Nick Willis

What an outstanding result for Nick Willis and New Zealand at the Olympics! I set my alarm and got up to watch the race. So glad I did! I thought he was going to be pipped at the post by the Frech guy but he pushed on when it counted and got the bronze. Come on!!

Last year Promise Keepers interviewed Nick about his career and his faith. Here is an extract:

How did Nick become a Christian? He says that it started when he went to the USA - he was impacted by senior students who were excellent role models of what it meant to be godly men. It inspired him to seek out God for himself.

Then he met Bruce Dishnow from Athletes in Action. “After six weeks I became a Christian. Since then Bruce has been a great mentor to me. He and his family have opened their home to me, so much so that I was best man at a family wedding - it was a real honour. Bruce has been a source of stability. He is slightly removed from the sport and College scene so he can offer an unbiased opinion to me.”

On the subject of accountability in his life, Nick feels that this is very important and he meets once or twice a week for Bible studies with Bruce. He also formed an accountability group with five guys that he met through Campus Crusade for Christ and they got together every Sunday night for a year. He believes that they grew as brothers. They agreed on a mission statement that would encompass time in the Word, their physical purity and also their emotional purity. These guys became Nick’s 3:00 am friends – he could call them at any time if he felt tempted or was facing issues. They were all at similar stages, ending college, thinking about employment, as well as girlfriends and marriage.