We were lucky to catch up with Jared Greer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I was a Youth Pastor for 12 years, and I always loved using sports as a way to connect with teenagers so I could build relationships and share the love, hope and truth of Jesus. I used football, basketball, and baseball as a way to do this for years. In 2010 or so, I discovered American Ninja Warrior on TV. My students encouraged me to apply for the show! I thought this would be a fun way to build some hype and energy around our youth ministry. In 2014, I applied and was selected! I didn’t have much experience on these kinds of obstacles, so I fell early. I ended up getting on the show 2 more times and made it a little further each time. While I thought my personal success on the show would open doors to minister to more people, I realized that just taking the brave step to even attempt the show resonated with students. This alone got them excited, and it created more opportunities for me to share the hope I have found in Jesus with them. I eventually had an idea of bringing a portable obstacle course to churches and camps and schools to help me share the message about overcoming obstacles. We had our first events in December of 2015. People loved it, and many people made decisions to overcome obstacles through faith in Jesus. We realized that one event with so much fun and energy and truth could create a spark that could change people’s lives! So people built obstacles and gave them to me! We ended up with a pretty cool course! In 2017, I started a non-profit called “Overcoming Obstacles Ministries.” In 2018, I went full-time leading events. I started working with hundreds of volunteers and created a network of other American Ninja Warrior athletes and Christian leaders to help lead events. Now we have done almost 500 events! We have had more than 165,000 people attend our events, and we have helped almost 4,000 people start a faith relationship with Jesus. It has been an amazing journey, and I really feel like we are just getting started. I would love to see more people join our network and put more Overcoming Obstacles Regions around the country. The last time I competed on the show was 2019. But a whole new part of my story is being written. I just received a call from the casting department that I will compete on season 17 of American Ninja Warrior. I’m going to keep overcoming obstacles. I’m going to fall at times, but I will keep getting back up. I’m so excited to know that many people are going to attend our events, have some fun, and hear a message of hope, love and truth that encourages them to know that they can get back up overcome obstacles in life through faith in Jesus as well.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Almost all of the organizations who book events with us are driven to us from two places: 1). People sharing with other people: good ol’ word of mouth! We have so much fun at our events! People also, literally, have life-changing experiences with God at our events. People go home and tell their family and friends. They go to work and share about it with co-workers. Those people typically go tell their church or school leadership about us, and then they reach out and we book another event. 2). Social Media – for us, most of our social media success has been on Facebook. People share their pictures and videos and tag our ministry and leaders from organizations see it and send in an inquiry to our team. We consider it such an honor that this process had led to us being a part of so many events. Jesus changed my life. I have exchanged fear, loneliness, anxiety and addiction for God’s love, joy, peace, presence and hope. I love getting to share that with others. I love to share from a place of vulnerability. I don’t have everything figured out, and I don’t always make the right decisions. I’m human. But I can tell you that the gradual change in my heart and mind and behavior can only be attributed to what I have experienced from Jesus Christ.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have competed on American Ninja Warrior four times. Three of those experiences have already played out on TV. My fourth experience will be aired in the summer of 2025. I can’t spoil those results. But I can tell you that I had a vision to use American Ninja Warrior as a way to share my faith. I had no idea it would lead to a full-on non-profit. I had no idea it would be what it is today. I took a step of faith and applied for the show. I got picked and failed. I applied again. I got picked and made a little progress from my prior experience, but I fell again. I applied again. I wasn’t picked. I applied again. I wasn’t picked. I applied again. I wasn’t picked. During those three seasons of rejection is when Overcoming Obstacles Ministries was born. I thought my success on American Ninja Warrior would open doors. What I found was that the opposite was true. People could relate to me as someone who tried and fell. People seemed to respect my willingness to get back up and try again. Also, in those three years of rejection, I trained hard. I succeeded in local ninja competitions. I also stayed part of the shows production by asking if I could be a course tester. A course tester gets to try obstacles to help the producers make sure the level of difficulty is correct. Also, in this three-year span is when I started our non-profit. When doors are closing, we can sometimes realize that we need to take a different path; but, other times, when doors are closing, we need keep pressing on for the goal that is in our heart. I knew that I loved ninja warrior. I knew that I wanted to spread my faith. I knew that these things could be merged. I decided that I was not going to let my lack of success on the big show stop me. If we have a vision – and, for me, I felt like my vision was from God – we cannot let circumstances or even our own shortcomings stop us from making that vision a reality. I ended up getting back on the show in 2019. I got further but again fell. I applied in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and was rejected again. All the while, we kept leading events and helping people place their faith in Jesus. And all the while, I kept training and participating as course tester. I even was shown on a few episodes while demonstrating obstacles. Then in 2024 I was selected again! Be resilient! Don’t quit chasing the goals that you know you are called to!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.obstacleministry.com
• Instagram: JaredG4Christ
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/overcomingobstaclesministries
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaredGreer

Image Credits

Josh Yoder – Immanuel Church of the Nazarene in Lansdale, PA
Noah Golden – Immanuel Church of the Nazarene in Lansdale, PA
Justin Bufkin – Fellowship Church in Prairieville, La