By Brett Hetherington*

Most of us learned early in life how to ride a bike, delicately balancing our body while using the strokes of the pedals to propel themselves on two wheels toward some semblance of freedom and independence. But not everyone has access to a bicycle. In the summer of 2015, the people of Brecksville United Methodist Church (Northern Waters District) developed a way to help provide access to bicycles for those in the area who had a need for transportation or simply a desire to own their first bike.

Jennifer Gee is the Brecksville UMC Christian Education director and oversees its bike ministry.

“We accept donations of used bicycles. The newspapers have been really generous to write articles and let people know we are accepting donations. In fact, we’re lovingly known as the ‘bike church’ because it has become common knowledge that we’ll take bikes,” Gee shared.

The church takes in donated bikes in various conditions and volunteers make the repairs that they can. If a bicycle is unable to be fixed it is stripped for parts and scrapped, with any proceeds going back into the ministry.

The Brecksville bike ministry fills the middle ground between demand and supply. Over the years, many partnerships have been forged to help get bicycles into the hands of those who need them.

“For the most part bikes go to other ministries or organizations like the Westside Community House which gives bikes to girls in their healthy living habits-oriented program. Pearl Road UMC is another church that we will give bikes to sometimes. They will call up and tell us they need some bikes and for the most part I am able to get them to them, and they can distribute the bikes,” Gee said.

Another ministry partnership that has been built is with the organization I’m in Ministry.

“I’m in Ministry has been around for about 10 years, and we collect slightly used home furnishings,” shared volunteer Kevin Pugely. “We clean them, refurbish them and then deliver them to people that have fallen on hard times for various reasons. Everything is free of charge, and all done through private donations. We also have a once-a-month food delivery program to two low-income senior apartments.”

Pugely initially came to the church looking to see if there was a way that his organization could partner with the church and when Gee filled him in about the bike ministry, he caught her passion.

“I met with Jenny, and she shared about the bike ministry. I knew we were in a lot of homes where I saw old bikes gathering dust and I asked if we could pick those up and share them with Jenny and their bike ministry. In the last year I’d say we shared over 75 bikes,” Pugely explained.

On the occasions when Gee can take bicycles to individuals directly, she is able to see God at work in mighty ways. One such story she shared was of a gentleman who was brought to her who had immigrated to the U.S. and needed a bicycle.

“He saw that I had a lot of children’s bikes and took some for his kids. Now he has become an ambassador to his community and is really helping establish people get their education, set up tutoring for the children in math and language arts, and he is picking up bikes and taking them to people in his community. I reached back out to Kevin because he was looking for tables and chairs,” shared Gee.

There have also been times when the team loaded up a trailer to take bikes one place but never reached their destination with the initial load because they encountered others along the way who needed a bicycle.

Perhaps Gee’s favorite story to share was one of God forging yet another creative connection.

“Through a really strange happenstance, because that’s how God works, I happened to be in Cleveland Heights at their community center dropping off a few bikes for a gentleman who ran an after-school program and a woman walked by who was asking all kinds of questions. I gave her my number, and she gave me hers. She called me a year and a half later. She runs a camp in the summer and took some bikes for that, but she knows individuals and families. And that’s really where you start to see how many wonderful people that are out there who are just really having those one-on-one relationships and if I’m able to connect with them I’m happy to drive bikes over,” she shared.

Those connections that God forms are what drives the ministry and keeps it going.

“It makes me feel good to make those connections, build those bridges. When God is behind something amazing things happen,” said Pugely.

And even though her role has largely been that of one in the middle, on one trip to drop off bikes that was sidetracked in a neighborhood and turned into an impromptu bike giveaway, Gee was reminded of the fingerprints of God at work in the ministry.

“I realized then I am this middle person who never gets to see that. But it’s good to know it’s happening. That there are people who are really happy and enjoying the freedom that the bicycle gives you.”

Learn more about the Brecksville Bike Ministry.
Hear more about bicycle ministries in East Ohio.
Learn more about I’m In Ministry.

The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.

* Brett Hetherington is the Communications specialist for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.