To say that Pastor Ryan Napier wasn’t familiar with bicycle motocross (BMX) when he approved the building of a specialized dirt track on his church campus would be an understatement.
“My previous knowledge of BMX was a net zero,” he notes. But since 2020, Freedom Hill Church in San Antonio, Texas, has been home to the only BMX bike track in the city, according to Napier.
Freedom Hill received a gift of 10 acres of land and 35,000 square feet of building space from a church that decided to dissolve. So, when an avid BMX rider told Napier that the local track was shutting down, he welcomed the possibility of opening up one on Freedom Hill’s newly expansive grounds.
The BMX track that closed had pulled in about 150 riders four times a week and over 1,000 competitors and spectators for major events. Since Napier had just started Freedom Hill, he figured that a track on the church site could give his staff unlimited opportunities to minister to people—“whether it’s holding a prayer before a race or just coming out and serving concessions.”
USA BMX, the governing body for the sport, paid to have the track built. It also covers the associated operating costs.
The riders and onlookers, who represent all different ages, aren’t very different from the people who attend Freedom Hill, which has an average weekend attendance of under 200.
“Our BMX community and our church families come from all walks of life to race together,” Napier observes. “We’re very multicultural and multigenerational. It’s just a beautiful picture.”
Some BMX riders have attended Freedom Hill services, he says, with about 10 giving their lives to Christ over the past couple of years.
“We just keep building relationships,” he adds. “It’s just been a cool journey. I mean, if you’re in the seventh largest city in the United States and you’re going to race BMX, you’ve got to come to our church to do it.”
