Redemption – Bounce back like Plymouth Argyle!

Avid sports fan, Dave Simpson shares on the recent success of Plymouth Argyle and how it gives hope to the people of the Southwest, that we can overcome the challenges of the past.

It has been a good time to be an avid football fan here in Plymouth of late. At the time of writing Plymouth Argyle have just finished their season and have done so in some style, winning League One with a huge points total of 101!

They beat some very large club sides to the title including Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town who took the fight right down to the wire. With the comparative operating budgets of the clubs, Argyle’s success can be seen as a bit of a David v Goliath victory. Argyle representing David in this particular case.

When the squad celebrated their victory with a boat trip to the Barbican and an open top bus parade of the city, the impact of their success on the people of Plymouth was clear. People lined the streets and thousands turned up at Home Park to cheer on their heroes. All that despite wet weather all day!

Whether you are a football fan or not the success is a mark of civic pride for many and will reap economic benefit for the city. The club sides in the Championship are on another level again and will bring more fans, and more revenue, to the city. The challenge of competing at the next level is one which the club are relishing and the Green Army are very much looking forward to witnessing.

This success is made all the more special by considering the recent history of the football club. 10 years ago almost to the day the club only just avoided relegation out of the football league entirely. That narrow escape had been preceded by dreadful ownership issues and the club having to go into administration. Plymouth Argyle had been perilously close to disappearing from existence all together.

Thankfully with the initial takeover by James Brent and the subsequent investment and current ownership of Simon Hallett the club is now sustainably run and back where it should be.

The Turnaround of Plymouth Argyle

Redemption stories like this are so wonderful to hear. All too often we are fed in the media the fall from grace parts of these but it is so important to learn of how situations and even people’s lives have been turned around for the good. The main reason being that we need help to turn things around too.

You may be reading this and find yourself in the midst of a very low life ebb. Perhaps through even your own actions you find yourself in the personal equivalent of where Argyle found themselves all those years ago. Directionless, without much resource and clinging on for survival.

Anyone in the know will tell you that the transformation that has taken place at Home Park has only happened through the hard work and dedication of a whole host of people who have gone about their business consistently behind the scenes. Turning things around takes this sort of commitment.

Encouragingly Plymouth Argyle’s turnaround has happened much quicker than anyone thought possible.

It is my hope that in reading this article you are encouraged that the same can happen to you. The comparison to a football club might be too tenuous to do that for you so I want to encourage you with the wonderful Life Stories interview we hear on Cross Rhythms Plymouth. I mentioned these in my last article and if you are struggling at the moment, listening to these real people telling their stories of redemption in their own lives may be exactly what you need.

You can listen to them online right here on this website. Just click on ‘Life Stories’.

The common theme amongst them all is how they have personally encountered God for themselves and come to know and follow him in their lives.

At its core the Christian message is all about redemption. Through the person and sacrifice of Jesus all of humanity is redeemed.

This redemption is open to you as much as it is to anyone else. I encourage you to reach out to God in your own way. As a result, like the situation for Plymouth Argyle, your life may well turn around for good much sooner than you can currently imagine!

This article first appeared in The Plymouth Chronicle.