Casey Magouirk

Casey Magouirk said skating changed his life.

It's not what you think, though. It wasn't about getting good air or finding the perfect half-pipe. It was the fellowship he found in a Soddy-Daisy Christian skateboard outreach.

"There are awesome people there," said Mr. Magouirk. "I go there to skate, but I also hang out with friends."

Elevate, a 2-year-old nondenominational program begun by Terry Davis of Vision 2 Hear, provides ramps and rails in the Soddy-Daisy area for a weekly outing -- interspersed with a Bible study and often a meal -- for skaters.

Vison 2 Hear is a 20-year-old nonprofit organization based in Snellville, Ga., that "is committed to serving people and the Lord in various and unique ways."

"We'd seen all these kids skateboarding at different locations in Soddy-Daisy and Hixson," said Mr. Davis, 35, who is based in Soddy-Daisy, "and they would get run off where they were skating."

One day, he said, he stopped and talked to some of the skaters and asked if they had a place to skate. If there were such a place, he asked them, would they take advantage of it? The answer was affirmative.

"There is such a need out there,? Mr. Davis said. "I feel like my calling is reaching out to more kids who are not typically going to darken the halls of a church."

A friend who owned a skate park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said if he would raise the money, the friend would provide the expertise.

"God supplied," said Mr. Davis, who now provides 12 ramps and rails for the skaters' use.

The venue has moved around from place to place since he left his position as a youth minister to join Vision 2 Hear, but he said Elevate may be close to finding a more permanent home.

The lack of a site, though, has not kept skaters away. A recent gathering, originally set to follow a Soddy-Daisy football game that ended up being a day earlier, drew 250 people.

The skaters are mostly high school and middle school students, but several are college age and a few are young adults.

"That event was a whole lot bigger than we anticipated," Mr. Davis said.

While skating is the carrot, influence is apparently the ministry's stick.

"The main thing is going out and reaching out to students where they are," said Mr. Davis, who doesn't skate himself. "Some of them are stressed out from family conflicts, and they just need somebody who will listen.

"It's kind of crazy," he said. "I just love the kids and try to be a positive influence in their lives. Some of them are the most real kids there are. They don't sugarcoat anything."

Casey, 17, a Soddy-Daisy High School sophomore, said he heard about the weekly skate event at school and from community fliers. When he joined the group, he found a welcoming presence.

"It changed my attitude," he said of the weekly gatherings. "It changed my life."

Mr. Davis invited him to attend church but didn't coerce him, Casey said.

"I decided to go," he said, "and I fell in love with it."

George Lockhart, president of Vision 2 Hear, said skateboarding is both a sport and an art form and requires skills and ability but improves through time and practice.

"I see skateboarding as a worthy ministry option because it has become a more mainstream hobby and sport in America," he said in an e-mail. "Knowing this, it is a great opportunity for those of us in youth ministry to provide ramps, rails and a place where skaters can come and skate and learn about Christ also.

"By having a skateboard ministry," he said, "we are able to reach a segment of youth that is often shunned or banned from certain places in society and offer them a place where they are free to be who they are and offer them a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, whom we believe can use any skill for his glory."