Covenant News

Skateboard Ministry Doing Well at Peninsula Covenant

REDWOOD CITY, CA (August 21, 2001) - Skatechurch is alive and well at Peninsula Covenant Church (PCC). In fact, the ministry that started last December has grown into one of the church's most popular youth ministry options for neighborhood kids.

Skatechurch, directed by youth ministry resident Chris Probasco, has consistently averaged 70 kids per week using a semi-portable skate park located in the church parking lot. More than 500 students have come to Skatechurch for at least one session, according to Probasco. Some two-year-olds have skated, along with teens up to age 18. About 30 people have donated adult volunteer hours to the program.

On August 4, a skateboard team called Manna (located on the East Coast) provided a skateboard demonstration for a group of 200 people and shared the gospel message as part of an all-day event to evangelize the neighborhood. Probasco said many individuals made commitments to Christ and dozens of others signed up for the regular skating outreach program. He hopes to find a few more volunteers to help disciple those desiring deeper spiritual insights, but said, "It was an encouragement for those who already are believers to see a team of skaters who are Christians. It showed them that God can use skating in that way."

A medium-sized street course and a four-foot "half pipe" ramp are being used at Skatechurch. On Saturdays, children fifth grade and under meet in the morning and on Sundays the junior high and high school groups skate during the afternoon. Skaters ride for an hour before listening to a 30-minute gospel message. The final hour of time is also open for skaters.

Besides hosting Skatechurch at PCC, Probasco has tried to add a discipleship element for more committed Christians who enjoy skateboarding. He took 18 students to Portland, Oregon, to visit another church skateboard ministry and will take others to Truckee, California, for a more biblically oriented weekend of discipleship in late August.

In September, Probasco and others will head to Santa Cruz to skate and hear the testimonies of other Christian skaters at an outreach event. He hopes to find a permanent indoor skateboard facility in town later this fall before the rainy season hits Northern California.

Probasco, who is a native of Coronado, California, a suburb of San Diego, said that PCC has a form that releases the church from liability. Although a skateboard park may have more inherent dangers due to the nature of the sport, the community center's presence has allowed the facility to incorporate another sport more easily.

Skatechurch is just one of many sports activities occurring at PCC, which serves a total of 3,500 members of a community center on the church site. The community center runs a tennis tutoring program in the area, has an extensive aquatics program and swim school and operated a 10-week basketball league that involved 260 students.

A video that describes how to start a skatechurch ministry is available from Central Bible Church in Portland, Oregon. The church web site is www.skatechurch.net. For more information about Skatechurch at Peninsula Covenant Church, contact Probasco by telephone at 650-365-8094 or by email at chrisp@peninsulacovenant.com. The church's skateboard link is www.skatechurch.tv.

If you know of other skateboarding ministries at Covenant churches or Covenant-affiliated entities, email Covenant Communications at newsdesk@covchurch.org so that the information may be shared with others.

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