Christina Barkley

Faith and fitness together aren’t about wanting Christ to inform our workouts or our approach to health and wellness. Sounds nice and righteous though doesn’t it? It’s about God wanting to transform every part and every moment of your life. THAT radically shifts this from ‘what I do’ and ‘how I choose to live’ TO ‘God is in control’ and continually yielding our “I want …” to that divine control and providence.

William Hansen calls himself “just your average sergeant,” but those who know him understand that his story is anything but ordinary. After being wounded in military service, his journey did not end on the battlefield—it transformed into a new mission. Known today as Big Sarge, Hansen represents the resilience, discipline, and purpose that emerge when adversity meets faith in Christ and determination. All photos in this article are by William Hansen. Used by permission.

In the fitness world, we are obsessed with “versions.” We chase the next version of our physique, the upgraded version of our PRs, and the latest version of our training tech. We treat our bodies like software that needs constant patching to remain relevant. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus modeled a different kind of update—one that wasn’t about self-optimization, but about total surrender.