262 mile ride – Pics From the Ride

Yesterday morning, I received a very encouraging Bible verse from a friend before I started cycling, 1 Corinthians 9.23-26, verse 23 stuck out most to me, “I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”  (NLT)  This verse helped me to keep pedaling even when I didn’t want to anymore.  I knew that by riding my bicycle, money would be raised for Teen Challenge through Speed the Light.  This verse stuck in my head around mile 180 where my body felt like it was closing up shop for the day…I keep reminding myself that verse…Everything that I do, I do it to spread the Gospel!

One year ago to the day, I was running 12+ hours for Speed the Light and supporting missionaries to Cambodia, the Lovelace’s – over $5,000 was raised through the run.  I am so glad that God has placed a passion for supporting missionaries through Speed the Light inside of me and as long as I am on this Earth I am going to be doing whatever I can do give towards it and be apart of something so much greater than myself – helping missionaries have what they need to see lives changed & souls saved!

Some people, when they heard that I was still riding past the 200 mile mark asked, “Why are you still riding?!”  I felt like if God was giving me the strength to continue to ride, why wouldn’t I want to keep moving forward to share the testimony about how God strengthened me to do something I couldn’t do on my own.  The farthest I had ever rode before this was 100 miles – about 4 weeks ago.  God gave me supernatural strength to keep moving forward…I didn’t want to stop at 200 if He was giving me the strength to move forward.  I wanted God to receive all of the glory for what was taking place!  I remember calling my parents, (who by the way are some of my biggest supporters and encouragers in life, love you guys!) and telling them how I was feeling right around noon.  My dad said something that stuck with me while I was riding the rest of the day, “Steven, if God is giving you the ability to ride further for His glory…do not stop!  Keep on riding until you can’t ride anymore!”

You see, I greatly enjoy riding my bike in my free time, but I do not enjoy the thought of riding for 15 hours.  The thing that I do enjoy about this however is the outcome – money raised so that lives can be changed!  Teen Challenge works with at risk students who have had pasts involved with drug and alcohol abuse.  I know that through this ride, I am part of students coming clean in life and hearing about the Gospel message.  I may not be the person telling them but I am part of the process, and that is what matters!   I would gladly get on my bicycle again and ride as far as I could to see lives changed and money raised for Speed the Light!  Here are a few pictures from the day…

(Here is my buddy, Jason & Me riding inside of Realife just before 6am)

(Here is Rick, Dick & Myself before hitting the road out in Rogersville)

(Charlie, Myself & Bruce as we got ready to head out on a loop on the bike course)

(My Garmin showing me how many miles I had logged…hit 200!)

(Here are some of the riders who met me at Realife to crank out what was supposed to be the final 10 miles…turned into being miles 218-228)

(Me in front of Realife just before cranking out miles 228-262)

(My Garmin showing the final distance logged for the day – 262.5 miles in 15 hours & 5 min)

(Here I am minutes after 6pm just outside of Realife where I got back from cranking out the final miles with my buddy Gary)

These are just a few of the pictures from the day.  Medley’s sorry I don’t have any pictures that were taken on my camera with you – greatly appreciated you coming out to ride with me as well!  Wade, you were my main man with Charlie in organizing a lot of the details for the ride, wish I would have gotten a pic with you on my camera – THANK YOU for all of your help and support throughout the ride, you are truly a blessing my friend!  Diane, thanks so much for coming on out to see all of the riders at Realife, it was great seeing you, so appreciated your support!  Thanks again to all of the riders who came out and a special thanks to the students from 7eleven Life Group – loved riding with you guys!

So far, over $4,500 has been raised for this cause towards the $7,000 goal towards Speed the Light.  I know that there have been a few people that have mentioned they were going to be sending a check in the mail this week or giving online.  If you would like to give towards the goal of $7,000, click here to give online or mail a check to James River Assembly, 6100 N. 19^th St. Ozark, MO 65721.  Thank you for your support!

Steve

200 Mile Ride…More Than 200 for Speed the Light

The day finally arrived & was it ever a whirlwind of a day to say the least!  I barely slept at all last night, got about 3 ½ hours of sleep and then was up by 2.15am and getting ready to leave for Realife to start on the trainer at 3.23am.  I had an awesome set up – set up my laptop and watched a few sermons: Judah Smith, Carl Lentz, Elijah Waters on one side of the screen while at the same time having some previous years Ironman World Championships youtube video’s playing on the other side of the screen.  This kept me going for a few hours while I was clicking away the miles on the indoor trainer.

Throughout the day I had different riders join me, which made the riding very fun and kept the time going by fast.  Wade & Charlie did a great job of organizing a crew of about 8 riders throughout the main portion of the day.

The original goal was to ride 200 miles, get back to Realife at mile 190 and crank out the final 10 with my 7eleven Life Group students and other friends.  I could tell early in the day that I was going to surpass 200 miles before 3.30pm if I was able to have the strength to keep on going.  I was able to hit mile 200 and got some more miles in before the crew of students met at Realife.  As I was riding, I was thinking, God is really giving me the strength to keep going, I am going to try to hit 225 miles.  225 came and 225 went.  I then decided that I was going to finish the ride at 250 miles.  While I was riding, I thought to myself, why would I stop at 250 miles if I still have a little bit of energy in me?  I started thinking to myself, “if I truly want this to be all about God and bringing Him glory, don’t I want to give it my all until I am literally whipped out!?”  I then decided that I would go a few more miles.  I ended up finishing the ride at 6.28pm, for a total time of 15 hours & 5 minutes with 262 miles.  The only thing that I can say is that GOD STRENGTHENED ME and to Him be the glory!

I absolutely loved riding with the everyone…Jason, Wade, Rick, Charlie, Medley’s, Bruce, Bob, Cameron, Marcus, Todd, Cameron, Bennett, Tyler, Jon Thomas, Konner & Pastor Kurt.  It was so encouraging and I definitely wanted to share with each of them what I was doing and why I was doing it.  I loved being able to tell each of them about Speed the Light and Teen Challenge and why I was riding my bike.

Two verses in the Bible that I constantly have running through my head whenever I run or bike is, Philippians 4.13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.“  & Isaiah 40.31, “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  (NIV)  I truly believe that God continually was renewing my strength and helping me move forward towards the goal of riding 200 miles.  As I was riding, I couldn’t help but think to myself, I feel like my heavenly Father is proud as He is watching me as I ride my bike to raise money for Speed the Light.  God continually renewed my strength throughout the day – I don’t know exactly what is going on in your life as you are reading this blog, but I do know this, when we put our hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will renew us and give us what we need to continue to move forward.  Psalm 18.39 says, “You armed me with strength for battle…”  (NIV) – know that God is with you and giving what you need to continue to move forward as you live for Him and advance His Kingdom.

Tomorrow, I will post more pictures from the day.  I want to say thanks to those who committed to praying for the ride and all of the logistics as the day approached.  Thanks to the guys at Venture Expeditions for helping with website & other aspects of the ride, so appreciate you guys and believe in what you are doing!  I also want to say a special thanks those who rode during the day, your company while riding meant so much and helped me to keep moving forward.  Along with the riders, thank you to those who gave sacrificially towards the goal of $7,000 as we support Teen Challenge locations in Missouri – Kansas City, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau & Neosho through Speed the Light.  If you would like to give, you can give online by clicking here or you can give by mailing a check to James River Assembly – 6100 N. 19^th St. Ozark, MO 65721 and writing, “STL – Steve: 200 Mile Ride”.  Thank you so much for your support, check back tomorrow for more pictures from the day.  Have a blessed evening!

Steve

200 mile ride – My Life is Worth Nothing…UNLESS

Tomorrow is the day – 200 miles on my bicycle to raise money for Teen Challenge through Speed the Light.  For those living in Missouri, 200 miles would be like biking from north Springfield to St. Louis.  For those on the east coast, that would be like biking from New York City to south Boston.  For those living on the west coast, that would be like biking from Seattle to just past Portland.  200 miles is going to be a long time on the bike.  I have had many people ask me, why are you riding your bicycle for 200 miles?!  I love being able to answer this question…

Recently, I was talking with one of my friends and he asked me, “Steve, what will you remember as you look back on life?  When you are on your death bed, what thoughts will you have?  Will you look back and have good memories or will you have regrets that fill your past?”  I want to live in such a way as to having no regrets and knowing that I have done exactly what God has called me to do in life.  You see, my life exists for one reason, to tell people about the saving grace and the relationship that they can have with Jesus Christ.  Acts 20.24 sums it up best as Paul says, “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” (NLT)  That is what my life is all about – anyone that talks/hangs out with me or is around me on a regular basis know that I quote this or refer to it at least once a day.  I have come to the absolute realization that my life is worth absolutely nothing unless I do this one thing…tell others about Jesus.

I have the absolute honor to serve under great leadership & spiritual authority at James River Assembly.  My Senior Pastor, Pastor John Lindell, lives what he preaches & models what it looks like to live for Jesus – truly one of the best spiritual leaders I have ever been around!  My Youth Pastor, Pastor Scotty Gibbons, no joke this guy, he is a Man of God!  It near impossible to walk away from a conversation with them without feeling inspired or encouraged to step out and do something courageous for God’s Kingdom.  One thing that Pastor Scotty will often say is, “There is still time on the clock”, implying that there are still opportunities to go and tell people about Jesus!  While I still have breath inside of me, I know that I have one purpose and one purpose alone in this life – do whatever I can to live for Jesus and tell others about the relationship they can have with Jesus!

As I have mentioned, we are raising money for Speed the Light during this fall season – the easy thing to do would be to just give towards Speed the Light and say that I did my part – for those that are simply doing that, I am not down playing that at all.  But for me, I know that God has placed a passion for biking in my life for a specific reason…not just so that I can enjoy riding on my day off.  I believe God has placed a passion in my life for biking, running and other athletics for a reason, to honor, glorify and lead others to Him!  It is not just for my own pleasure – instead it is all about bringing my Savior pleasure! 

So I ask you this question: what will be running through your head when you are on your deathbed?  Someday, when I lay on mine, I want to look back and say, I did all that I could in my lifetime to lead people to Jesus.  So when people ask me that question, “Why are you riding your bike 200 miles?!” – I can unashamedly say, I am riding 200 miles so that students who enter the Teen Challenge program can have their life totally transformed when they hear about the love of Jesus.  There is a very high chance that I will never meet some of the students in the four Teen Challenge locations here on this Earth, but there is one thing that I know for sure; I will spend eternity with them someday in Heaven!  There is still time on the clock & I realize one simple thing – My life is worth nothing…UNLESS, I tell & do something to lead others to relationship with Jesus!  That is what my life is all about. 

Please be praying as tomorrow this time I will be on my bike into the late afternoon.  Specifically pray for safety during the ride with the riders, for the weather to be a nice 64 degrees with sun as well as no wind!  Your prayers are so appreciated!  If you would like to give towards the $7,000 goal towards Speed the Light as we support Teen Challenge, click here to give online or if you would like to mail in a check, click here – go to the top of the page where it says “200 mile ride – November 5th, 2011″.  For up to date updates during the ride, follow me on Twitter as I will be giving updates throughout the day.

200 mile ride – Doing What Seems IMPOSSIBLE

Last night, at Realife Student Ministries – James River Campus, our senior high youth pastor and one of my good friends, Nathan Teagarden, preached a timely word for our senior high & college students to hear out of the book of Nehemiah.  ALL things are possible with God!  You see, over the course of 11 weeks, are goal with God’s help at Realife Student Ministries is to raise over $100,000 for Speed the Light as we support four Teen Challenge locations (Kansas City, St. Louis, Neosho & Cape Girardeau) throughout Missouri.  If you sit back and think this through, that is IMPOSSIBLE…11 weeks, $100,000 for a bunch of students at a youth ministry!  I am so glad that I serve a God who doesn’t go by the world’s standards but instead shows us that through Him, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

For me, riding 200 miles in a day for me seems like something impossible!  That’s like 12-14 hours on a bicycle – now sit and think about that for a minute.  When was the last time that you did anything for 12-14 hours?!  I mean, sitting for 12 hours is a tough task, playing video games for 12 hours – your eyes will start popping out of their sockets, driving for 12 hours, even sleeping for 12 hours can be near impossible – not the case for those who can sleep like a bear!  So picture this, riding on a bicycle for 12+ hours!  I am not sure the last time that you saw a bicycle seat, they don’t exactly make a lazy boy bicycle seat.  I hope that this is painting a picture in your mind that this is no easy task…now let’s add into this scenario the hopeful outcome of this 12+ hour, 200 mile ride: raising over $7,000 for Teen Challenge through Speed the Light.  That seems like something that is impossible to do – $7,000…riding 200 miles in a day; I am so glad that I don’t serve a God who lives by the world’s standards and in the same way, I choose to say, “With God’s help, I am going to live faith filled and know that ALL things are possible with God!

Now let me bring my senior high Life Group into the mix of things that seem to be impossible.  The Life Group that I have the honor to lead is called 7eleven.  This group consists of a few leaders, Rebecca Lucas, Trey Carter & Mallory Sidwell.  Along with my great leaders, we have a lot of guys…and not one girl that would be consistent in attendance on a regular basis – this makes for some fun Life Groups!  The goal of this ride is that each student would ride the final 10 miles and that we crank out the finish of it together!  Here is the list of my fearless senior high guys:

Chris Whitlock           Jared Albright              Ken howard                   Blaz Barton

Josiah Klassen           Christian Skinner         Grant Hulbert               Corbin Medley

Brodey Cook               Konner Parsley             Trevor Smith      Jon Thomas Spence

Cameron Elmore       Christian Gammon      Tyler Waggoner           Silas Axtell

Together, we are going to finish this 200 mile ride out together along with other friends and leaders in the area.  Now let me tell you another thing that would, “seem impossible”.  As a Life Group, our goal is that during the 11 week, Speed the Light drive, we would raise over $10,000 as a group!  That would seem impossible, but once again, I choose not to live by what this world says can and cannot happen, instead, I put my faith in God and know that ALL things are possible through Him!

Pastor Nathan had one point that stuck out to me from the sermon last night: Nehemiah took steps of courage.  He didn’t just wait for something to happen with the wall being built – he prayed, then he took action steps.  I LOVE Speed the Light, but if I were to just pray, “God, help us as a student ministry to give $100,000”, I wouldn’t be doing my part.  Instead, I am choosing to live like Nehemiah…pray & have actions steps of courage!  For me, the actions steps in this scenario is getting on my bicycle and riding 200 miles.  My prayer for you is that you would get involved in something that is so much greater than yourself – whether that is being part of the final 10 miles of this ride if you are in the Springfield area and supporting the goal of $7,000 raised for Speed the Light or doing something else that takes the courage and action that Nehemiah had.  Decide to do something to impact God’s Kingdom, don’t just live the easy life…pray & take steps action with courage fueling you forward.

If you would like information on how you can ride the final 10 miles of the 200, email me at steve.svoboda@jamesriver.org.  If you would like to give: click here to give online or if you would like to mail  in a check, click here.

For up to date status reports during the 200 mile ride on Saturday, follow me on Twitter.

200 mile ride – Teen Challenge…The Cross & the Switchblade

A few months ago, I read the book, The Cross & the Switchblade, by Rev. David Wilkerson.   The book shares the story of how Teen Challenge was started in Brooklyn, New York in 1958.  During this time, Rev. Wilkerson was a preacher in eastern Pennsylvania – one afternoon, he read an article in LIFE magazine about seven teenage boys from New York City who were on trial for murder.  The teen boys were on trial for beating a young man to death.  After reading this story, Rev. Wilkerson felt a desire in his heart to go to New York City to meet these boys during their trial.  I won’t give away the rest of the story but let’s just say, the rest is history as Teen Challenge developed soon after in New York City.

Today, more than 50 years later, Teen Challenge is still up and running with over 200 locations in the United States and another 150 in other countries around the world.  Teen Challenge offers a 12-18 month residential program for men, women, boys & girls to overcome life-controlling drug & alcohol issues.

A few years back, when I was a college student at North Central University, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I had a friend who was in the year long program that I would visit at Teen Challenge regularly at the TC location in Minneapolis.  Each time that I would visit him, He would tell me stories of what God was doing in his life and the lives of the other guys that were in the program with him.  You see, at Teen Challenge, you don’t just cut yourself off of drug & alcohol use, you are in an intensified discipleship program that helps you grow and understand who God is and the plan that He has for your life.  This is what makes Teen Challenge such an amazing program!  Over the years, it has been awesome to meet people who have gone through the TC program and to hear the testimony of what God has done in their life.  Teen Challenge changes people and gives them a new direction in life – God’s direction for them.

This fall, the students of Realife Student Ministries will be raising & giving $100,000 to Speed the Light as we support four Teen Challenge locations throughout the state of Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, Neosho & Cape Girardeau).  Through this bike ride, the goal is over $7,000 for Speed the Light as we support these Teen Challenge locations.  I know that as a result of this bike ride, there will be many student’s over the years that come to know Jesus and the hope and future that they can have in Him.  As I ride, I will be thinking about the many lives that will be changed as a result of a simple bike ride.   If you would like to give towards this ride, click here to give online or you can send a check by clicking here to James River Assembly.

200 mile ride – Why I LOVE Speed the Light

I LOVE SPEED THE LIGHT!  Speed the Light (STL) is all about souls saved and lives changed.  Speed the Light began in 1944 by Ralph W. Harris – over the next 60+ years, over $250 million has been raised for STL.  One of the main functions of STL is to help provide transportation and communications equipment to missionaries so that they can speed the gospel message to people all over the world.  Throughout its existence, STL has helped missionaries and supported missions work in over 180 countries around the world.

I remember when I was in high school and God started to give me a passion for supporting missionaries through Speed the Light.  My youth pastors, Jeremy Chapman & Steve Tripp, gave us the opportunity at our student ministry to be part of something bigger than ourselves and give to STL – see souls saved & lives changed.  At first, I decided I was going to give a dollar each week and then whatever change I found throughout the week – at the time, this was a BIG deal to give that much money!  Over the course of time, I decided $1 wasn’t enough…I started giving a whopping $2!!!

It wasn’t until I went on my 1^st mission’s trip that God really began to stir up a deeper passion for missions in my heart.  While I was interning at First Assembly of God in my hometown, Waukesha, Wisconsin under Steve Tripp, I went to Guadalajara, Mexico and God opened my eyes to see exactly what my money each week and change had been going to do.  We did kids programs with songs and handed out candy followed by the Gospel message being preached.  The best part about this was that the sound systems that we used at each of the spots where we ministered was as a result of Speed the Light money – talk about a moment where God opened my eyes to see the great impact that STL has and how money given to STL truly does, speed the Gospel message around the world!

(Me, Larry Liebe (Wisconsin District Superintendent, Steve Tripp (Wisconsin DYD)

  (Hanging out with some of the kids before one of the services)

The following summer, while interning under Jon Brown at Kenosha First Assembly is Kenosha, Wisconsin, I was able to go on my 2^nd mission’s trip to Vienna, Austria.  In Vienna, I was able to help build a church in the city – this wasn’t your ordinary church though, this church currently had 8 weekend services with all 8 in a different language – they were preparing to add 2 more services in different languages!

   (Dave Paelli, Jon Brown (Youth Pastor of H2O, Me outside our work zone)

That fall, at Oak Hills Church in Eagan, MN serving under Jeff Wendt, we had something called the, “Penny Wars”.  I remember one of the nights following Fusion Inc., I went back to North Central University and felt like the goal for my small group, The Pizza Crew, was to raise over $500 in pennies for STL.  That fall, The Pizza Crew, a small group of freshman and sophomore guys raised over $700 in pennies!

  (With some of the students and leaders of The Pizza Crew with all of our pennies)

The next summer, I was able to go on my first mission’s trip in the states – Chicago, Illinois.  I will never forget this trip!  We did street evangelism and during one of the nights while serving at the Salvation Army, I was able to pray with a man who accepted Jesus that very night – my birthday.  Talk about an awesome birthday!

The next summer, I was able to go on a mission’s trip to Roca Blanca, Mexico as we put on services for local children – one of the services, I was able to give a Gospel presentation where children responded to the Gospel message and came to know Jesus.

  (Children responding to the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord of their life)

The bits and pieces from each of these trips do not do justice to what God has done in my heart as STL has become a great passion of mine.  Today, my passion for STL has caused me to look back on my $2 that I used to give to STL and say, “God, I am so glad that I started to give to STL but am so thankful for the opportunity to give more to advance your Kingdom!”  The reason I am riding 200 miles is not because I enjoy riding my bicycle that much, it is because I have seen firsthand what STL does and that has changed me forever.  Through this ride, the goal is over $7,000 raised for Speed the Light.  Because I LOVE Speed the Light, I cannot just sit back and do nothing at all – that is why I am riding my bike!

If you would like to give towards this bike ride, click here to give online or to send a check, check out, “200 mile ride – November 5^th, 2011” on the top right hand side of this page under Steve Svoboda’s Blog.

200 mile ride – This Is What It’s All About

Riding 200 miles will be no easy task, but there is something that will keep me moving forward while I ride – the simple fact that I know that thousands of dollars are being raised through Speed The Light for students who are in Teen Challenge.

I absolutely love the simple things in life! For those that know me best, they know these are some of the things that I really enjoy: Haribo gummy bears, 7eleven Slurpees, Jucy Lucy Burgers from Matts & honeydew bubble tea from Teagarden in Minneapolis, going to food places that have been on Travel Channel, watching sports (Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas Jayhawks), making waffles, road trips & traveling, staying active through sports and last but definitely not least, my amazing family – no joke, they are the best a guy could ask for! As much as I love these simple things in life, there is something that I love so much more…

Yesterday in the early afternoon, I flew into Kansas City, Missouri after spending a very short time in Minneapolis visiting my family. One of benefits of being in Kansas City is that they have some of the best food I have ever eaten – I am a huge fan of BBQ and KC has some of the best I have ever had! Before I hit the road, I wanted to stop by one of the KC spots, Jack Stack. As I was walking through the Plaza, I came to the corner of Jack Stack where there was a man & woman sitting outside on the ground. He asked if I had any money, I asked him if he was hungry. I told him to come on in and that I would get him some food, they jumped to their feet and followed me in as I placed a take out order for us. Over the course of the next 15 minutes as we were waiting for our food, I was able to talk with Mike & his wife Tina. I came to find out that they were homeless and had been living in KC for just a few months. I asked how they ended up getting to KC, if they had many friends in the area, if they had families “back home”, where they stayed, etc. During the conversation, Tina just kept smiling and saying thanks for talking and for lunch – tears began to fill her eyes. You see, Mike and Tina had been on the street for just a few months time but you could definitely tell from just a few minutes of talking with them, they were hurting, they were in need of someone to just sit and talk with them. Our food came and I didn’t feel like I just wanted to leave and hit the road for Springfield just quite yet. I brought our BBQ, (beef brisket, which by the way, was amazing!!!) take out order outside and we sat on the curb and started to eat. Before leaving, I wanted to say something specific to them. “Mike & Tina, it has been my pleasure to hang out and eat some dinner with you guys this afternoon. I want to ask you one question before we split ways. Do you know where you are going to spend eternity after life here on this earth? Over the next 10 minutes, I began to tell them about Jesus and the love that He has for me, for them, for everyone. I then asked them, “Mike, Tina, would you like to invite Jesus to come into your life – to take away the sin that separates us from God so that you can have relationship with Jesus?” They both said, I want to know Jesus, I want to know that I will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. Something awesome happened then, right there on the Plaza in front of Jack Stack BBQ I led them in a simple prayer as they invited Jesus to come into their life. THAT IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT!

As much as I love the simple things in life, even more than that, I love being able to tell people about Jesus and lead them to relationship with Him! I love being able to further advance God’s Kingdom! THAT IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT!

THAT IS WHAT THIS BIKE RIDE IS ALL ABOUT – raising money, goal of $7,000, for Teen Challenge through Speed The Light so that students who come into their program can come to know about the love of Jesus Christ. THAT IS WHAT THIS BIKE RIDE IS ALL ABOUT.

For information on how you can be part & give towards the 200 mile ride, check out, “My 200 mile bike ride – November 5th, 2011” on the top of this page.

200 mile ride – 1 week out

One week from today, I will be in the middle of a 200 mile bike ride to raise money for Teen Challenge through Speed The Light.

Before I fill you in on more details about the ride, let me share with you how this all came about. I have the honor and privilege of being a student ministries pastor at Realife Student Ministries at James River Assembly in Ozark & Springfield, Missouri. A few weeks back, at Realife, we set out to raise $100,000 – in just 11 weeks – to help four Teen Challenge locations, through Speed The Light, throughout the state of Missouri purchase vehicles to continue to do the work that God has called them to – change and transform the lives of at risk students who come into their program.

Starting at 3am, next Saturday morning, the 5th, I will start riding with my bike on my indoor before the sun comes up. Once the sun comes up a few hours later, I will take my bike off the trainer and hit the road until I hit mile 190. At that point, I will arrive back at Realife to meet up with my senior high Life Group – 7eleven – from Nixa, as well as other friends from southern Missouri to ride the final 10 miles together. I cannot wait to see what it will be like to have my students crank out the final 10 miles of this ride together, it will be my favorite Life Group memory to date! Along with all of my 7eleven students, to have friends along as well, it will be something special!

The goal of this ride is to raise over $7,000 for Speed The Light as we help support Teen Challenge. Each rider who participates has a goal of giving/raising $250 towards the $7,000 goal. We are left with some powerful words from Jesus in Mark 16.15, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” Through this ride, “all of the world”, as it states in that verse is four different locations throughout the Missouri area – students that have never heard the Gospel message will have the opportunity to let it sink into their life at Teen Challenge and change them forever. I am believing that with God’s help, this is going to be a memorable day that as we look back we say, “Wow, look at what God did through a simple bike ride!”

If you would like information on how you can give, check out “My 200 mile bike ride – November 5th, 2011″ page.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support!  Keep checking back daily as I will continue to blog about the ride throughout this week.  God Bless!

200 miles by bike

I am starting to get some higher mileage rides as I continue to get closer to the 200 mile ride.  Right now, I am in the process of finding different companies that would be willing to be sponsors and donate towards the ride and Speed The Light.  I am excited for the opportunity to raise money for missionaries once again like last year through the run.  In the upcoming weeks and months, stay tuned for more in depth details in how you can be part of the ride.

Israel Holy Lands (final part)

It has taken a few days to get the final part of the blog up…wasn’t able to get any internet those last few days in Jerusalem.   I got back to the States yesterday after traveling for just over 33 hours, so glad to have been done traveling!

So the final big surprise that I had mentioned was that I was able to lead Communion at the Garden Tomb for the entire group.  It was an amazing opportunity to be able to lead Communion there.  The trip had so many highlights from the fav spots we visited: Sea of Galilee, Gethsemane & the Garden Tomb.  Then being able to preach on the Sea of Galilee in a boat, Baptize 8 people from our group in the Jordan River and then lead Communion for our group on the final day of the tour…AMAZING opportunities!!!

Below are a lot of pictures from the trip that I thought you may enjoy….

This picture above is from Gethsemane.

Grenell got a picture of me praying at the Wailing Wall…we ended up going back at night.  It was amazing to see the devotion of the people that go and pray there.  Kids as low as 5 to 7 year olds were praying, it was quite a sight to see how devoted they were to praying.

This is Grenell, aka…General, and Me, for those of you who don’t know Jeff…he is a professor at North Central University.  He has been a guy who has had a huge impact on my life and where I am at, love this guy!

This is a picture of the empty tomb, Jesus has RISEN!!!

This is me right after I led Communion…I didn’t just read out of 1 Corinthians.  I read a short prophesy from Isaiah, a few verses from the birth of Jesus, a few verses from Jesus on the cross, a few verses from Jesus appearing to his disciples after rising, a few verses from the beginning of Acts when Jesus ascends to Heaven, a few verses from 1 Cor. 15 about the Resurrection being real.  Then I shared the Gospel and led the group in the Lords Supper.  It was an amazing opportunity, something I will never forget!

   

The next 2 pics were Mark and Me running through Jerusalem…the runs in Israel were way better than any I have ever been on before!  Running along the Sea of Galilee, Dead Sea and through Jerusalem….WOW, that was fun!

This is Jeff passing his Bible on to me.  This is something that he does every 2 years…writes throughout it during those years and then gives it away.  It is something that since hearing him tell me he did that I have given a handful of Bibles away to students as well…something I will continue to do throughout ministry!  This Bible is something I will definitely cherish as I read his notes whenever I read out of it.

     

The best part about the long trip back was having a short layover in Minneapolis and being able to see my family!  When my parents flew to Springfield last year, I had a sign for them that said SVOBODA on it and was holding it outside.  Every time that I fly back to Milwaukee or Minneapolis, they are always holding the SVOBODA sign.  During the short layover, we got some food…nothing like Jucy Lucy’s & TeaGarden bubble tea!  Here is a pic of Bill, Mike & Me waiting for our bubble tea drinks to be made, they were delicious as always!  It was great to have a layover in Minneapolis and see my family for a few hours, so great that Mom & Dad came to see me during the short layover!

Overall, this was such a great trip.  As I look back onto it now, words really cannot describe how amazing this trip truly was.  I was so blessed to have been able to be on the trip, learn more about the Bible and where Jesus ministered, hang with Jeff, meet an amazing Missionary to Montenegro-Mark and then have some of the opportunities to meet and minister to different people during the trip!  One of the pastors that was along on this trip was joking and said, “Do you realize how lucky you are…to have been able to preach on the Sea of Galilee, Baptize people in the Jordan River, lead Communion at the Garden Tomb…the only thing left is to crucify you!”  He was joking around but honestly, if I were to even have had just one of those opportunities I was given, it would have been amazing…let alone 3!!!  I am excited for how this trip will shape and form me for the rest of my years in ministry and building & advancing God’s Kingdom!

For those of you who are reading this, I will finish this post & encourage you with the same thing that my professor told me in my Bible Study Methods class my 1st semester of my 2nd year at North Central University, “If you ever get a chance to go to the Holy Lands, it will totally revolutionize the way you read and study the Bible.”