Eternal Riders find spiritual connection through sport

The Eternal Riders officially opened their Canadian headquarters in Revelstoke in January, taking possession of St. Peter’s Anglican Church and Hall on Second Street West. Details of the sale between the evangelical Christian faith-based organization and the Anglican Diocese aren’t publicly available, but it is known the King’s Cathedral Church in Hawaii assisted in the purchase of the church in Revelstoke. Dallas McLean, national director for Eternal Rider’s Canada, acknowledged the community expressed concerns over the preservation of the building, noting it’s not a designated heritage site. The Eternal Riders intend, he said, to preserve the buildings and have plans to make needed updates and renovations.

It’s early spring and the Anglican Hall is packed with a motley crew of people there to enjoy the last Revelstoke Pasta Feed of the season. Volunteers from local churches are busy keeping the crowd fed with generous scoops of pasta, sauce, garlic toast and salad. Dispersed among the volunteers are members of the Eternal Riders, although you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart from anyone else. McLean is sporting a black and blue fleece jacket and a non-descriptive ball cap. It isn’t until the photo-op that he removes his jacket to reveal an Eternal Riders’ T-Shirt.

The St. Peter’s Anglican Church building is now home to Eternal Riders. Photo: Melissa Jameson

McLean said the Eternal Riders have helped to sponsor the pasta feed for the past couple of years. It’s an example of what the group wants their presence to be like in Revelstoke.

“We want to help out with community events, provide volunteers, host some of our own community events and just do things that edify the community through feeding them, hanging out, providing space they can come and use, lots of different things,” said McLean.

The Eternal Riders was founded in 1999 by former professional windsurfer Pascal Hardy, who felt led to use his sport to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Touted as an sports action brand, the Eternal Riders motto is ‘ride with purpose.’ McLean said the Eternal Riders are made up of athletes, many having competed professionally, who have also found a faith in Christ. The Riders are connected with the King’s Cathedral Church in Maui, Hawaii and in Revelstoke have partnered with the Baptist Church, although McLean says the organization is not officially connected to a particular church. In Canada, the Eternal Riders, a non-profit organization, is supported through United Youth Outreach. On its website, the Alberta-based United Youth Outreach says it exists as a facilitating hub that empowers leaders “to realize their life’s unique calling to evangelize, disciple, and release a new generation of youth to do the work of the Kingdom of God.”

“We do a lot of church-type things and will [in Revelstoke] because of the nature of the property, but we’re not going to be starting a Sunday Service,” said McLean. “We want to be able to share in and through our sport. That’s kind of the essence of what we’re about. In terms of Revelstoke, we just want to provide a place where people who are passionate about sports can also come and be fed spiritually and have a connection to faith in a culture and a group of people they’re comfortable with and they get and understand.”

The Riders’ first official event in Revelstoke was their annual conference. The Steeper and Deeper Conference, held February 1–3, 2018 included a weekend of worship, fellowship, and riding at Revelstoke Mountain Resort with special guests including pro skier Dave Treadway. Currently, the Eternal Riders are co-hosting an Alpha course with the Revelstoke Baptist Church. The course, running weekly every Friday until April 27, explores questions of faith. McLean described it as a safe place where people can come to explore their faith and ask questions. The organization also has plans to run a leadership course, called NXT Level, out of their new Canadian headquarters, and host more active, sports-related events, including contests in the future. For the time being, McLean said the focus is on getting settled in Revelstoke.

“Right now we’re just really trying to get our feet under us.”