St Mark's Buderim Gets Its Skates On!

A frequently asked question heard around parishes is: “How can we engage with young people today, especially those who are not part of our church community?”

Jeremy Couch, the Youth, Children’s and Families lay minister at St Mark’s Buderim, found himself pondering the same question recently, and thought back to his own childhood as a “Priest’s Kid” in South Australia.

“I realised that the activities that stood out in my memory were the ones where older men and women got beside me to help me learn a new skill or do a new activity in a fun and adventurous environment,” he said.

Jeremy searched for something to do that would be attractive to young people between the ages of seven and seventeen, and soon came up with a brilliant idea: skateboarding, an activity he has continued to enjoy over the years, even skating down to the beach this summer with his youngest son on his hip.

“As I put together the concept of a workshop for local youth, I asked myself: if I made a skateboard myself, would it be better than just buying one?”

Jeremy decided young people would think it was “way cooler” to build, design and apply artwork and attach the trucks, bearings and wheels to their own skateboard than it would be to purchase the same product. In fact, a skateboard-building workshop would be the perfect opportunity for young people to learn new skills, in a friendly and safe environment at his church.

After widespread advertising around Buderim and beyond, the workshop attracted 23 keen participants, of whom almost all had no previous contact with the parish.

“As well as hosting great numbers, the biggest thrill for me was seeing a diverse selection of older male volunteers who mentored, coached and encouraged 23 young people through the whole process, from laminating and pressing a skateboard, to creating the artwork that they would apply to the skateboard and then attaching the hardware that would allow them to ride their skateboards before the workshop was over. The experience was incredibly powerful,” Jeremy reflected.  “Thanks must also go to ‘GFS – An Anglican Ministry’ for generously providing a grant which made the workshop possible.”

Since the two-day holiday skateboard workshop, the parish has seen contact with the young participants in other programs, including a follow-up event, and Jeremy is now developing the workshop as a model for other churches to engage with youth in their local area in a similar way.  For more information about holding a skateboard workshop, Jeremy Couch may be contacted via St Mark’s, Buderim or perhaps he could be skating your way soon.