Over two gruelling days at the end of April, two fearless teams went head-to-head in the first ever Holy Ground Marathon. The marathon may be over, but the challenge is very much still on!
What is Holy Ground?
Holy Ground is a simple concept: to encourage and equip churches to adopt everyday spaces – parks, playgrounds, car parks and community courts – and use them to build relationships and share faith with young people through sport and play.
The Holy Ground Marathon
At the end of April, we took on a mammoth challenge to shine a light on Holy Ground initiative and to try and raise £26,000 to get even more churches on board.
Over 26 relentless hours, Team Red took on Team Blue in a full-on sporting challenge – 26 different sports in 26 exciting locations across the North East of England – with existing Holy Ground projects, local landmarks and sporting venues setting the scene for this epic battle. In the end, Blue team triumphed in the games, winning 14 of the 26.
But while the marathon challenge has finished, our goal of seeing 100 Holy Ground projects across England and Wales by the end of the year remains. You can still donate and help us fund this vital work to reveal Jesus to the next generation. Pick either team to donate to and show your support through your donations.
Donate to support your favourite team*
Although the marathon challenge is over, all donations received, whichever team you choose, still go towards the Holy Ground Marathon £26,000 target. Your gifts will help us support Holy Ground projects across England and Wales – we hope to have at least 100 projects active by the end of 2026. Please keep donating to support this important work.
*The default donation is £10 but please give as you're able. Simply change the amount once you've clicked on your team. Thank you for your support!
Help us reach our target
At the moment, we're a long way off our £26,000 target, so please keep your donations coming! To date, the teams have raised:
Team Red: £6,050 (donate here)
Team Blue: £6,417 (donate here)
The current overall total is…
Check out the photos!
Turn your local space into Holy Ground!
Every community already has the potential for mission.
A games court. A patch of grass. A sports hall. A park.
What if that space became somewhere children and young people could belong, build friendships and encounter Jesus?
Whether you're ready to launch something new or simply exploring the idea, we'd love to help you take the next step.
Why explore Holy Ground?
When you sign up, you’ll get:
✅ Practical guidance to help you get started
✅ Access to Holy Ground training and resources
✅ Ideas for sports, games and outreach sessions
✅ Support from the SU Sports Team
✅ Inspiration for reaching children and young people in your community
You don’t need a sports ministry background. You just need a heart to create spaces where young people can connect, belong and explore faith.
Some friendly(?) rivalry! Meet the teams
Team Red… Bold, fearless and completely full‑tilt
Team Blue… Strategic, steady & quietly competitive
What is Holy Ground?
Holy Ground is a sports‑based mission model from Scripture Union – helping churches use everyday community spaces to build friendships and explore faith with young people through sport and play.
This simple but effective model proves mission doesn’t need a building. It needs presence, creativity and courage. And Holy Ground brings all that together in droves. We hope to increase its reach and impact through the Holy Ground Marathon.
Run your own Holy Ground project
Our Mission through Sports team have put together a pack of Holy Ground resources including training sessions and toolkits to help you get started. You can download all of those resources here in one handy Zip file here: Holy Ground resource pack.
Discover Scripture Union
Holy Ground is an exciting initiative from Scripture Union. But what do you know about SU? We're more than you expected!
Our mission is clear: to reveal Jesus to the next generation. We equip churches to reach children and young people – especially those outside the church – wherever they are, and in ways that truly connect. Because every young person should have the opportunity to discover Jesus. And too many never will.
We been doing this for generations. Discover how you can make the most of our experience as you reach out to the next generation.