Hope Wrestling Ministries is taking its outreach overseas in 2027 with a planned mission trip to Honduras.
The ministry, led by Henry County High School alumnus Marty Miller, was founded a few years ago with the goal of taking wrestling — and its message of hope — wherever doors opened.
Miller sees the Honduras trip as an opportunity to put that mission into action.
“We didn't set out to do an overseas mission trip. It would be a lot easier to do an event here in the States,” Miller said. “When we started this ministry a few years ago, one of the things that I said in the initial time that I spent with God on this, and we've stood on it, is, ‘Wherever you open the door, we're going to go. Whoever wants us to come, we're going to take the wrestling ring and put it up.’”
The idea for the trip came about two years ago.
Miller went on a church mission trip to Honduras, where he realized there was no existing wrestling infrastructure for Hope Wrestling to use. If Hope Wrestling was going to do an event there, it would have to build its own wrestling ring.
Faced with the prospect of building a wrestling ring from scratch, Miller dismissed the idea altogether.
Then, a member of his church encouraged Miller to pursue the idea again.
“His faith strengthened mine,” Miller said. “We're in the process of making it happen now.”
Seventeen Hope Wrestling Ministries wrestlers have expressed interest in making the trip to Honduras. The ministry plans to hold a wrestling show for entertainment while also setting aside time to share the Gospel.
It plans to do community outreach throughout the country and go to the military base in Honduras as well.
Though the setting will be different, the mission does not waver.
“A lot of people don't understand who Jesus really is,” Miller said. “That's the real motivation of everything we do is to help people see that it's not just a fairytale. It's not just a great story. Jesus offers real hope in their life. No matter what they're facing, no matter the hardships that they might be facing, he's there for them. He cares for them. He'll provide everything that they need.”
Not only does Miller believe that the people of Honduras can benefit from this trip, but his people can too.
“If you've ever been on a mission trip, one of the things that you walk away from — the idea of going somewhere else and serving people that we don't know, doing for people that we have no clue who they are or maybe not even speak the same language as them — it really strengthens your faith in who Jesus is in your own life,” Miller said.
Hope Wrestling Ministries’ mission statement is, “Pro wrestling is our platform, but hope is our mission.”
For Miller, the Honduras trip is an extension of that mission — using wrestling as a way to reach people with a message he believes can change their lives.
“We say, ‘Listen no matter what you face, no matter what you want, Jesus loves you and he wants to do something amazing in your life,’” Miller said. “When we see that light bulb go off in their eyes sometimes, when they understand that to be true, that is what we're here for. That's the whole reason we exist. We're not here to be another wrestling promotion. We're not here to put on cool events. We're here to change lives with the hope of Jesus.”
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For more information about Hope Wrestling Ministries, visit https://www.facebook.com/hopewrestlingministries or email hopewrestlingministries@gmail.com.