by Tony van der Hiele

God brings students from many places to CBT, some for a short time, others for longer. When they leave our school, the faculty and staff prayers for them do not end. We pray that alumni and former students continue to walk with God in the roles to which He has called them. The CBT family loves to hear how God places them and how they steward the gifts and talents that He has given. Today, we want to share the story of Nathan Peacock, whose carefully crafted skill and the blessing of God brought the former CBT Samuel Program student to the ITF Taekwondo World Championships in Finland.

Nathan got into Taekwondo through his family. The decision to enroll their oldest daughter in a self-defence class eventually got the entire Peacock family involved in the combat sport. As the youngest of three siblings, Nathan naturally followed and the whole family got a black belt in the end. He comments, “When you get a black belt, that is where your training actually starts. Then you get serious.” Seventeen years of Taekwondo culminated for Nathan in competing at the World Championships. He feels God opened that door for him, and he sees the tournament as a confirmation of stewarding his talent. “I learned a lot as a competitor, but the most important thing is what the tournament meant. I had always questioned whether I was succeeding, but this confirmed that 17 years of training wasn’t for nothing.”

He shares about a particular experience, “Stepping onto a world stage, my nerves were incredibly high, and it was hard to stay focused. It made me think of David and Goliath. I refuse to believe that David did not feel fear when he walked up to Goliath; he was still human. How did he push through that?” Nathan experienced a similar thing when he was in the warm-up area prior to his first match. “I didn’t feel ready; I was tense and couldn’t loosen up. Nothing felt right.” In the end, Nathan ended up lying down with his go-to song, falling asleep to these words, “Scared of my own image, scared of my immaturity, scared of my own ceiling.” When Nathan woke up, he prayed through Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…” That surrender made all the difference. He says, “I felt good and wasn’t anxious. Instead, I was excited and my heart was pumped. That is how David must have felt, clearing that out.” When asked about his long-term goals, Nathan says he made many connections in Finland and will try to get on Team Canada for the 2025 World Championships in Croatia. But he also shares that he doesn’t want his life to be all about Taekwondo. “My identity is not what I do. If people only know me as the Taekwondo guy, I’ve done something wrong.”

Nathan’s mom, Brenda Peacock, who has served in Canada alongside her husband, CBT professor Dr. Kevin Peacock, also has a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo. She can appreciate the rigours of training, but the manner by which Nathan lived out his Christian faith during the competition stood out the most. Brenda commented,”Nathan embodies the five tenets of Taekwondo [Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-control and Indomitable Spirit] and lives them out from a Christian perspective. Nathan displayed a camaraderie that got him noticed by people, including coaches. He didn’t see an opponent as the enemy; he made friends instead. Nathan was always the first to extend a hand when an opponent fell. He encouraged others, and seeing how the younger competitors looked up to him was so good.” 

Nathan’s ability to connect with the younger competitors shows his heart for youth. He particularly enjoys teaching. “Teaching is an avenue that the Lord has put me in. Especially now, seeing how this competition speaks to young lives.” Nathan teaches basic self-defence classes at SYC [Summer Youth Camp], he teaches Taekwondo, and he is currently training new leaders to teach Taekwondo as well.

Looking back at his Samuel program year, he says, “It was because of that year that I discovered how much I loved teaching. The class Teaching Christ Followers helped me to understand and read the Bible better. Teaching others helps you learn and cuts into your own heart as well as other’s.” Discovering passions and talents is precisely what the Samuel program is about: for students to find out what God has already put in them and encourage them to develop these passions and talents further. We thank the Lord for how He brings this about, and we continue to pray for our current Samuel students that they too will discover what God has in store for them.