Raising funds for fitness and faith in West Norfolk
Two young sports ministers in Thetford have been running to raise funds as they seek to secure the future of the Sports Factory in the town.
Susie Bratby and
Josh Samuel (pictured above) completed the Cambridge half marathon in March for the Sports Factory initiative, which originally began in Norwich to connect the church and the community through sport and to share the love of Jesus.
Started by Ruth Anderson a decade ago, the Sports Factory has recently become a charity. Ruth said: “In 2014, I had the privilege of doing some research for Scripture Union looking into sports ministry. I had previously worked in sports ministry and when I returned to Norwich, I felt God was stirring me to start a new sports ministry through the local church. I was given Ian Dyble’s phone number and had a chat with him. He was really keen and so The Sports Factory was birthed from that.”
Having previously interned for Sports Factory in Norwich, Susie Bratby was employed by Thetford Team Ministry (TTM) in 2022 as their Sports and Community Minister.
Susie said: “When I started during a covid lockdown, I had lots of zoom coffees with people from schools and charities which gave me a good idea of the community in Thetford. This was helpful as I was then able to tailor sessions to the different community groups and estates. This is really important in Thetford as it is a very diverse community and so there are different needs across the town.”
“In Thetford we have a number of sessions each week,” said Susie. “In schools we run active RE, lunch clubs, an after-school club specifically for SEND children, and sports after-school clubs. I also provide sport once a month at Integrate Youth For Christ’s drop-in youth café, Pulse. For adults we run social football, four fitness classes, and Stretch and Pray.”
From small beginnings in Thetford, the last two and a half years has seen hundreds of people in the area engage with the sports ministry and hear the Good News about Jesus.
Susie said: “One of the clear fruits of this has been Josh, who joined the adult social football sessions and was invited to a termly men’s breakfast event. From here, Josh attended Christianity Explored and committed to following Jesus soon after.”
Having qualified as a Personal Trainer, Josh was employed by TTM in July 2024 as an Associate Sports Minister to start the fitness classes and run adult social football.
With both contracts coming to an end this year, Thetford Team Ministry are looking to raise funds to employ Susie and Josh for a further 3 years.
“We rejoice to see people exploring faith, coming to faith and growing as Christians through this outreach, and we pray for God’s continued work through it,” said Susie.
Support the work in Thetford at thetfordteamministry.org.uk/sports-donations
Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/SportsFactoryThetford/
To find out more about The Sports Factory visit sportsfactory.org.uk