This past Wed. night I had an awesome ministry experience with the kids in our youth group. My friend Mark is the High School youth pastor, he invited me to come hang out with the elderly in a nursing home which is something the youth group does once a month for outreach in our community. I really got stoked on how the kids in our youth group were serving with such joyful hearts. This girl in our group celebrated her 16th birthday with us by playing hanging out with people who have a lot of disabilities and needs. It is exciting to see teenagers serve God like this.

This made me think about when we recognize the need and the opportunity to serve God and others, more than likely we’ll see a huge amount of integrity and compassion toward that action. I thought to myself, if I didn’t have the platform as a Pro Skateboarder/ Minister traveling full time doing skateboard demos and sharing Jesus, how passionate and committed would I be if I didn’t have the platform or credentials that I feel are important to reaching others? Would I have even seen the call to action and the need for such a ministry, or would I just hide my light for Jesus underneath a lampshade of confusion? I personally didn’t have a platform with these elderly folks but still God prompted me to step out. I saw such a need to love and serve and share Jesus. These teenagers are given the chance to step out of planning for futures, identity and heavy school work, and focus their hearts on people who have a great need for Jesus. I am so thankful that my friend Mark doesn’t just talk to the kids about Jesus but he helps them to recognize the call for them to be more like Jesus.