ADVENT CONSPIRACY

Something Different This Christmas.

At Whipple Creek Church and at FacePlant SkateChurch we decided to do something for this lost and hurting world that would really make a difference. We took the money that came in from the door charge at SkateChurch on Thursdays during the month of December, which ended up being $70.00, and sent it, along with money raised at Whipple Creek Church on Sundays, to World Vision to help end human trafficking as part of the "Advent Conspiracy" idea. The money that we raised will help set a young girl free from the sex slave trade in a foreign country. Check out the Advent Conspiracy video. A lot of churches have used the money that they raised to help bring clean water to many villages around the world, giving people clean water to drink and saving lives. The idea behind the Advent Conspiracy, is to take a portion of the money that would be spent on elaborate gifts for one another, and send it to other places around the world, giving them gifts that have much eternal value, such as the gift of clean water for a village by digging a well, the gift of freedom for a young girl from the sex-slave trade, and gifts like chickens and goats that produce food and milk for those battling everyday with starvation. I am really stoked that we decided to look beyond ourselves at FacePlant Ministries this Christmas season, and help the hurting around the world. And this from a bunch of teenage skaters. Pretty cool.

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Christian Jung

FP SkateChurch Pastor

Team FacePlant Battle Ground PT2 Video

Finally - FacePlant Decks for Sponsored Skaters

A LONG TIME COMING.

For the last few years I've been wanting us at FacePlant Ministries to save up enough money to purchase FacePlant skateboards to give to our sponsored skaters. Last night, every flow-sponsored skater received one deck and every full-sponsored skater received two decks. I was able to get a great deal through a blank skate deck company online. I also made a stencil of the new FacePlant logo and spray painted the logo on the new decks. Thanks for waiting so long for the FP boards all you sponsored guys! A lot of other skaters who are regulars at SkateChurch have been asking about how to get sponsored and if we sold the FP decks. Good questions. As far as getting sponsored, it's the same deal: (1) Have a personal, growing relationship with Jesus, (2) Be at a certain skill level at skating and (3) Consistantly come and hang out with Aiden and the rest of us as we go on trips to other skae parks, etc. Also, maybe around February or so we can purchase more FP decks and have them available for skaters to purchase.

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SMALL GROUPS AT SKATE CHURCH.

For the last few months we have changed the way we've been doing the Church part of SkateChurch. Almost every week now, either Aiden, myself or one of the other volunteer staff members give the message from the Bible, then we break down into small groups where our sponsored skaters lead each group and ask questions and dialogue about what the message that night was about. It has been a real blessing being able to see the FacePlant skaters lead their peers in the study of the Bible. Every week at 5:00 pm we have a meeting for the sponsored skaters where we discuss upcoming events, pray and take a look at what the message is about and what the small group questions are. It has been amazing as well to see our small groups pray with and lead other skaters to Christ for the first time. We have had 2 more conversions make atotal of 58 first time decisions to follow Christ since the beginning of this year, and 221 since FacePlant SkateChurch began back in early 2006. I truly believe that FacePlant SkateChurch has had a tremendous impact for the Kingdom of God here in Vancouver, Washington and is a viable church plant...a church made up of skaters.

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Christian Jung

FP SkateChurch Pastor

THREE Skaters Receive Christ, FOUR Skaters Recommit

THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

I feel so blessed! Yesterday was my 35th birthday, and it happened to fall on a SkateChurch night. Well first of all, the guys suprised me by giving me a sweet birthday card. Earlier yesterday, I felt in my heart that there were going to be young people who would give their lives to Christ that night at SkateChurch. So for our sponsorship meeting at 5:00pm, I taught our sponsored skaters how to lead people to Jesus, you know, how to pray with them to receive Christ. Guess what, THREE skaters asked Christ into their hearts and FOUR skaters recommitted their lives to Christ. And guess what? It wasn't me or any other adult staff member who led them through a prayer. To cap off an already awesome birthday, I stood back and watched our sponsored skaters, who I've been investing in for the past three years, lead their fellow peers to Jesus as they prayed with each one to receive Christ. THANK YOU GOD for letting me experience this! I am so proud of you guys! We have seen 219 young people ask Christ into their hearts since FacePlant Ministries started in early 2006; 80 in 2006, 83 in 2007 and 56 so far in 2008!

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FINAL FP LOGO; FP STICKERS, SHIRTS, SWEATSHIRTS AND BEANIES FOR SALE.

This is what our final NEW FacePlant Logo is. We have shirts and stickers with the new logo on it available. Shirts are $10..00/each and stickers are 2 for $1.00. We still have a couple of sweatshirts in XL for sale as well as a few beanies with the old logo on it. You can buy a sweatshirt for $25.00 and a beanie for $10.00. Just ask me or one of the staff members at SkateChurch if you are interested in buying stuff.

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Christian Jung

FP SkateChurch Pastor

SEPTEMBER 2008 SKATE COMP RESULTS

Skate Competition - September 11, 2008

Great job to all of you guys who skated in the skate competition that we had a few weeks ago! This time we did our competition jam-style where everyone skated together using the entire skate park in two heats: Sponsored and Unsponsored. We also had a big air and best trick competition. Instead of trophies we awarded decks, trucks, wheels, bearings and t-shirts for those who placed. Here are the results:

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Unsponsored Skaters Bracket:

1st Place - Chae Place

2nd Place - Brendan Wardle

3rd Place - Tyler Luepke

4th Place - Travis Pyles

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Sponsored Skaters Bracket:

1st Place - Kyle Ponciano

2nd Place - Austin Young

3rd Place - Josh Newton

4th Place - Kaleb Slagle

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Big Air Competition:

Winner - Kyle Ponciano

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Best Trick Competition:

Winner - Kyle Ponciano

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Again, congratulations to all of you who placed and all of you that competed. Good times. I look forward to our next competition.

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Christian Jung

FP SkateChurch Pastor

NEW SPONSORED FACEPLANT SKATERS

New Sponsored FacePlant Skaters.

It's that time again. We have our newest updated group of skaters sponsored by FacePlant Ministries. The last time we updated the list was about this time last year. These guys have all worked very hard to get to where they are today. All of them (1) Have a personal, hand-holding relationship with Jesus Christ, (2) Have been consistent in comoing to sponsorship meetings and to SkateChurch on Thursdays, as well as go on trips to other skate parks, and (3) Have continued to improve in the skating. That's all it takes, guys. There are a handful of you that I would like to sponsor this winter so keep lovng Jesus and coming out to skate with us. This time around are full-sponsored skaters received two shirts and our flow-sponsored skaters received one shirt. The cool thing is, we have the screen the the shirts were made with, so our hope is, as enough money comes in, to give these guys free FacePlant decks. Congratulations you guys! You've earned it.

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Pictured Right to Left:

Victor Marquay, Travis Reeder, Josh Newton, Mick Reeder, Austin Young, Ricky Brewer, Christian Jung, Brandon Clymer, Brian Worcester, Kyle Ponciano, Kaleb Slagle. (Missing from photo: Aiden Franklin)

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Sponsored Skaters Profiles.

I just need to say that i have had the time of my life hanging out with these guys and the others from FacePlant Skate Church over the past three years. I have seen almost all of them come to Christ through FacePlant Ministries and grow in their walk with God as we study the Bible and pray for one another. I have seen them improve so much in their skating. But more importantly, I have made lifelong friends with these guys. The older I get and the more I walk with Jesus, the more I understand how relational God is. Although over 200 young people giving their lives to Christ is something to really celebrate, I am equally excited about all the time I've been able to spend with these guys. Some of our best times have been talking in "O'l Bessy" on the way to skate parks. As my family and I move out of this country to be full-time missionaries in foreign lands, I will never forget these young people who God has brought into my life. I want you all to get to know them as well, instead of just seeing them in videos and such. Here are their profiles:

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KYLE PONCIANO

Sponsorship: Full

Age: 13

Signature Trick: Frontside Feeble Grind

Favorite Bible Story: The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23)

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JOSH NEWTON

Sponsorship: Full

Age: 15

Signature Trick: Nollie Front Bigspin

Favorite Bible Story: Moses and the Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-31)

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AUSTIN YOUNG

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 13

Signature Trick: Frontside Boardslide

Favorite Bible Story: Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man (Genesis 3:1-24)

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KALEB SLAGLE

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 12

Signature Trick: Switch Kickflip

Favorite Bible Story: Jesus and Peter Walk on Water (Matthew 14:22-33)

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TRAVIS REEDER

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 15

Signature Trick: Nollie Backside Heelflip

Favorite Bible Story: Jesus Turns Water Into Wine (John 2:1-12)

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RICKY BREWER

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 18

Signature Trick: Rock'n'roll to Fakie Big Stuff

Favorite Bible Verse: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

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MICK REEDER

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 13

Signature Trick: Kickflip (Mickflip) Stairs and Gaps

Favorite Bible Story: The Story of Jesus (Mark 1:1-16:20)

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BRIAN WORCESTER

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 16

Signature Trick: Bigflip

Favorite Bible Story: The Temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:1-11)

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VICTOR MARQUAY

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 15

Signature Trick: Tre-flip

Favorite Bible Story: Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-22)

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BRANDON CLYMER

Sponsorship: Flow

Age: 13

Signature Trick: Backside Flip

Favorite Bible Story: The Last Supper (Luke 22:1-23)

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Team FacePlant Cali Tour Video

FACEPLANT SKATE TOUR 2008 - California Road Trip

CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP

On Monday August 25, 2008 fourteen of us from FacePlant SkateChurch hit the road for three days, taking a road trip to California and back. We had a blast. Myself, Aiden, Jonas, Kyle, Josh, Victor, Kaleb, Austin, Mick, Travis, Brian, Ricky, Brandon and Zach all went. We hit four Oregon skate parks the first day on the way down, four more parks in California on the second day and one park in Cali and one prak in Oregon on the way back up. To say the least, we were WAY TIRED. But it's all good. It was our first big trip like this. We know for next time to add some more rest time in their and make it more of a one week trip. Anyway, check out the pics and the write-ups on each park.

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DAY #1

August 25, 2008

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ALBANY (OREGON) SKATE PARK ***

This was the first park that we hit on the way down so there was a lot of excitement in the air. The great thing was, Oregon School Districts start school before we do in Washington, so the park was empty. It was a great park to warm-up with. It is basically the classic-type of park with a small street section to in the middle surrounded by quarter pipes of various shapes and sizes on the perimeter, all out of concrete. Our guys espscially liked the squared-off section of vert that jets out into the middle of the park. They also had a couple of bowls within eachother, one has graffiti. I give this skate park a 3 star rating.

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ROSEBURG (OREGON) SKATE PARK ***

This is a nice big, wide open park with a nice bowl section with a sweet transfer. There is a three-step hubba section which makes for all kinds of grind variations. Our guys liked to get enough speed from one side of the park and fly up a ski-jump/slight vert section onto a mellow grade on the other side. The locals are really friendly. I give this skate park a 3 star rating.

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GRANTS PASS (OREGON) SKATE PARK ***

This park has a nice deep pool section with a spine. The street course is pretty fun and offers a nice handrail, a pyramid and little stuff to skate. There is a couple of pretty cool walls. This was our third park of the day and our guys had fun. We sessioned a little mini-quarter pipe/bank for a while. The park was pretty crowded. I give this skate park a 3 star rating.

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MEDFORD (OREGON) SKATE PARK **

We didn't have a great experience at this skate park. Right off the bat there is a giant pentagram painted on an obstacle in the middle of the skate park, so for me, I'm already a bit bummed. There is a sweet bowl with a shallow and deep end. Mostly vert stuff. Not much street to skate but an open area with some banks. Our guys were most bummed by the local scene. Some of the locals gave us a hard time, even wanting to start fights, but the guys did really good considering. I really felt bad for the locals. I'm sure there is a lot of hurt going on in their lives. We sat down for dinner and prayed for them. Because of the environment and lack of versatility, I give this skate park a 2 star rating.

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DAY #2

August 26, 2008

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WALNUT CREEK (CALIFORNIA) SKATE PARK ***

So I call my dad (who lives in Walnut Creek) on the way down from Oregon at the last minute asking if we could all crash on their floor. Of couse he and my mom said it was no problem, and literally minutes from their house was the first skate park of the day. We had doughnuts from Safeway and then headed over there. It is a nice little park with a lot of little street obstacles to skate. The guys really tore up this killer step-up to flat, nailing tricks as well as hitting lines out of the step-up into other things. There is a nice quarter pipe to wall-ride area that is hard to pull out of. It was also pretty empty. We had a great time, although were a bit tired. I give this skate park a 3 star rating.

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PACIFICA (CALIFORNIA) SKATE PARK ****

So I get a call from one of our church staff members on the way down to California. She tells me that the pastor of a skate church in Redwood City, California named Chris saw our itinerary on the weblog and wanted me to call him. I gave Chris a call and he pointed us to a few better parks than I had picked which was rad. Instead of going to Berkely, Alameda and Hayward we cruised to Pacifica, right on the California coast. This park offers a lot for everyone. It has a deep pool, bigger and smaller bowls, plenty of street and some smaller transfers and such. A lot of our guys liked the little manual pad and tore that up, while others worked on airing over a transfer. Locals are nice, except the five-o who seemed a little distrought. I give this skate park a 4 star rating.

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SUNNYVALE (CALIFORNIA) SKATE PARK ****

Pastor Chris reminded me that the San Jose skate park we had planned on visiting required signed and notarized release waivers, which I totally spaced (it was the only pay to skate park I had planned). He suggested Sunnyvale skate park which is near San Jose and said that a lot of pros actually hang out there. There were a lot of really good locals and they seemed to all be really cool people. It is a really nice park, again, with a lot to skate. They have a four stair with hubba that the guys liked. There's a nice pyramid in the middle of the park surrounded by quarter pipes. Also, there's a really nice vert section to the park. Again, a ton tto skate for all kinds of folks. I give this park a 4 star rating.

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REDWOOD CITY (CALIFORNIA) SKATE CHURCH *****

Pastor Chris also informed me that they have one of their skate church meetings on Tuesday evenings. So after skating at Sunnyvale, we cruised to his skate church. Nicely constructed ramps and boxes made of wood and skate-lite...I guess Paul Anderson, founder of skate church in Portland, Oregon came down to help build. They are very high quality. They have a slight downhill grade in their parking lot with straight and angeled boxes (and nice coping) with a quarter pipe at the bottom. Some of the guys also liked the rail that was cut off at an angle on one side so you don't have to olly into tricks. It turned dusk, so what better way to end an evening than to skate their lighted mini-ramps with two separate sections. Good skating, good company. Chris also gave us some encouragement from God's Word at the end. I know that I am a bit partial to skate ministries, nonetheless, I give this skate church a 5 star rating.

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Day #3

August 27, 2008

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SACRAMENTO (CALIFORNIA) GRANITE SKATE PARK ****

We made it to a hotel close to midnight in Sacramento and got up on the early side to have breakfast at Denny's. Everyone, at this point, was shot. On top of that, it was like 100 degrees outside. So when we got to this skate park, few of the guys were even up to skating. It is a huge park spread out very nicely with many cool elements. There are a couple of sets of stairs back to back with lots of grindeable ledges and wierd little trannies. There is a really nice selection of vert with pools, bowls and a half pipe with a section of over-vert. If it was placed in a little more temperate climate and our guys weren't so tired and worn-out, it would have been a perfect park. I give this skate park a 4 star rating.

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ASHLAND (OREGON) SKATE PARK **

We were going to hit the skate park in Redding, but it was a bit off the beaten path and still 100 degrees, so we decided to stop at Ashland skate park, which we wanted to hit the first day, but it got too late. This was a great ending to our trip. The park is split in half with a vert section on one side that was being used by a large group of bikers. So our guys just cruised around the street section of the park. There is a concrete dot in the lower section that the guys sessioned before until we took off. They also have other banks and rails to skate. The park is a little on the small side. Very mellow and again, perfect as we finished our California Road Trip. I give this park a 2 star rating.

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Christian Jung

FP SkateChurch Pastor