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Skateboard to
glory!
I never quite got into skateboarding
myself. The fear of broken bones was probably the main influence that kept me from putting
my feet on a thin plank on wheels and then trying to fly... But thousands of young people
today do not share my fears. They skate wherever they go, and it has become a life-style
for them. A huge subculture of skate boarding is present virtually in any town or city,
with its own fashion-style and name brands, music and gathering events. |
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| But not so visible. The fear
that skateboarders will hurt themselves on steps and sidewalks has led many cities and
shopping malls to ban skateboarding altogether. This has not exactly contributed to a
sense of feeling accepted and wanted among skate boarders, and as a result they have been
forced to go into relative hiding, skating where concerned eyes don't watch. |
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| Skaters band together, and
this has made them a identifiable target group for churches and ministries. Around the
world a number of churches are realizing that skaters are a
subculture where Jesus Christ
is not known, and they have started to reach out to this group of mostly teenage guys. One such ministry is the skate-boarding ministry of
Moreno-valley. Every Thursday 40+ skate-boarders (often as many as 65) gather at the ranch
of Marv and Karen, where they sit around a campfire and listen to a speaker (often one of
their own), eat Nacho's, listen to a Christian punk band, and skate the evening away. |
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Last Thursday I
visited Moreno valley. When I arrived I found a large group of young guys, and three or
four girls sitting around a camp-fire. Marv was speaking about the need for them to watch
out so that there won't be any drugs and alcohol on the ranch. So far they haven't had any
visits from the police, and they would like to keep it that way. |
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Then Marv invited one of the
skaters forward, and he proceeded to give his testimony. He shared how he had no church
back ground himself, and nor did anyone in his family. It was only through skating friends
that he first about the Ranch, and that was where he first heard the gospel. His life
changed pretty radically after he committed his life to Christ.
At the end he invited everyone to pray, and 40+ young guys, and a few girls, most
of them without any church background, bowed there head and prayed. |
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| And then it was time to skate!
The skating area consists of a massive slab of concrete, a number of ramps and a
half-pipe. There are further plans for a snake run and a bowl. Everything is lit by
floodlights. You would think that with this many skaters someone is bound to run into
someone else, but nothing like that happens; it is as if the skaters have an unspoken
order that rules out collisions |
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Not that there
are no accidents; frequently skaters fall, and every time I catch myself thinking 'that's
got to hurt!', but they just get up and skate on. Around 9:30 the first skaters start
disappearing, as parental cars
come to collect loved ones. Charlie tells us that he's been able to make good contact with
parents through the skate boarding ministry. A number of skaters have made a profession of
Christ. Marv and Karen have taken a number of skaters who needed 'alternative
living
arrangements' into their home.
Pictures and words: Rogier Bos |
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Some Skateboarding links:
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Wear
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NEXT WAVE, January 1999.
Copyright (c) 1999 by the author or Next Wave. For reprint information
e-mail article@next-wave.org.
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