On Sunday, March 1, three sharp blasts on a whistle ushered into the sanctuary of Tarrant Baptist, six members of Fit For Praise, the exercise arm of the church. The purpose was to formally introduce and pray over the ministry.
As team members, decked in their official exercise tops of burnt orange and black trimmings, began their demonstration warm-up, using various pieces of equipment, their captain, Baldon Francis, took the congregation on a brisk walk, explaining FFP’s genesis.
“In October 2024, I received clear instruction from the Lord to start a fitness class that would be free of charge,” he said. Being a member of the church’s praise and worship group, he presented the idea to his then team leader Sister Lori Burnett, and assistant Brother Duane Campbell. They were fully on board, and classes commenced exclusively with the Praise team every fourth Thursday at 7 p.m. for an hour.
Within four months, they were granted pastoral green light to include the wider church body, and class time was switched to 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Acknowledging that Fit For Praise was now fully embedded in the TBC/FCMI family, the pastor of the church, Jeffrey Shuttleworth, echoed Brother Baldon’s invitation to congregants to come on board, and he further invited members of other assemblies to access this free resource, which he saw expanding its schedule beyond once a day; even eventually operating several times per week.
“In every revival, God raises up various ministry arms to ensure that the overall body is nourished and rightly fitted for the various assignments that would come their way,” he reminded listeners. “Fit For Praise is one part of the ministry which focuses not just on the spiritual but also on the physical, the physiological, the emotional, and the mental.”
Undoubtedly, it was a key component of the apparatus that had been set up to take the nation of Jamaica for the Kingdom of God, and members were invited to join and get in shape because “there are many miles to walk, to run, even to drive,” the pastor cautioned, adding that exercise should never take precedence over time with God, and persons should ensure they never raise it up as an altar in their life.
In expressing their appreciation to Pastor Shuttleworth for his leadership, Brother Baldon and his team closed out the celebration by presenting him with several gifts.