They flew past us with the whirl and bump of practiced skaters. Grinding the rail and landing the ollie. But more than that, these guys exuded Jesus: all from the deck of a skate board, or on top of inlines.
There was even a ten year old owning a scooter in ways I have never imagined. X-games-here-they-come kind of tricks were happening everywhere.
In the middle of rural Pennsylvania, kids are given a place to skate that is crime free and in return they listen to a quick 15 minute sermon. The gospel is active and relevant to kids who otherwise might never have heard the name of Jesus as anything other than a swear word.
This park is located over a casket maker’s workshop, so life is over death. The warm reception everyone gets and the amazing discipleship that happens on a one-on-one basis showed our team that real, effective, life-changing ministry doesn’t only happen in a church. It happens in the real world with something as simple as giving kids a place to play.
The team didn’t just watch, some of them strapped on helmets and tried to learn how to “drop in”. Thankfully, only on the beginners ramp.
The take away I carry with me is this: ministry does not have to look like a full blown church service to matter. Real ministry meets people where they are and carries the gospel in beautifully simple ways.
