ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Sunday afternoon shone clear and bright, and some youths from New Beginnings Church took advantage of the favorable weather to help raise money for a good cause.
Sunday, New Beginnings Church hosted a youth bike-a-thon to help raise money to help others around the world have access to clean drinking water.
“Our bike-a-thon really came out of the desire for our youth members to help other children just like them all throughout the world. Throughout the years, we've helped with a variety of projects and this year, our main project is to help children have access to clean drinking water, which is a necessity for everyone everywhere,” NBC Children’s Pastor Cody Bernsten said. “This year, we're working with an organization called WorldServe International, and their goal is to help proved access to clean drinking water to some of the world's most challenging locations that just don't have that access. Each year, we have a couple bigger giving initiatives we do, one is usually around March and then another one around this time of year, which is typically the bike-a-thon, and I've been really happy with our efforts so far this year.”
Berntsen added WorldServe International is an organization he’s long been familiar with.
“WorldServe International is an organization I've been aware of for many years through working with the church and visiting different events and things like that. I was at a conference last year and heard about this specific project they were working on, and I got really excited about what they were doing,” Bertnsen said. “Each year in general here at NBC, we have a project we focus on for the entire year, so WorldServe International is our focus this time around. A big push we do, especially for the children, is, during our services, we take a certain amount of time to talk about missions in general and help them understand how important it is for them to get involved, whether it's by giving to a cause like this or helping them have that mindset of 'How can I get involved and be of service?'”
While only a few children were able to show off their bicycle skills Sunday afternoon, Berntsen said he was proud of how the afternoon ended up.
“I though Sunday saw a good turnout, I was pleased with it. I remember last year's bike-a-thon was REALLY hot, so I'm glad Mother Nature cooperated with us this time around to give us some decent weather conditions, and I'm glad to see the children out here who did turn out,” Berntsen said. “I'm excited to see other people excited about getting involved with this type of cause. It's great to see a great group of children getting excited about making an impact locally and around the world.”
And for those who want to help the cause, Berntsen said they are more than welcome to do so.
“For next year, I think we'll do a bigger push to get more children to participate, so I would be excited to see what we'd be able to do then. And if anyone wants to donate, NBC has a link to this cause on our Web site under our 'Giving' tab, select the BGMC category, and decide how much they want to donate to the cause,” Berntsen said. “It’s a really great cause that affects everyone, and I would love to see a bunch of community support.”
