There’s a moment when the skateborder seems to defy gravity and rises above the edge of the concrete basin and—just for that one moment—we can see the underside of the skateboard: Band names, art deco designs, urban icon graphics, and occasionally a cross.

But are the crosses we see on athletes, pop stars, and models for decoration or evangelism?

For too many, the cross has become a fashion accessory, an image with little meaning other than a way to display wealth.

But for those who roll with the King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, the cross on the bottom of their boards is a way of life.

Skateboarding has surpassed baseball as the most popular youth activity, according to the KKSM Web site (www.kksm.org). That translates into millions upon millions of teenage skateboarders worldwide—with only a small percentage who’ll ever step foot in a church. Enter KKSM. This organization uses high-impact skateboard demonstrations to get a crowd’s attention...then brings home the message of Jesus Christ in a way only skateboarders can relate to.

Founded in 2000, KKSM members went into the streets and skate parks of Long Beach, California, with a heart to reach what they saw as a lost generation of youth. Darren Wells planted the ministry and started a line of Christ-themed skateboard swag called Reliance Skateboards. Two years ago Wells left KKSM to focus his talents on Reliance. That’s when Rick Weigele, a fireman of 23 years, gave up dousing infernos to begin starting them in the hearts of skateboarders as the new head of KKSM.

“I was asked to lead [KKSM] into the next phase that God had for it,” Weigele says.

The Journal of Student Ministries had a chance throw some questions at Weigele just before embarking on yet another Revolution Tour.

TJSOM: What is a Revolution Tour?

RW: Actually there are four different tours this year, but the definition of the tour is “a sudden, radical, or complete change; to turn around.” We’re looking to bring Revolution to the hearts of this generation, period. We’re not interested in entertaining them our giving them a show; we’re only concerned in bringing the message of hope to a lost and confused generation. We do that through legitimate skateboard demos and giving the gospel at every event.

As far as actual tours go, we have the KKSM International Tour, which goes all year and includes our team of folks who go to international locations to skate and bring the gospel.

There’s our Reliance Skateboard Skate Park Tour—February 11 through March 30—which is a tour of eight states and 20-plus skate parks. We skate and share the gospel with kids. There’s no church or organization behind us. It’s just us.

The King of Kings Skateboard Revolution Tour starts April 1 and goes to November 1; it visits several cites in the U.S., and we’re brought in by churches.

We close out the year with the Reliance Skateboard Tour from November 1 through December 20. We send smaller groups of skaters, like four to six, with our new skate video, and they present the video and give the gospel afterward. This was huge last year in Florida.

TJSOM: And the event consists of…

RW: We skate. We give testimonies. We preach the gospel. And we give an invitation to receive Christ. Without those [elements] in place, we won’t go no matter what they want to pay us.

TJSOM: What music do you listen to when you skate?

RW: I usually listen to Christian hip-hop, rock, or just good praise music. I only ride a long board now, as I’m an old skater/surfer from the ’60s and ’70s.

TJSOM: Is there a skater’s Bible verse?

RW: The verse God gave me is Judges 2:10. My mission is to tell this generation who God is, and who God’s son, Jesus Christ, is—the wonders he has done. It’s pretty simple: Just go into all the world and give this generation that information.

TJSOM: Is there a skater’s prayer?

RW: No skater’s prayer that I know of; just good-old “on our knees” time, which happens daily; we seek the Lord with all our hearts wherever we are.

TJSOM: What would Jesus ride?

RW: I think Jesus would ride an 8.0 Reliance deck; I think probably a "His Name Deck.” (see www.relianceskate.com)

TJSOM: Is the “His Name Board” the most popular among skaters?

RW: We can’t keep them in stock.

TJSOM: Talk a little about what role board design plays in your ministry.

RW: We keep the design of our boards legit; we don’t believe in Christian cheese, so we’ve designed our board company to be equal to anything secular companies offer—yet keeping it clean and always giving glory to God. We’re the only Christian skateboard company that rolls with pro skateboarders. Other ministries have mixed their boards and such, but we actually keep the two separate—yet they’re an integral part of the ministry. We only sell our boards to actual skateboard shops—no Christian bookstores, etc. Our boards are manufactured by the same companies that do the biggest skateboard names in the world.

TJSOM: For the average, middle-aged, non-boarding youth minister, how do we talk to boarders without looking stupid?

RW: You should know some of the general terms, and that street skate is what’s happening today—not vert, pools, flatlander stuff, but street. That’s what the kids are into. My suggestion is to buy some skateboard mags and start reading them, learn who the popular skaters are in this generation. Be careful using skate terms, though—it’s better to just listen to the kids and ask one you trust to explain certain tricks. Don’t try to name them beyond “Ollie” and “Kick Flip.” They’ll respect you more.

TJSOM: What’s your response to good Christian folk who say that skateboarding isn’t the way to reach kids? Or that young people shouldn’t be tattooed or pierced? What’s the biggest misunderstanding about skateboard ministry?

RW: My response to folks who say skateboarding isn’t the way to reach kids is that they’re not in tune with this generation; they’re probably using methods they learned 15 years ago, or they’re just trying to entertain them.

I’d have to tell them that there are 20 million skateboarders in the United States alone, and that skateboarding is bigger now than Little League baseball; that more skate parks are being built by U.S. municipalities than regular sports complexes. I’d also tell them that only 12 percent of today’s youth attend church, and that by the time they graduate, 85 percent will leave and never return. I’d also tell them that only three percent of today’s youth are being reached for Jesus Christ. I’d also tell them we saw a harvest last year, with more than 10,000 making first-time commitments through the King of Kings Skateboard Ministry.

I’d tell those who look at the outside of a kid to read the story of King David when the prophet Samuel went to anoint a king for Israel. Check out 1 Samuel 16:7. God looks at the inside while we church folk continue to judge youth by their outside appearance.

There’s no specific verse in opposition to tattoos or piercings unless you tattoo for the dead. As for piercing, I guess I’d just tell them piercing saved my life (on the cross).

TJSOM: What has surprised you the most since you began this ministry?

RW: Pastors who ask us to give a skate demo but don’t want us to share the gospel—the truth—with the kids. That completely amazes me and sickens me at the same time. So we tell them we aren’t interested in coming to their churches, and that we’re not the ministry for them.

TJSOM: What would you say is your most effective tool in skateboard evangelism?

RW: Skateboarders who live their faith daily and don’t use it once a week—the real deal. These kids are some of the best skaters in the nation, and they’re ready in season or out of season to share their faith with anyone, anytime, anywhere...always. Non-Christians see the legitimacy in their skateboarding and their lives, and they’re drawn to these guys. It’s weird, but there’s an anointing on their lives. I’m baffled by it sometimes as I watch them lead kids to the Lord on the other side of a counter while ordering food, at a gas station, on the street, at a skate park. Two of our guys did a demo in Michigan by themselves and presented the gospel, and 52 kids came forward to receive Christ. So our best tools are our skateboarders.

TJSOM: What advice would you give to a skater who wants to bring up his faith to someone at the park?

RW: Develop a relationship. Give ’em some water, a soda, a piece of your lunch. Make friends, don’t judge, love on ’em, and pray. Then let God work his stuff. God will show Christian skaters what to say, but first be honest and don’t be a poser. Non-Christians will see right through fake stuff; they want to see the real deal. So Christian skaters who share their faith need to be soldiers or warriors. They need to prepare for spiritual battle before going into that territory; otherwise they’ll get destroyed. This is hardcore. There’s no place for poser skaters or poser Christians on this battlefield. They need to look at it as a spiritual battle and be prepared.