(From the Janesville Messenger, 6-7-09)
When I worked in downtown Janesville, I could almost set my watch by it.
Sitting in my second floor office in the late afternoon, I would suddenly hear the wheels rolling on the blacktop. I would look out the window and see the skateboarders build up speed through our parking lot and launch themselves into the parking lot next door, which sat a few feet lower than ours.
The constant whirring of their wheels was annoyingly noisy, a great deal louder than you would expect. Between the sound, the expectation of damage to our vehicles, and the potential for lawsuits if one of them got hurt, I generally went out to shoo them away or threaten to call the police. It was the first time in my life that I looked in the mirror and saw the cranky old neighbor who always yells at the kids to stay off his lawn.
So needless to say, I had a pretty negative opinion of skateboarders. But my “book-by-its-cover” thinking was rocked recently when I saw a presentation by a group of young men calling themselves “Skaters Of Christ.”
These five youths, ranging in age from 12 to 16, can do some pretty impressive skateboarding tricks. But they see their skateboarding as a vehicle for something much more important – bringing fellow skaters to Christianity.
15-year-old Nathaniel Muench says the group was inspired to “do something bigger and better for [God’s] glory. So we chose a skateboard ministry since it’s our talent from God.”
Nathaniel and the others – 13-year-olds Zachary Muench and Brandon Stewart, 16-year-old Daniel Belleau and 12-year-old David – go to skate parks in Whitewater, Jefferson, Delafield or “wherever God calls us to go.”
They strike up conversations with other skaters by asking if they know where they are going to go when they die, or by the more direct “Do you know Jesus Christ?”
As you can imagine, these inquiries are not always well received. On one particularly bad day in Whitewater, the group was cursed and threatened. “Even worse, they cursed at God,” said Brandon. “But we stayed strong and close to God.”
The Skaters of Christ are getting results. They are very proud that at a recent outing in Jefferson, some of the people to whom they preached accepted Jesus as their savior.
Word of their ministry is spreading. When the group went to Delafield for the first time, they were surprised to find that people there had already heard of them.
What is most impressive to me about these young men is that they willfully venture where many seasoned adults wouldn’t dare – straight into a lion’s den, knowing that they invite scorn and ridicule. The strength of their convictions – and the courage they display - is an amazing thing to behold. How many of us believe so strongly in something, that we would put ourselves in situations that could result in verbal or possibly, physical abuse, in hopes of making a difference? By comparison, when I was their age, the only thing I believed strongly was that CB radio was cool, and I was way too shy to even ask a girl to a movie.
The Skaters Of Christ have only been preaching for about a year, but they have big plans. They believe that God’s will for the short term is to share the Gospel while touring the United States and other countries, doing demonstrations and skating with people at parks. Their long-term goal: to become pastors.
If you want to find out more about this group, they have started a web site at www.SkatersofChrist.webs.com or they can be emailed at skatersofchrist@gmail.com.
Shakespeare wrote, “Screw your courage to a sticking place, and we’ll not fail.” These young men do it every day, and they are succeeding.
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