Akeem Ambrose: Sports, Spirituality, and Shaping Young Lives

Akeem Ambrose is the elementary P.E. teacher and athletic director at Crawford Adventist Academy in Toronto, Ontario. In this conversation he explores the transformative power of sports in Adventist education. Akeem shares the origin story and vision behind the Ontario Adventist Sports Association, and challenges the traditional hierarchy of learning by championing the gym as a space where A-grade character is built. He speaks candidly about the life lessons students gain through sports, namely discipline, perseverance, and goal-setting, while also highlighting the struggles Adventist schools face in embracing modern opportunities, including athletic scholarships and extracurricular expansion. More than competition, Akeem sees sports as a culture of community, relationships, and worship, a space where students can honour God, connect with peers, and show non-Christian students the heart of faith through sports. Plus, don’t miss his latest creative project: Mr. Ambrose, a brand-new animated YouTube series that brings faith-based storytelling to life from the very gym where so much of this journey begins.