I was invited to Cody, WY (Yellowstone) for an outreach at the local skateboard park. The church that brought me out wanted to really reach out to the  skate community and encourage the congregation of 50 people (mostly retired folks) to go out and serve and love these skaters (Imagine that….. seriously?). The opposition was all around this small church. It began when the Pastor made a proposal to the city in having me out and that the guy they were booking (Me) would be sharing the good news of Jesus. The way it was told to me by the Pastor was the community leaders were behind the event until they heard that the purpose for this was full on outreach, not positive entertainment.

To say the least this little church body had to go through all kinds of red tape from rental fees to insurance and strange additional stipulations.

God came through and provided all their needs.

The day finally came and it was an all day battle. I showed up @ 10:30am and the small church was already there in full force, making hot dogs and passing out cold drinks to the skaters. This church even put on a contest that was really well organized. The lead Pastor did all kinds of research. About 20 skaters competed.  We had over 100 in attendance, I even MC’d the 3 hour contest, which God used to build the bridge with the skaters for me to share the gospel that night at 7pm.  I felt that God put it on my heart not to preach (speak) on the microphone but to give skaters the choice to either listen to me share Jesus or they were free to skate the park. The initial plan was to shut everything down and that skaters and onlookers were suppose to sit and listen…… yeah right…

I trusted God and everyone sat there as I skated and shared the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ. When it came time for the invitation to receive Christ, I was led not to encourage bowing heads and closing eyes. This was going to be a public confession for Jesus in front of everybody unashamed! A lot of people raised their hands to pray and receive Jesus, from little kids to grandparents. Even a few  of the leaders were challenged. I didn’t count the hands and I am glad because this is for God’s glory.
It was one of the most amazing outreaches I have been apart of in all my years doing this. I am so thankful that God allows my eyes to see His divine work.

Glory to the Living God!
Tim B.

This is a photo that I shot later in the day during the break from the contest. It just shows how big this skatepark is and how awesome it was to be a flatland skater and still capture the attention of the local rippers.