Report #9

This week was amazing for me! My team for IWU dropped me off at Kingdom Bound Music Festival in Buffalo New York. There I did skateboarding demos with a Christian bmx, skateboarding, and rollerblading team called Enemy Opposition. This ministry attracts a lot of teenagers and more of the younger, alternative generation. The demos were from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. At the demos we rode for a few hours, the most fun was talking to people afterwards. The people were so eager to talk to me after the demos. Everyone wanted my autograph and pictures and hugs, it was like I was famous. At the first demo on Monday I had the privilege to give my testimony in front of a few hundred people who were watching and standing near by…that was a huge blessing. Throughout the week so many people new my name and were yelling for me all over the park. It took place in an old 6 flags park that was named something else so there were people all over. People all over the place would stop me and compliment on my skating and some on my testimony. It was a blessing to hear that my testimony could help so many people. The Lord really seemed to use my testimony to help a lot of people there! A girl on the last day came to me and told me that it was because of my testimony that she is going to live for God to her fullest extent from here on out! The festival went from Monday to Wednesday. On Tuesday I demoed for the 3 straight hours. It was Tuesday that I ran into a young boy who loved what we were doing. This little guy was 11 years old and was turning 12 on Wednesday. I was able to talk one on one with him for a bit and that was a great opportunity to bless his week. He would show up with his skateboard and his helmet on, he looked up to us so much. The week was full of blessing people through love. I also met another boy who wanted to skate with me the whole time. It was hard to fulfill his wish because of how busy we were and tired from the demos. It was finally on Wednesday that I was able to hang out with him after the demo and he could show me some of his tricks and we had fun together. I uplifted him as much as I could. It was great having so many people look up to you. Simply because I was a demo rider and I was accepting to everyone it showed so many people love. I literally couldn’t walk 5 minute around this amusement park without people stopping to talk to me, get my autograph, picture or a hug. It was nuts. Everyone looked up to me. At one point a I heard a large group of girls yell out my name and I turned around and there they were on a rollercoaster that was about to start up the first hill and they yelled clear down to me to wave. Stuff like that blessed me but I had to keep myself in check with it all. I easily realized how one could get stuck up when receiving so much popularity and fame. It didn’t help my head that I could go back stage to every show and chill with the bands and eat catering where all the bands were. So I made sure I focused on the Lord and humbled my heart to the best extent I possibly could. I made it my focus to make sure I gave God ALL the glory and that everyone saw that I was another person just like them. On Wednesday, the last day of the festival, we brought little Ian (the boy with the birthday) in our demo area and sung happy birthday to him as a team and got a huge group picture with him in front of everyone. We also had a few bikers jump over him. HA HA HA, he was so happy. We had truly made his year! HA HA! Overall this past week was a dream come true for me. At one point throughout the week a man starting a new business called Spirit Domes sponsored us. We were to wear his hats at demos. His hats were all about witnessing. They are blunt excuses to witness and evangelize to people, with scripture verses on the bottom of the bill. That was another blessing of the week. After the demo week was up I spent quality time with the team. We discussed ways to improve the ministry of the team and how to touch hearts in the name of the Lord better through our demos. The week was super beneficial for me and showed me a lot on using my talents and gifts for the Lord.

Hours: Monday – Wednesday 1:00pm to 4:00pm
The rest of the week involved hanging out with people on free time.

Personal Reflection:

This week was amazing for me. I got to live out my dream. I skateboarded with a team in the name of the Lord! I used skateboarding, a strong point of mine, and helped others find God through it. I was able to speak in front of hundreds of people at the demo, spreading the gospel all the more. I felt like my skateboarding took my somewhere…finally! It was cool having so many people wanting to talk to me and get my autograph and picture! It was great getting free stuff from the team and all the great catered food. It was a blessing meeting so many people behind the scenes of the festival. This was truly one of the greatest weeks of my life. THANK YOU OH MY LORD!

Spiritual Reflection:

Spiritually it was another world. It was full of Christian artists and there was worship everywhere but the ministry I was involved with it was like we were also some of the celebrities at the festival. I was tempted probably more than I ever have been with pride, gloating over fame. My head was getting so full of compliments and girls all over wanted to talk and huge you and so much more. It was very tempting to simply act like I was the bomb but that is not what God has called me to be. I WILL NOT BE LIKE THAT! I hung out and talked with so many people. I did the best I could to help people see Gods glory shine through all this instead of me doing it all on my own. I felt like I was a great example for some of the other riders, especially the unbelievers Enemy Opposition has riding for them. Several of the riders wanted me to speak again really badly…It was great when one of the non-believing skaters asked me why I didn’t speak again allowing me to know that he thought it was awesome when I did. Overall I felt like God had shown me different ways to use my talents and gifts for Him to a full extent. God has truly blessed me by having me along with this team!

Youth Pastor Interview: Kevin Beers – Student Ministry Pastor for Middle school, High school, and college students of the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg.

1.) How long have you been in youth ministry for?

8 to 9 years

2.) When ministering to the opposite sex what do you find to be the most difficult part about it?

Setting up boundaries. Always protecting yourself. Never be alone with them.


3.) What is the hardest part about youth ministry?

Finding the balance between your family/life and youth ministry.

4.) What is the most fun part about youth ministry?

Hanging out with the kids. Being with the kids. Building relationships.

5.) What do you find is the best way to help teenagers grasp a message?

Leverage Culture…use it to point them to the truth.

6.) What is your greatest success?

Four leaders were called to the ministry through my ministry at one of my churches.

7.) What is your greatest failure?

When I first started in the ministry I didn’t know the power of delegating. I learned quickly to delegate authority not just responsibility.