Often times, young skateboarders may be perceived as rebellious teens; or even trouble makers. Many times, this is because skaters go to different public areas to skate and get yelled at by authorities or police. In Johnstown, PA this was not unheard of.

In the early 2000s, a young man made Josh Knipple had a vision to combine two things he was passionate about in a special way: sharing the gospel and skateboarding. Josh put his vision to action and turned an old warehouse into a skate park for locals to enjoy for free. The park is only open on certain nights of the week, but during each night the skaters are there, Josh has an intermission where he invites everyone to come listen to his message. It is during this time that him and others share encouraging stories and mini sermons, spreading the good news of Christ.

What is fascinating about Josh’s story is how he lives out his faith in a very entrepreneurial way: he combined two seemingly different activities (skateboarding and ministry) in a special way that has helped to change many lives for the better in his home town.

Josh’s story is encouraging because it goes to show that starting a new movement, organization, or business can come from simply combining different things your passionate about in creative ways. Josh’s goal in taking the leap of transforming the warehouse to a skate park was not to become a millionaire or even to make a huge profit; what he really wanted to do was help change peoples’ lives by sharing the gospel. By bringing Christian messages to the   young people at his skate park, Josh has been making a positive impact and has been an amazing role model in the local community.

Josh is a also a pastor at Crucified Church. Check out the church’s website here, and check out the Life Over Death Skatepark page (formerly known as crucified skatepark) here.

Thanks for reading!