Extreme Sports Missions

KSBJ Announces ESM "Ministry Spotlight"

KSBJ Announces ESM as the "Ministry Spotlight" for the September 23rd Mercy Me - Coming Up To Breathe Tour at the Berry Center in Cypress Texas. Wow!
Please pray for and support this opportunity to build the ministry.

Click Here For Info & Tickets!

18 Hrs of Fruita

Congratulations to Team X4J Men and Team X4J CoEd for excellent finishes in the 18 Hrs of Fruita Mountain Bike Race. We would also like to say a special Thank You to Canyon View Vineyard Church for all the supplies and food.  Several hundred sandwiches were served.  Josh and Chris worked on countless bikes.  Many people came to have their bike prayed for and received a free t-shirt. You can check out the Canyon View Vineyard Church website at http://www.gjvineyard.org/.  The Lord bless you!

Chevron Houston Marathon - Jan. 2006

Congratulations to Bobby Berryman for running the Chevron Houston Marathon finishing 324th in his division!

The Walburg Classic Road Race

Congratulations to Branden Wolfe for finishing 9^th place in The Walburg Classic Road Race.  We are so proud of you! 

December 2005 - On His Wheel

An Invitation To My Birthday Party

As you know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Each year a celebration is held in my honor, and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time many people shop for gifts. In every part of the world, radio announcements, TV commercials, and people talk about my birthday. It is nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me.

The celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first, people seemed to understand and be thankful for all that I did for them. However, today no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they do not know the meaning of the celebration. Last year a great party was held in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts, and chocolates. The decorations were exquisite, and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, I wasn't invited. I was the guest of honor, and they didn't remember to send me an invitation? The party was for me, but when MY day came I was left outside. They closed the door in my face. I wanted to be with them and share their table. I was not surprised by their reaction.

Since I was not invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise. I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; some were drunk. Some were telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a great time. To top it all, a big, fat man, who was dressed in red and wore a long, white beard, entered the room, yelling, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” He sat on the sofa. All the children ran to him, saying, “Santa Claus, Santa Claus”, as if the party were in his honor! At midnight the people began to hug each other. I extended my arms, waiting for someone to hug me. But, no one did. Suddenly, they began to exchange gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When the gifts had been opened, I looked to see if there was one for me. There was no gift for me. I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left.

Every year it gets worse. People only remember parties and gifts, and nobody remembers me. I would like you to allow me to enter your life this Christmas. I would like you to recognize the fact that two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you on the cross, to save you. Today, I want you to believe this with all your heart. Soon I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party. I'm still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations, and there is an invitation for you. If you want to attend, I will make a reservation for you and write your name in golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be invited to the party. Those who don't answer the invitation will be left outside. Do you know how you can answer this invitation? It is by accepting Me, Jesus, as your Lord and Savior. I'll be waiting for you to attend my party.

See you soon. I love you!!
JESUS

Author Unknown

Congratulations to Bobby Berryman!

Congratulations to Bobby Berryman for running and finishing the Chicago Marathon!  You did great, Bobby!  "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)."

My Mountain Biking Trip to Serbia - by Daniel Black

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) This summer I had an opportunity to be a part of a mission called Krosstrekkers which was started by Mr. Ben Hannah and is based in Nis, Serbia.  By God’s grace and generous support from Extreme Sports Missions and BRIDGES, I lived in Nis with four guys for about a month and a half. Our goal was to pray for and share the gospel with those in the city and the surrounding villages, using our mountain bikes as transportation.  During this trip, I learned the truth found in Proverbs 3.

Serbia (along with Montenegro) is all that remains of the former Yugoslavia. Like most European countries, it has a complicated history. Having just emerged from communism, Serbia is still weak economically, but the hospitality that we were shown was incredible. The Serbian culture has the potential to drive a “purpose-driven” American insane, because everything is done with a slow, laid back attitude.  Meals and other social events are times that people get together to talk for hours. Often the host would feed us far beyond what they could afford, and gift giving is culturally expected but extremely appreciated.

In many areas of Serbia, people consider themselves to be a part of the Orthodox Church, which is founded on Biblical truth, but puts more emphasis on traditions, saint appreciations, and rituals which distract from the truth about Jesus Christ. Many Serbs accept the Orthodox religion, because “to be Serbian is to be Orthodox”. However, drugs, adultery, pornography, and all other sins are extremely widespread. The youth of Serbia have been influenced by American television, music, and movies. So it was not difficult to talk to the people; but to many, the idea of following Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible was new and peculiar. Because anyone not a part of the Orthodox Church is considered to belong to a sect or cult, we were watched carefully, and we put special emphasis on people reading the Bible themselves, to see if what we spoke was the truth.

The original plan for the trip was to mountain bike through the country using a local urban sporting club as a guide.  We had planned to build evangelism contacts through the club, and ride to local towns and villages to pray and give out tapes, tracts, and Serbian Bibles. James, a journeyman serving in Serbia for the next two years (please pray for him), is permitted to live in the country through his connection with the local sporting club and had just arrived a few weeks before the rest of us. We prayed that God would show us where He could use us in Serbia, and the result was a series of God orchestrated events. One of the guys in our group, Dave, became sick and could not join us on the first trip out; so, after praying he felt lead to hang out with Igor, a local guy we had met. Igor became a good friend, and the Lord gave us several opportunities to share Christ and our testimonies with him. 

On a later trip, a sports camp let us spend the night on some of their empty property.  We connected with some of the kids staying at the camp for karate training, and the next morning they joined us for our “team time” worship service.  James stood up, and starting with the sin of Adam and Eve, he shared the gospel with the kids using a translator.  We gave the kids Serbian Bibles, along with our testimony cards and email addresses.  It is amazing how God worked situations out better than we had planned, even when I personally had a lack of faith and trust.

As the trip progressed, we ended up biking less than we had planned because we realized one of our greatest opportunities was at a basketball court and local hang out area down the street from James’ apartment.  It was a little court area surrounded on all sides by apartments, so the kids call it the “Bunker”. It served as a gathering place for kids and other guys our age from the surrounding apartments, and we spent several nights and afternoons there talking with people and sharing the gospel. While witnessing, spiritual warfare came in many different forms. Whenever we would try to change the subject to Jesus, distractions would come from every direction.  We tried to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and be patient and ready to face the distractions, and often the person we were talking to would be so interested in the conversation that they would ignore the runaway basketball or pretty girls that would crash in to interrupt. The kids would help us with our Serbian and ask us all kinds of questions, and through many different tools and opportunities, we shared the gospel with them.

During our time in Serbia, we didn’t see anyone come to know Christ; but we planted a lot of seeds, and learned much about the people.  God answered many prayers while we were in Serbia. One had to do with a guy named Ivan who works at the bike shop where we got our bikes to travel around the country. We invited him to our apartment for a movie night and found out that he is a Christian and had come to know Christ through reading a New Testament given to him by his mother.  One Sunday, Ivan took us to a special monastery where the New Testament is read every week. James had prayed for a Christian friend to have after the rest of the group returned to the United States. Ivan is the answer to that prayer, as he and James continue to work together with the people in Nis.

I praise God for His mighty protection over me during the trip, often despite my own mistakes.  He protected me when I lost my passport and plane ticket, four to five days before I was scheduled to return to the U.S. God showed me grace and mercy as the officer at the airport decided not to arrest me but instead allowed me to leave the country without the required exit visa stamp. Often I was too dense to even realize the severity of these mistakes, but through God’s grace, I was protected from the repercussions of the loss of my documents. 

I want to thank Extreme Sports Missions for being so generous and willing to help support the trip, and I thank Craig and Jean, especially, for the hospitality and love that they showed Brent and me this summer. God gets all the praise and glory for the fruit that grows from our work in Serbia. "My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever." (Psalm 145:21) Amen!

September 2005 - On His Wheel

Flat Tires

I have a flat tire on my mountain bike. In fact, I have had three flat tires this month. I don’t know how they happened. Everything seemed fine when I left the bike in the garage after my ride. However, the next time I went out to ride, the tire was flat. When my husband changed the tire, he found a thorn.

Thorns. We all have them. Thorns are called sin. Sin hurts. Sin pokes a hole in our relationship with God. Sin pokes a hole in our relationships with friends and family. If the thorn is left unattended, soon all the spiritual air leaks out of us. Then, we are deflated. How can we fix the leak? First, if you have never asked Jesus into your heart, I encourage you to do so now. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13 goes on to tell us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” If you have already accepted Jesus as your personal Savior but are entangled in any sin, read 1 John 1:9. It says, “If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Better news than that can not be found. Pray, read God’s word, and let Him fill you up.

(Credit for the concept of this devotion goes to Bob Clifford, a Pastor at Canyon View Vineyard Church, Grand Junction, Colorado.)

Branden Wolfe won the Randy Young Award

Congratulations to Branden Wolfe for winning the Randy Young award.  The award was given by the Chain Gang Ride, a 380 mile ride from Houston to Austin.  The history of the Randy Young award is as follows.  The award is named for Randy Young, county judge of Brady.  Several years ago there was a teenager who rode the Chain Gang Ride.  The teen was struggling to complete the ride.  Randy took it upon himself to push the teen to finish the ride.  Randy would put his hand on the teen's back and push him up the hills.  Randy was determined to help this teen finish the ride.  So the award is given to riders who show determination and will to continue moving forward no matter what pain they experience.  We at ESM are so proud of Branden Wolfe for winning this award!  Congratulations Branden!

We are proud of You,

Team X4j

Chain Gang Ride

Congratulations to Branden Wolfe for completing the Chain Gang Ride.  Branden won the youngest rider award!  Extreme Sports Missions received Honorable Mention for excellent service provided to the Chain Gang Ride as a rookie SAG team.  Congratulations to Team X4J and all our volunteers!  The Lord bless you all.