Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya, Tobi, Eli and Jakob

Last year Evan and I joined Cycle of Love to ride from Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA (160+ miles) to raise funds for the bike shop.

For Cycle of Love 2011 (Nov 5-6) our bike shop team has five teens plus two volunteers and me embarking on this life-changing journey. We are asking for donations for our youth development program at $1/mile (or more if you’d like). You can sponsor as many miles as you would like!

Our first pledge came from GA state representative Margaret Kaiser for $1/mile for the entire trip. Please join Mrs. Kaiser in supporting the at-risk youth of South Atlanta by supporting the work we do!

Reposted from website of South Atlanta Bike Shop.

As we were wrapping up today’s shift (with six police officers volunteering) this image was taken, capturing the unlikely trust being built between these caring officers and urban youth of South Atlanta. THIS is why the South Atlanta Bike Shop partners with the Atlanta Police Department – so that this is the only way the officer is ever driving with the young man in the back seat.

I just wrote a blog post about how I got pulled over riding my tricycle: http://southatlantabikeshop.org/2011/03/20/police-officers-volunteering-at-the-bike-shop/

Last year I joined my friend and pastor Leroy Barber on a 65-mile bicycle ride from La Grange, GA to Atlanta, GA to support him in his effort to raise funds for Mission Year. Along with another friend and coworker, Nate Ledbetter, we spent a day of adventure and camaraderie on bicycles trudging through mile after slow mile, aiming for longevity rather than speed – similar to how we do it in urban ministry.

(Read more …)

Since I left my full time job in January 2009 to join Metro Merge (formerly Sub-Urban), I have also been working for BLACK, a small web development company two friends and I started. Income from this work helps provide for our family since we chose to raise support for only one minimum wage salary and health insurance. At first I thought of this as a crutch, but it didn’t take long to realize that being involved with BLACK actually increased my ability to do ministry.

(Read more …)