Our Stories: Josh Glover
A brief bit about me.
I grew up in Christian household, the youngest of six, with a twin brother and four older sisters. In 1998 my father and mother responded to a providential calling which lead us as a family to China. It was there that my father founded a charity called Care for Children, which advised and served the Chinese government with social services, establishing legislation for foster care and adoption. All behind this mission, was this biblical principal of having a heart for the fatherless. My dad had grown up without a father, and so adoption into Gods family had captured his heart and given him a passion for providing families for children who didn’t. And so from the age of 5 I was living, eating and learning Chinese.
Whilst growing up my twin brother Joel and I began to have a passion for sport, we would spend everyday at school playing sport with our friends, get involved in various sports teams and even our spare time playing. We specifically loved football, and it was perfect because with a twin you always had someone to play with. The older I got the more passionate I became about it. I gave all my time to training and making myself a better footballer. Though it was a great thing, I had begun to make it an idol in my life, my identity was in my football. A year after I left China I had the opportunity to go to the United States for university, and was blessed to go on a football scholarship. In 2012 I moved to Santa Barbara, California to attend Westmont College, a Christian university. My whole perspective in going was that I would play football, study and grow closer to God. My whole life those things had been separate, but it was while I was in America that I learned that God could use all things for his glory. During the warm up for my first ever game in America I tore my ulnar collateral ligament which left me out for my whole first season. It was the first major injury I had ever had, and because my identity was in my football, it ruined me, I felt depressed and worthless. It was in this time that I learned that football was temporary and God was eternal. By losing the ability to play football I realized that I had been taking this gift God had given me for granted. I began to realize that I had been praising the gift and not the One who had given me the gift. Over the next few years of playing I learned that football was a platform in which I could honour, glorify and share God. It was also where I felt closest to Him.
Now two years after university I am doing my Intentional Discipleship (ID) year as I have a passion to learn more about Gods word and serve him. I also have a real passion to share the lessons I had learned with others who were in a similar place to me. I am part of our student team at City and aim to connect with students to bless and support them. Another part of my year includes leading a Christians in Sport students group in which we look at Gods word and how that can instruct us in reaching our world of sport for Christ. Though the ID year has been challenging in areas like being away from family, financial security and giving up time, it was been a real blessing to grow in and share my passion for God and for football through sports ministry and student work.
About the Author
Josh is a member of the City Students team and currently enrolled on the Intentional Discipleship (ID) course this year at City Church. It's difficult to say where exactly Josh is originally from, as he's spent time all over the place, but he supports Norwich City FC, and that's close enough.
