The Skateboard Grannies of Barrhead

Three seniors in Barrhead showed that you’re never too old to roll into something new especially when it involves baking and boards.

Skatepark

Teresa Kristel and two seniors from Bethel Church noticed that there were a ton of teens hanging around a new skateboard park in Barrhead.

The park is a short grind and slide from the church.

Not every small town does up a skatepark in a big way but not all Alberta towns are like Barrhead. The population of Barrhead and its surrounding County is over 10,000 of which 10% are under the age of 25.

Two years ago, council approved a construction budget of $800,000 to replace an aging, wooden skatepark. The skatepark design is very unique and has features to attract boarders, inline skaters, and scooters. And grannies.

Before the snow melted this spring the boarders were out. The senior trio decided to bake some cookies, go to the park, and see if they could engage the kids with cookies and conversation. Success! After a couple of meetings, the skaters started calling the women the “the granny gods” and “the skatepark grannies.” Must have had something to do with the cookies.

Outreach

Wanting to go deeper with the teens, Teresa contacted “The Inside,” a Calgary-based skateboard ministry. Having seen Teresa’s work while I was a pastor at Bethel it was no surprise that she rallied her pastor, youth leader and volunteers and got them behind the grannies’ vision. The Inside accepted their invitation.

On Saturday, May 27th from 3pm – 6:30pm, Aaron Lee, the volunteer youth leader at Bethel, and his team provided a free BBQ, demos, and training sessions with the Pro-Skateboarders, skateboard games/contests and prize giveaways.

75 kids and teens showed up!

Aaron’s wife Dallas spoke with a lot of the teen girls. Zach Creighton from The Inside told all the kids they do this because “we love Jesus,” and “he wants them to let the kids know they have purpose.”

The Bethel team invited the kids to come to church the next day because Zach was sharing more about what their organization does for youth and the Sports Community.

187 people showed up, the highest Sunday attendance in over a year.

Get Up and Go Grannies

When the media write about the good work of a local church, the community sits up and takes notice. The skateboard grannies plan to continue their outreach this summer and fall.

Don’t you love that? There is no quit in these women.

Please join the conversation and post a comment for the “skatepark grannies” below. Share the serving opportunities you are involved in. Thank you.

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