Gateway Church gives new meaning to ‘holy rollers’

By Cheryl Pontrelli Landon

If you are looking for a youth-oriented recreational skateboard park providing adventure, friendships, safety, professional supervision and fun, look no further.

U-Turn Skateboard Park at Gateway Church, 29646 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills offers two hours of free teen skateboarding and biking in a safe and kid-friendly environment. It is open from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays for use by junior and senior high school students.

Gateway Church Pastor Paul Stone is eager for more people to know about the best-kept secret in Conejo Valley.

"In our immediate area there were no skateboarding parks available. There was a void of options for skateboarders and bicyclists," he said.

The signature feature of the church’s park is its "U-Turnizm" action, which refers to helping young people turn around, both literally and spiritually.

When Gateway Church first began thinking of creating the park in 2000, it studied the surveys, dangers zones and positive effects with careful planning and dedicated funding.

It developed U-Turn Skateboard Park, focusing on motivational "U-Turnizm" action. Gateway was motivated to invest in the park because it believes in raising healthy generations, recognizing important values to open up to our younger generation from every walk of life and demographics; to come to one place; and to coexist to create a successful, diverse culture within the communities of the Conejo Valley.

On Wednesday nights, those entering the park are greeted by music playing and by Stone and his staff of college students and parents. They introduce a series of rules called the "Big Five" to promote safety, cooperation and responsibility.

In addition to skateboarding and biking, there are 30 minutes devoted to "break out" gatherings, which are arranged by age groups.

These sessions serve as opportunities to hear and discuss "Straight Up Truth" on important life issues, such as relationships, respect and peer pressure. Stone uses wisdom from the Bible plus video clips to support the messages.

"Most importantly it grounds me to witness such a convergence of diverse differences and see such a positive impact when you simply model your faith—that’s enough to affect a community in creating positive communities," said Stone.

For more information, call Stone at (818) 889-4147, ext. 11. Also visit U-Turn Skateboard Park on the website at www.uturnizm.com.