Run with Christ — a fast-growing GEN-Z ministry— brings thousands together each week to run, worship, and hear the Gospel.
Launched in Columbus, it’s now in 80+ cities and 5 countries. CBN’s Wendy Griffeth recently participated in the Washington D. C. run.
VIDEO SCRIPT
SCRIPT:
(NATS – excited runners warming up)
VO: THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. SET THE STAGE FOR THIS RUN WITH CHRIST EVENT.
FOUNDER AND ORGANIZER WILL GARINGER SAYS HE ACTUALLY STARTED THE CLUB AS A WAY FOR HIM TO DEEPEN HIS FAITH.
Will Garinger/Run With Christ(00:38):
“And what we thought would be a cool little community where we did a devotional beforehand and then we ran together, ended up turning into hundreds of people gathering on a Saturday morning over 200-ish people on Saturday, September 7th, 2024. And we saw people just getting saved, prayed for people getting plugged into the local church.”
VO: ON THIS SATURDAY MORNING – HUNDREDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TURNED OUT FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
Wendy Griffith: You guys look pumped up. You ready for this run?
Guys: Yes. So ready. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now. Yeah. So ready.
Wendy: Where are you guys from?
Jacob & John:
I’m from Columbus, Ohio. I’m from Indiana, Indianapolis.
Wendy: what brought you here today?
John:I would say just like the hunger of the Gen Z and like people coming together for the love of Christ and just that unity that Christ brings us.
Jacob: “I mean, the Holy Spirit brought me here. I mean, this is, this is a family. Like this, this group of people was a blessing from Christ. I prayed for this group of people for so long and just to come here and worship and, and pray for the nation on the nation’s capital is such a blessing. I mean, it’s absolutely amazing.”
(Lauren and Cimyia)
Wendy
Did you guys know each other before today?
Cimyia>>”No, we actually Just met yesterday. Yeah, yesterday evening. Lauren>>And this morning we saw each other and we’re like, we’re gonna run together.”
VO: 20-YEAR OLD LAUREN HILTY FROM TEXAS AND 21-YEAR-OLD CIMYIA (Samaya)
CAMERON FROM ALABAMA SAY RUN WITH CHRIST NOT ONLY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER AS FRIENDS BUT IS BRINGING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO COMMUNITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE.
Cimyia
“I just felt stirring in my spirit. I was like, I have to go there. I don’t know why, but I, and then the Lord made a way. And so I, by my ticket in the summer, uh, it had been a plan to come. I didn’t really know who I was gonna meet, where I was gonna be, but the Lord made a way and I just, I just know that he’s doing something so big and like everywhere. But this is just like, it’s just a reflection of what’s going on in everybody’s hearts.
Lauren:
“Our prayer lately has just been for the nations and it’s been for the people of all the nations and just to come together and then this event and we see it and it’s in the capital of our country with all this things happening in the atmosphere. It was just insane. It’s beautiful. And I knew I had to be here.”
WENDY GRIFFITH, Washington, D.C. (standup)Run with Christ is way more than a run club, but rather a movement with a mission to make heaven full.
(Wendy interviewing Brandy while running)
Wendy>>What’s your name?
Brandy
Wendy>>Brandy, where are you from?
Brandy>>>Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Wendy>> you came all the way from Tennessee?
Yes. Yeah.
Wendy And have you done run with Christ before?
No. This is our first one.//
Wendy>> What’s it like?
Brandy>>It’s incredible. It’s so affirming just for our kids to see other young people also continue to pray for this generation.
Wendy>>and guess what, we can run too?
Brandy>>Yea, we can run too.”
(NATS – Will praying over people)
VO: GARINGER SAYS THE MISSION IS TO TAKE PEOPLE FROM ISOLATED TO INTEGRATED THROUGH FAITH AND FITNESS.
Will (
“you show up on a Saturday morning and you’re like, oh okay. Am I coming to this competitive running group? What’s happening? Are people gonna think I’m weird? ’cause I just don’t know how to run a 5K. But you show up and then there’s music and people are loving on you. You’re getting hugged and you’re getting energy drinks and you’re like, what is going on? I thought I was coming to a competitive environment, but in reality, running is just honestly the facade of it all to just bring people in. But then we get to share with them the love of Christ.”
Cimyia:
I think that there’s a new fire because people are so desperate and like they’ve been seeking every experience, every drug, every alcohol, every, every experience that they can experience and realizing that’s not gonna sustain them // it’s like we’re so tired, like, of like trying to go our own way. Yeah. And so we’re just ready to, I’m like, I’m ready to follow Jesus wherever.
VO: RUN WITH CHRIST HAS EXPLODED INTO MORE THAN 80 CITIES, 5 COUNTRIES, AND IT’S STILL GROWING… WILL SAYS IT’S ONLY GOD.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Jesus has been so kind. And I mean, I could sit here and practically say, you know, cool Instagram or whatever it may be and people are attracted to it. But attracted, there has not been one city in this entire world that I’ve reached out to to see if they wanted to start one. It literally, every city has started with one little random “yes from a random 20 something year old has been like, Hey, I don’t really have community. I’d love to see change happen here. How can I start one?
VO: 20-YEAR-OLD SAGE MOORCOS WHO ATTENDS BAYLOR UNIVERSITY SAYS SHE’S PLANNING TO START A RUN WITH CHRIST CHAPTER IN WACO, TEXAS SOON.
Sage>>Honestly, I think Gen Z can really, um, yeah, recognize authenticity and that’s why this is so popular, because it’s authentic and because Jesus is authentic and he’s real, and that’s what people want. We don’t, we’re tired of the fakeness, we’re tired of the ways of the world. We wanna give our life to something that’s bigger than us, and that is the man, Jesus Christ.”
VO: FOR MANY WHO CAME IT WAS HARD TO PUT THE EXPERIENCE INTO WORDS…
Lauren (03:11): >>I think I’m just in awe myself. Like, I just look around. Like we were looking at the Capitol, we were looking at the Lincoln Memorial and we were like, we’re sitting here worshiping, like in our capitol with people that we don’t even know. And the generations coming together and all the nations are coming together and we’re just in awe.
VO: WENDY GRIFFITH, CBN NEWS, WASHINGTON.
(Optional anchor tag: TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN START A RUN WITH CHRIST CHAPTER IN YOUR AREA, GO TO CBNNEWS.COM.)
People Interviewed and their Titles
See names and titles on the script
Recording Location
Washington, D.C. United States
Organization featured in this Story
Run with Christ
Reporter/Producer for the story
Wendy Griffith
Story Provider/Contact
Stephen Little, Producer/CBN News, stephen.little@cbn.org
Producing Organization
CBN, https://cbn.com/news
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