

“Upward has added over 400 new church partners in the last 24 months”, Drake said. “This merger is an addition to that growth, allowing us to serve runners of all ages to become better runners and better followers of Christ.”

“Upward Sports has always been an organization that we have admired,” Mitchell Hollis, founder and CEO of Run for God, said. “My kids have been a part of Upward through the years, and I have seen their commitment to shining the light of Jesus Christ in all that they do.”

“This partnership will open the door for these ministries to grow to levels that none of us can imagine. We are both about shining the light of Jesus through sport,” Hollis said.

Drake agreed. “We are excited about blending the expertise and gifts of both organizations to better pursue our mission to spread the gospel through sports.”

Run For God will continue to be based in Dalton, Georgia.
www.RunforGod.com

07/04/2023

Happy Independence Day

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.