Kanata’s new Fight Church merges Faith, Fitness, and Kickboxing

Allen Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Welcome to Fight Church! We encourage kicking and punching, but, please, no biting.

“The idea of Fight Church came to me when I was a youth pastor, in Brockville years ago,” says Mike Croteau, sometimes called The Punching Pastor. “While working out at the gym I found other people were interested in discussing faith issues. That was a big surprise.” These were people who never attended church.

Croteau later started teaching kickboxing before youth group meetings. The kids loved it, and it opened up some great faith conversations. That was the catalyst for launching Fight Church in March of this year. Croteau serves as senior pastor at Community Life Church, in Kanata, so Fight Church uses that facility.

While Fight Church started as an outreach, Croteau says it is for all people, with participants ranging from completely unchurched to long-time church members.

“We have everyone from teens to seniors attending,” says James Powell, an instructor who shares Croteau’s passion for Fight Church. “It’s a creative way for people to connect, learn valuable self-defence techniques, and (most importantly) learn about and share the love of Jesus.”

“Each week, Fight Church begins with a talk on something Jesus said or did. It’s a lot like a Ted Talk—short, engaged, and to the point. The Bible shares many examples of how Jesus did this. Then our kickboxing lessons begin.”

“I started kickboxing to relieve stress, and I started going to church for similar reasons. It’s been incredible to mesh them together. And Pastor Mike leads and inspires me in both.” Photo courtesy of Fight Church.

“I started kickboxing to relieve stress, and I started going to church for similar reasons. It’s been incredible to mesh them together. And Pastor Mike leads and inspires me in both.”

After class, students and instructors hang out and talk about life and faith

“No-one rushes out the door,” Croteau says, beaming. “In the words of one guy, ‘This is my kind of church!’”

So many people find life incredibly busy, Croteau adds, so Fight Church lets them combine fitness and church into one easy activity, while building community.

Kelsey Underwood is an amateur kickboxer and active Fight Church participant. “For the last two years, I’ve represented Canada at the PANAM games,” she says. “Most recently I brought home a gold medal. My entire journey started with The Punching Pastor, and Coach Jamie. I started kickboxing to relieve stress, and I started going to church for similar reasons. It’s been incredible to mesh them together. And Pastor Mike leads and inspires me in both.”

Croteau promotes Fight Church through accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, using the name “The Punching Pastor”—a name Fight Church participants gave him.

“There will always be some people who doubt our work or criticise it,” Powell says. “After all, Fight Church is a very unusual way to tell people about Jesus. But in the chaotic, fast-paced 21st Century, it’s a great way to merge faith, fitness, and sport.”

Croteau says it’s not just Community Life Church that encourages the work. A number of other ministries support and are praying for his efforts, and he says his denomination thinks it’s awesome.

“For some people, going to church on Sunday mornings can feel like visiting a foreign country,” he says. “The language and even culture is so new and different. But our ‘liturgy’ is both simple and fun. Our primary hope is for people to come to faith in Jesus, and then to encourage them as they grow.”