Skate Conference, Boneyard Skatepark, Calvary Chapel Siegen, Germany.
22 Skaters, from 6+ different countries, all in one place to network, discuss and encourage throughout our various skate ministries across Europe.
3 individuals from Christian Skaters UK, Myself (Joe Williams), Justin Willis and Peter Pickford recently flew out to the boneyard skatepark in Siegen, Germany to attend the Christian Skate Conference. There were 22+ individuals based across, UK, Germany and Austria. The conference had a lot of different purposes but all were linked to an overarching passion to discuss and encourage in our varying skate ministries.
Over the 2 days of the conference we heard from Elisha Stegner from Calling All Skaters in Barcelona and Nathaniel Muench who’s originally from Wisconsin but currently based in Nuremberg. Both spoke into their lives over the two days and also led conversations around what ministry looks like for us, what we can achieve as a collective network and where do we go from here. We had time to breakout on an individual basis to discuss and pray at a more personal level on our different ministries and key areas for prayer. We also heard from Micha Stucher on the work that ACTS do across the globe and the huge network at our disposal.
Andreas, a staff member of Calvary Chapel Siegen, spoke into the history behind the skatepark and the connection with the Calvary Chapel Siegen. There had been some American’s Christian skaters who stayed in Siegen over 4 years ago who had the vision for the park. It was a real community project and the park was built with the community all working together towards it. However, in the past year the future of the park has been up for discussion due to a need for an individual to commit fully to the park and the community through skateboarding. We were introduced to Aquila, who had just arrived from Hawaii, who was going to step into the role of driving the mission forward for the skatepark. Please keep Aquila, Sonia, Falk and all of the team in Siegen in your prayers. It is such an awesome venue with huge potential with so much of god’s work still to be done.
There were some key takeaways of the conference for me. As a collective we wanted to continue to keep in touch as a group, to help grow, encourage and support each other across the continent. Personally, I took away a real focus on the importance of building solid foundations with community’s and individuals and that it is important to remember investing into the lives of people is not an instant reward. It is a process and a process that must been done through Jesus. A massive thanks to Nathaniel, Elisha, Timothee and all involved with running the conference. A fantastic reminder of the amazing passion for Christ across Europe. Joe Williams
check out the global ministry map to connect with other christians in europe/ wolrdwide.
