Discipleship | a 5-Day Skate Church Movement Devotionalنموونە

doing life together

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

The statement “doing life together” is such a skater’s way of living. I can remember my younger years, how skateboarding consumed me. I only wanted to hang out at my local park, and I looked up to the older skaters learning from their style and finesse. You could even say I was getting discipled in the skate world. In the skate community, it doesn’t matter your age, gender, or skill level. It doesn’t matter what you look like or how you dress. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or if you speak the same language. The culture speaks volumes of encouragement.

With that being said, how are we, as Christians, called to do life alongside the community and represent Jesus? If we look at Jesus and the disciples, they were out in the streets for most of their ministry, and the religious leaders at the time weren’t too stoked on it. Jesus spoke with the prostitutes, ate with the tax collectors, told radical parables to unbelievers, and healed the sick. He was with the people doing life, yet He was continually questioned by the Pharisees about whether what He was doing was right.

As Christian skaters, we are called to go out into the culture of skating and preach the Gospel, building up disciples in the skate communities around us. What if it looks a little different than your typical church outreach? The Church’s outreach methods are a bit different from how Christian skateboarders do outreach and ministry, but both methods are being used with the same drive and purpose: to display Jesus’ love for sinners. We obviously can’t sugarcoat the Gospel, but we can be real and intentional with other skaters when it comes to walking it out in life. We need to be out in the streets beside them and bring the encouragement that can only come from the Holy Spirit. By doing so, it creates such a solid foundation to represent Jesus in the way that is unique to you as an individual, and others will see and notice it, just like it says in Matthew 5:14-16. If skaters aren’t willing to go to church, we should be bringing the church to them! Remember: Jesus didn’t gather around people and say, “I’M GOD, REPENT NOW!” He told parables to those who needed to hear them and were willing to listen. He spoke with love and compassion, and told stories that resonated with sinners.

Represent Jesus in the skate community, but know you don’t have to force Jesus into the skate community. If you are following in His footsteps, His light will clearly shine through you and all will notice. It’s okay if it takes time and trust to be able to have deep, genuine conversations. Remember, you’re a pioneer. You’re a seed planter. You can’t force a tree to sprout up and be healthy. It takes time, effort, and life. So does sharing the Gospel. You show them who Jesus is, and they have the choice to seek him. You’re bringing spiritual safety to skateboarders by simply doing life together.

pushing further

1. Do you believe that God is living beside you offering you love and grace?
2. Are you willing to share that with someone?

Want more content like this? We adapted this Plan from a 52-week Skate Church Movement Devotional Book. Get your book at skatechurchmovement.com.