The History of Bike For God

Jonathan had been reading about Billy Graham at the time, and had also learned about Samaritan's Purse. He was not an avid biker in those days, so was challenged with a goal of riding 25km. His sister, Patricia, made some signs, the trail was mapped out, the date was chosen, and God blessed Jonathan's efforts through the help of family & friends. Samaritan's Purse was very supportive and sent Jonathan a t-shirt and other gear to make the ride special. It was decided that the funds would be used to purchase "The Greatest Gift of All" gospel booklets that are offered to kids along with the Christmas Shoeboxes.

The excitement of Bike for God quickly became contagious! The next summer, thirteen kids rode along with Jonathan. Samaritan's Purse provided t-shirts, and some local businesses also became involved in supporting the kids' efforts.

To ease logistics, parents began riding along in 2004, and organizers decided that Bike for God would remain a family-oriented, non-competitive event. The weather was cold, windy and rainy, but 19 kids still cycled for other kids!

In 2005 the first 'mock distribution' was done at the traditional wrap-up BBQ for all 21 participants. Riders each received a shoebox that had a few treats in it; they were to keep the treats, and then later fill the empty shoebox with gifts for a child in another country.

In 2006, we celebrated the fifth Bike for God ride! The Canadian director of Operation Christmas Child, Greg Johnson, joined 31 kids on the whole 25-km ride and told stories from real shoebox distributions he had been on.

In 2007, Bike For God was held in both St. Albert and Calgary raising a total of over $9500 to go towards the booklets.

The overall ridership for 2008 was smaller, but enough money for 29,797 booklets was still raised! Regional director Jaime Cisterna rode along on the St. Albert ride, and Greg Johnson rode again with the Calgary ride. Check out the Bike for God story in the Operation Christmas Child children's curriculum "Passport to Adventure" 2009.

Wow! We broke a record for 2009, raising over $9600 between the two rides in St. Albert and Calgary - enough to bless over 38,000 children and their families! Jaime Cisterna from Operation Christmas Child in Calgary attended the south ride; OCC area rep Shirley Auvigne and our speaker, Monique Webb attended the north ride. Thanks everyone, and thank you God for Your blessings!

2010 brought lots of changes with both rides in St. Albert and Calgary enjoying new locations and new trail routes. Jaime Cisterna from OCC spoke to the kids in St. Albert and encouraged us to pack our shoeboxes with love and prayers as we send them out. Gil Demas and Ben Silcox from OCC joined in the Calgary ride. Funds this year tipped the cumulative total over $50,000 raised so far since Bike for God got started! God has blessed!

The Tenth Anniversary of Bike for God was celebrated in 2011! Simultaneous rides were held in St. Albert, Calgary, and for the first time in Kamloops, BC. The weather was perfect and God favoured us with record donations! Operation Christmas Child arranged speakers for each location: Angela Fryklind in St. Albert, Ben Silcox in Calgary and Shannon Irwin in Kamloops. Angela presented a meaningful photo to the Engler family who is passing along the leadership of the St. Albert ride. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this year's ride, and we pray for God`s blessings on Bike for God in the future!