Faith powers the pedals of Double Oak resident Geoff Reese.
Reese and four friends are participating in the Border-2-Water ride, a cross-country biking trip from International Falls, MN to Gulf Shores, AL spanning four summers.
The first leg was completed in July 2010 with 555 miles ridden from International Falls, MN to La Crosse, WI. The second leg will take place this September 3-10, starting at La Crosse, WI and finishing at the Arch in St. Louis, MO.
It’s all for one purpose, to reach kids for Jesus.
“We have a determined passion that drives the desire to fight for the hearts of youth and share Christ with them,” said Reese. who serves as Executive Director of Youth for Christ/North Texas.
Reese said that the logistics of spreading a bike ride across four years is as challenging as the actual ride itself.
“You don’t just jump on a bicycle and go. It takes countless hours of training. Pouring over road maps and making GPS settings to make sure the route is safe and that no turns are missed.”
Arrangements need to be made to use up vacation time, and since the friends are from three different states, the most difficult part of planning is the travel arrangements to the start of the ride and back home at the end, Reese added.
A handful of hotel chains are providing free lodging for the men during their seven day journey.
Dan Wolgemuth, President/CEO of Youth for Christ/USA, summed up the men’s efforts: “Cycling propels me to a place where my burning thighs and my heaving lungs move me to the mission that sustains and inspires me. Thousands of pedal strokes move us closer to our goal of reaching the broken, the marginalized, the outcast…with a message of hope…with the message of Jesus. Beyond the burning, past the gasping. For every kid…one at a time.”
Youth for Christ is a worldwide ministry founded in 1944. Billy Graham was YFC’s first full time staff member. For more information, visit www.northtexas.yfc.net.
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