Megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley wants 500 bicycles for his birthday
Megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley’s birthday is on Sunday, and he’s hoping his supporters will gift him 500 bicycles for a good cause.
The leader of the multi-campus North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, wants to gift the bikes to students in Fulton County, so his church has launched a bike drive seeking new or gently used bicycles that can be dropped off at the church located at 4350 North Point Parkway in Alpharetta.
“Owning and riding bikes is a rite of passage for many kids. Bikes provide students an outlet — a way to relieve stress, get outside, exert energy, exercise, and bond with friends. Bikes help kids be kids. According to administrators at Fulton County Schools, not every kid has access to a bike. You can help change that!” the church said in a statement promoting the bike drive on their website.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
They are looking for bikes to donate to students in elementary, middle and high school students.
Stanley, who turns 63 on Sunday, told his church years ago that he didn’t expect birthday or Christmas gifts from them but told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s breaking the tradition this year.
“This year, I decided to break with that 25-year tradition,” he said. “I told them I wanted 500 bicycles for my birthday to give away to kids. We’ll see what happens this Sunday whether I get my birthday wish.”
More than 400 bicycles have been donated so far along with financial donations that will be directed to Fulton County Schools, the publication noted.
North Point is expected to distribute the donated bicycles from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on May 22 at their Alpharetta campus and at Benjamin Banneker High School in College Park.
Samantha Maxey, director of Fulton schools community relations, told the AJC that North Point “has been an amazing partner” of the district and said the church takes a “go big or go home” attitude in their work.
“They don’t do anything minuscule. They’ve donated and donated and donated,” she said.
North Point Community Church is part of North Point Ministries, Inc. and was founded in 1995 with the vision of creating churches that unchurched people love to attend, according to the church.
The community consists of eight churches in the metro Atlanta area, as well as a global network of more than 90 partner churches. More than 30,000 people attend North Point Ministries churches weekly.
“Though our methods have evolved over the years, the mission has always been to inspire people to follow Jesus. It's what we do, whether at our Atlanta-area churches, at one of our partner churches around the world, or through our many online and broadcast offerings. Along the way, we are committed to equipping other church leaders who want to create churches that unchurched people love to attend by passing on what we've learned,” the church states.
