CommonCall: Ministry outside the box

WACO—A big-steeple, well-established church and a maverick ministry to teenagers in the skateboarding subculture may seem unlikely partners.

But leaders of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco and Middleman Ministries see their partnership as an answer to prayer.

Middleman focuses on reaching out to “square-peg kids—creative types, musicians and artists” who find community in a skateboarding culture with few rules, said John Barnard, the ministry’s founding executive director.

Barnard, who spent nearly two decades in congregational youth ministry, understands both skater culture and church culture.

“I was a skateboarder before I was a Christian,” he said.

In fact, a church’s willingness to welcome him and other skateboarders—allowing them to use its facilities as a place to ride—ultimately led him to commit his life to Christ.

Later, when he was youth minister at Graceview Baptist Church in Tomball, Barnard began giving away skateboards he kept in the trunk of his car. The decorated boards—on which he painted the word “middleman”—offered him the opportunity to tell anyone who received one how Jesus came to be the mediator between a holy God and rebellious humanity.

Loving without judgment

Barnard and his wife Mandi moved to Waco in October 2016 to work fulltime with Middleman Ministries, seeking to connect teenagers on the margins with adult Christian mentors who love them without judgment.

The ministry operates according to the instructions Jesus gave his disciples when he sent them out: “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

Mentors give away free brightly decorated skateboards and Bibles featuring the Middleman helmet logo on the cover. They give time and attention to teenagers who may not always fit in, building relationships with them.

“Everybody needs somebody. We want kids to know: ‘You are valued. You are important,’” Barnard said. “We help teenagers realize their identity, purpose and community in Christ. We develop mentors, who in turn invest in teenagers at the street level.”

Barnard developed partnerships with several churches around the state that offer financial support. The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board provided a trailer Middleman uses to transport its modular skate park, complete with metal folding ramps it can set up in church parking lots and other locations. A supporter in West Texas gave Middleman an old Ford Super Duty van to haul the trailer to skate camps and youth events.

When the Barnards moved to Waco, they began developing relationships with the teenagers who used the newly constructed Sul Ross Skate Park.

Partnership with local church

The skate park is located at 500 N. 14th St. in Waco, near Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. Church leaders recognized the potential for ministry at the skate park.

“We tried a variety of projects and events to build bridges with the kids at the skatepark—grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, offering water bottles—but nothing took off,” Pastor Josh Vaughan said. “We saw no fruit from it.”

Last fall, Vaughan and his staff met to discuss the spiritual gifts listed in Ephesians 4. As they considered the gifts listed in that passage and evaluated their congregation, they realized the church had an abundance of spiritual gifts in some areas. However, the only individual clearly gifted as an evangelist already had been sent out as a church planter.

“We need to pray that God will send an evangelist to the church,” Vaughan recalled telling his staff. “Then about a week later, our youth minister told me, ‘There’s a guy you should meet.’”

Vaughan agreed to meet with Barnard to learn about Middleman Ministries.

“When we met, I realized he had built the bridge we had been trying to build,” Vaughan said.

Barnard told Vaughan about his dream of building a garage where mentors and teenagers could work together on skateboards. When Barnard said his ministry was hoping to find a building it could use within view of the skatepark, the pastor said, “Let’s take a walk.”

Vaughan showed Barnard a 1,500 square-foot bus barn with three bays the church owned but no longer needed. Columbus Avenue Baptist offered Middleman Ministries the bus barn, along with office space in a facility the church was using for storage.

Middleman moved and set up its office in the space on the corner of 12th and Columbus, decorating it to look like a retro-style 1980s skateboard shop.

“It was housing chairs. Now, it’s housing ministry,” Vaughan said.

Where teens find community

Middleman is working with Columbus Avenue Baptist to convert the bus barn into a welcoming place where teens can find community and where mentors can share their lives and their faith with young people.

“We want to show hospitality—provide a place where kids feel safe,” Barnard said.

After Barnard entered into the partnership with Columbus Avenue, a second property three blocks away with seven bays became available. Middleman will use that facility as a garage where teens and mentors can work on cars together.

Recently, Middleman launched a new aspect of its ministry. It receives old vans from churches than no longer need them. Mentors and teens restore the vehicles. Then Middleman gives them to other skateboarding ministries around the country.

“It’s kinetic learning. They learn by doing—lessons about restoration, redemption and vision. Making skateboards provides a creative outlet. By working on old cars, they learn about restoring value to what some may not see as valuable,” Barnard said. “We’re an analog ministry in a digital world—working with wood and metal and giving away paper Bibles.”

Through skate camps and youth events, hands-on skill development and one-on-one mentoring, Middleman is shaping the lives of young people.

“We have a lot of fun with our outside-the-box ministry,” Barnard said.

Read more articles like this in CommonCall magazine. CommonCall explores issues important to Christians and features inspiring stories about disciples of Jesus living out their faith. An annual subscription is only $24. To subscribe to CommonCall, click here.