Rob Peterson's faith gave him the idea and the drive to do something good for his community. The means to do it, he believes, came from God.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rob Peterson's faith gave him the idea and the drive to do something good for his community. The means to do it, he believes, came from God.
For the past year, Peterson has been taking in old bikes, repairing them or stripping them down and cobbling together working rides for those lacking personal transportation.
He's taken donations from members of First Presbyterian Church in Charleston. He's picked up bikes from people who've called him. He's even salvaged junked bicycles from trash bins.
Working only a few hours a week, he figures he's put about 30 bikes on the street. The people who need bikes come from all over. Peterson has visited Manna Meal and let people know about the bicycle ministry through the web of church-based help programs already established in Charleston. Word gets around.
He's also taught a few people how to repair their own bikes in a kind of expansion of the proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
Sitting on a battered chair in his office at First Presbyterian Church, Peterson said, "I love people because Jesus loves people. The bicycle is just the vehicle to carry out that love."
An avid cyclist, the 23-year-old graduate of Waynesburg (Pa.) University never imagined his love of riding both paved roads and rocky terrain would turn into a ministry. Peterson grew up riding a bike in his hometown of Hagerstown, Md. He had a casual and practical interest in bicycle repair.
"I could fix little things on my own bike," he said. "I picked up a book about how to fix bikes - just to sort of teach myself a little."
When he was 16, a friend gave him a 50-year-old German touring bicycle. It was in pretty bad shape, but the friend promised him, if he could get it working, he'd never want to ride another bike again.
The bike sits against the wall in his office. It's a favorite, though not the only one.
"I try to ride everywhere," he says. "I try to keep my driving down to once a week, to pick up groceries, to get to my Bible study group."
Peterson can tick off the reasons cycling makes sense: It's better for the environment. It's cheap and it's exercise. They are great reasons to ride a bike. Peterson does it because he loves it.
After he graduated with a degree in social work, he took a job with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. The organization sends out counselors and partners with churches and colleges to help serve the religious needs of Christian students.
"College students are the most unreached generation," he said. "The academic world doesn't always welcome people of faith. What the CCO tries to do is encourage students to transform their lives through faith. It shouldn't be that you get a degree, get a job, work that job five days a week, then go to church on Sunday morning.
"We believe faith should be part of your everyday life. You should integrate it into your career."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rob Peterson's faith gave him the idea and the drive to do something good for his community. The means to do it, he believes, came from God.
For the past year, Peterson has been taking in old bikes, repairing them or stripping them down and cobbling together working rides for those lacking personal transportation.
He's taken donations from members of First Presbyterian Church in Charleston. He's picked up bikes from people who've called him. He's even salvaged junked bicycles from trash bins.
Working only a few hours a week, he figures he's put about 30 bikes on the street. The people who need bikes come from all over. Peterson has visited Manna Meal and let people know about the bicycle ministry through the web of church-based help programs already established in Charleston. Word gets around.
He's also taught a few people how to repair their own bikes in a kind of expansion of the proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
Sitting on a battered chair in his office at First Presbyterian Church, Peterson said, "I love people because Jesus loves people. The bicycle is just the vehicle to carry out that love."
An avid cyclist, the 23-year-old graduate of Waynesburg (Pa.) University never imagined his love of riding both paved roads and rocky terrain would turn into a ministry. Peterson grew up riding a bike in his hometown of Hagerstown, Md. He had a casual and practical interest in bicycle repair.
"I could fix little things on my own bike," he said. "I picked up a book about how to fix bikes - just to sort of teach myself a little."
When he was 16, a friend gave him a 50-year-old German touring bicycle. It was in pretty bad shape, but the friend promised him, if he could get it working, he'd never want to ride another bike again.
The bike sits against the wall in his office. It's a favorite, though not the only one.
"I try to ride everywhere," he says. "I try to keep my driving down to once a week, to pick up groceries, to get to my Bible study group."
Peterson can tick off the reasons cycling makes sense: It's better for the environment. It's cheap and it's exercise. They are great reasons to ride a bike. Peterson does it because he loves it.
After he graduated with a degree in social work, he took a job with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. The organization sends out counselors and partners with churches and colleges to help serve the religious needs of Christian students.
"College students are the most unreached generation," he said. "The academic world doesn't always welcome people of faith. What the CCO tries to do is encourage students to transform their lives through faith. It shouldn't be that you get a degree, get a job, work that job five days a week, then go to church on Sunday morning.
"We believe faith should be part of your everyday life. You should integrate it into your career."
When Peterson came to Charleston and began working with students at the University of Charleston, he wanted to find a ministry that served the needs of the community and incorporated something important to him. It was a struggle. The idea didn't immediately come to him, but then he heard a quiet voice that reminded him he loved bicycles.
He decided to turn his love of bikes into his ministry. He wasn't sure it would work. It was quirky, though not unheard of. Programs for repairing and distributing bicycles to the poor have worked in other communities.
"The churches in downtown Charleston are very involved with one another. There is a coordinated effort to reach out and meet the needs of so many. First Presbyterian alone has or is part of 40 different ministries. I had to ask them if there was room for one more."
Ask and you shall receive. He announced in church what he wanted to do. First Presbyterian Church gave him space in their basement for a workshop. Members of the church donated bikes.
"Bill Nottingham at Charleston Bicycle was really supportive," Peterson said. "While I was scrambling, trying to come up with a few things to help me work on the bikes, he gave me every tool I could possibly use."
His chief regret is he's able to commit only a few hours each week to the ministry. His duties with CCO take many of his hours, but he thinks he's done some good.
"The hardest part is trying to sort between actual need and the people who just want something for free."
Peterson also wants what he distributes to last. He tries to show people basic maintenance, and everybody gets a bicycle lock. Simply chaining a bike reduces the chances of theft by 83 percent, he says.
He's not sure how long the ministry will last. Terms with CCO are typically two-year commitments. He has only a few months left. Occasionally, he says, they can go another year. He'd like to stay in Charleston, but isn't sure whether that will happen or not. He has taken a few seminary classes, but he's not sure if that's the direction he needs to go.
His life is like his bicycle ministry and like his faith: He's learning as he goes along.
"God doesn't call the equipped," he said. "He equips the called."
For more information about Peterson's bicycle repair ministry, call 304-343-8961, ext. 130.
Reach Bill Lynch
at ly...@wvgazette.com
or 304-348-5195.
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