ISAIAH RENDON
RECENT WORK I’E DONE WITH RIDE NATURE
Dear friend,
I’m writing to testify that God has been shaping my life and moving me deeper into purpose with him. In 2018 I was searching for work while also praying through one of the darkest and desperate seasons of my life. That year, against my dreams of pursuing a career in mainstream film, I was referred to apply for a Christian non-profit organization called Samaritan's Purse as a videographer. That was the beginning of my first full-time job while also being grafted into a ministry environment. I began documenting humanitarian projects and disaster relief work all over the world, witnessing people being helped physically and spiritually in devastating circumstances, all in the name of Jesus. God answered my prayers by moving me away from my home in Texas, and I encountered his love intimately through ministry all over the world.
It was while working for Samaritans Purse in the spring of 2021, that I also encountered The House of Ride Nature in Ft. Myers, Florida. Our team was looking for coffee nearby after a video shoot. Of all the options, we agreed on Ride Nature, and as soon as I took a step inside the shop, my soul was marked. Worship music was playing over the speakers of a skate-surf-coffee shop and everything before me presented itself as what I can only describe as heavenly peace. There was a feeling of redemption connected to who I was and where I came from. I had a love for skateboarding that began when I was in first grade. I had entered many other skate shops before. But I had not yet walked into a shop and encountered worship, faith, and the Holy Spirit. I would learn that Ride Nature's mission was greater than just a christian coffee shop, it was a global organization on mission to reach the spiritually poor and fatherless through action sports. Including all nations, providing resources generously, and sharing the Gospel.
After discovering Ride Nature, I returned to the mountains and seeded it in my heart. It was also significant to me that Ride Nature was emphasizing the term “fatherless” in the people that they had a heart for. I slowly began to realize that their identity as a ministry was deeply connected to my own coming-of-age story. As a child, I was also raised without a father and grew up in a neighborhood of fatherless boys who were attracted to skateboarding. Skateboarding gave us purpose and bonded us on a brotherly level. And although we may have thought we were a gang of wolves, we really were just lost sheep still without a shepherd. It wasn't until being re-planted by Samaritan’s Purse that I was discipled within a Christ-centered community in the mountains of North Carolina, where fellowship encouraged my faith, helped heal my inner wounds, and refined my identity as a son.
Today, after six years of growth and service at Samaritans Purse, I’ve stepped down from my position and full-time salary and said yes to my next call to ministry with Ride Nature. In all my years, I never had a desire to be a “missionary” myself, but because the unique mission of Ride Nature reflects my own story, God’s call for this ministry to be my next chapter seems clear. I will be stepping into the ministry offering my gifts as a creative producer and content manager. I will be serving the team through creative media projects, discipleship, evangelism, and empowering others in the community to do the same in ways that are excellent and honorable. If all my faith is in Jesus, then I believe he has provided this open door as a step of faith and redemption.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story up to this point. If this mission speaks to your heart at all, would you consider partnering with me financially or prayerfully? Instead of working for profit, I will be humbling myself into the accountability of a support-raising role, inviting others to partner with me in serving God's kingdom and embracing a dependence on him for all my needs. Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” I believe God will use my life experience to serve him well and be a light that reflects his love. I personally want to pray with you, dear reader, that the Lord Jesus would continue to redeem us in all things - that we would grow more in what it means to love God, love others, and share the Lord's grace and truth to the ends of the earth. No matter how dark the shadow of the valleys before us, I’m eternally grateful that our Creator is our King, our Shield, our Shepherd of peace in every matter of our lives - Maranatha.
Isaiah Rendon
Creative Producer and Media Manager // Ride Nature Global
isaiah@ridenature.com
FINANCIAL NEED
$2,500 in Monthly Support
(I will be receiving free housing through the organization but as this will be my full-time job, these funds will help me offset my living expenses.)
Donors needed to reach this goal: 20 Monthly Partners
(1) $500 Monthly Partner
(4) $250 Monthly Partners
(5) $100 Monthly Partners
(10) $50 Monthly Partners
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for a smooth move and transition to Florida.
Pray for God’s direction in my new role.
For the 20 monthly partners listed above. That God would give me wisdom and discernment to know who to reach out to and invite to partner with me in this next season.