THE 41ST AGONY RIDE

We have 61 riders committed to ride in the 41st annual Agony Ride! Among them will be four of our staff members, featured below. To sponsor a rider, visit agonyride.org.
 
Last year’s Agony brought in over $370,000, surpassing the previous record by over $110,000. We are so grateful for the outpouring of generosity from our riders, sag­gers, and donors! We hope you join us again this year.
 
JULY 28-29  |  SIERRA VALLEY

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Kevin Campbell, Business Office Assistant
Mileage goal: 266 miles
 
I am riding in the Agony Ride this year to extend and experience the love of God. By no means am I claiming that we must ride hours on a bicycle to encounter God’s love, but I have found in my own life, when it gets hard and painful I become more aware of the Lord’s peace and comfort. I believe the same to be true for students at Christian Encounter. I believe students all have the opportunity at the Ranch to allow the Lord to meet them in their pain, suffering, and uncertainty and to restore, heal, and give hope. If I can jump on a bike for 24 hours to give students a chance, count me in.

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Paxton Fitzpatrick, Assistant Intern Director
Mileage goal: 300 miles
 
My favorite day of the year at the Ranch is Agony Sunday. Like so many associated with the Ranch, a personal goal of mine has been trying to get people I deeply care about to come participate in the Agony Ride. I’ve been blessed to have my family and friends get involved. It’s important to me because I just know that if they can experience the sacrificial love on display, they will forever be changed. I was forever changed coming as an intern back in 2015. I hope this year that I can be the example to the next set of witnesses to a couple of things: the students are worth it, the Church is at work, and the Kingdom is at hand. In the 300 miles that I plan to ride, pray that suffering/serving leads to real spiritual transfor­mation in me, the students and all the participants this year.

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Zach Malech, Outreach Pastor
Mileage goal: 275 miles
 
As I process with students about their time at Christian Encounter, they all share about the genuine love and care they received here. Love is powerful. Unfortunately, too many people exist unaware of the depths of the relentless love of Jesus Christ. The kind of love that fights for, sacrifices for, and champi­ons His children. The kind of love that says “you matter, you have value, you are worth it.” That kind of love is transformational at its core. And when you experience it, you can never be the same. At the Agony, riders and saggers become the physical embodiment of that kind of love, and this year I want to join the riders in the proclamation of that message to those who need to hear it.

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Salena Unitt, Executive Assistant
Mileage goal: 202 miles

Recently a former staff member likened the Agony Ride to a story in the Bible. As told in Joshua 6, God collapsed the walls of Jericho after the Israelites marched around it for 7 days. They devoted the city to the Lord and protected those inside that feared Him. Although we (luckily!!) won’t be riding for 7 days, I love to imagine that the Agony is a similar special event, circling and destroying the walls in our hearts of hate, trauma, depression, and anxiety. Sometimes God has crazy ideas that I may be hesitant to participate in, but He is pleased by our obedience!