Josh Hawkins won $10,000 in a recent radio competition and used the exposure to share his faith with the country.

Mr Hawkins (pictured), who attends St Paul’s, Castle Hill and is currently studying a Bachelor of Theology at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC), beat 24 other contestants to win the dance competition run by national radio station Nova FM.

“The reason I entered is because I love to dance,” Mr Hawkins said. “I also like to enter competitions, entertain people and do random stuff.”

Meshel, Tim & Marty’s ‘24hr Dance Off’ took place across five states from 5pm on August 9 to 5pm on August 10.

“Twenty-four hours of dance is a lot, you can’t really do much to prepare,” Mr Hawkins said. “I did go out dancing with my sister for six hours and I pulled a couple of all nighters to try and adjust my sleep patterns.”

Five competitors each from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were required to dance to 24 different music styles from disco to boy bands, while taking part in challenges to whittle down the number of contestants. The whole competition was broadcast live on the radio station’s website.

Mr Hawkins had different outfits for all the dance styles, his final outfit including a shirt that said ‘I belong to Jesus’. “I really wanted to wear it in case [the presenters] brought it up,” he said. “For me that stuff is pretty easy [to do]. It is really important to me.

“I had spoken to the other contestants and the Nova staff about what I did, so it wasn’t a surprise for them.”

When Mr Hawkins was announced as the winner, he was given the opportunity to describe what he was wearing to the national audience.

“I wanted to make it clear that I was a Christian,” he said.

Mr Hawkins, who plans to go into full-time ministry after completing his degree, will give some of his prize money to the work of the gospel, pay off debts and save the rest.

Photos: courtesy NovaFM