{"id":5206,"date":"2011-08-07T14:20:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T18:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2011-08-07T14:26:09","modified_gmt":"2011-08-07T18:26:09","slug":"climber-teaches-kids-to-stick-to-the-rock-and-not-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/08\/climber-teaches-kids-to-stick-to-the-rock-and-not-fear","title":{"rendered":"Climber teaches kids to “stick to the Rock”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Little did Ron Simonek of Big Bear, California,\u00a0know when he made his first climb 20 years ago that rock climbing would lead him into a relationship with Jesus Christ and into a ministry of hope for youth and families, writes Carol Thomas Karaszewski in the Christian Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After his climbing mentor led him to Christ 12 years ago, God gave Simonek a heart for youth\u2014especially hard-to-reach kids. He combined this with his passion for Jesus and climbing, and the Redeemed Extreme Rock Climbing ministry was born.<\/p>\n

Redeemed Extreme climbs vary in length and difficulty from mini climbs of 25 feet to more advanced adventures of 90 feet. Groups go out every two weeks to popular Southern California climbing sites such as Apple Valley Crags and Margaretville, Big Bear\u2019s Roadside Rock and Castle Rock, and Barstow\u2019s New Jack City.<\/p>\n

Karaszewski writes:<\/p>\n

During the all-day climbs Simonek, who grew up and still lives in Big Bear, uses climbing as an analogy for life and the Christian walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rock is, of course, Jesus,\u201d he said. \u201cWe anchor the climber\u2019s ropes to the top of the rock, and I explain how that is like the Holy Spirit who holds and keeps us. Even the weird climbing shoes have a purpose. They\u2019re designed to stick to the rock just like we\u2019re to be shod with the gospel of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simonek also uses the outings to explain how the fear and anxiety of climbing parallels life.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids who conquer their fear on the rock learn that death, sickness or family break-ups can also be overcome,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just have to praise God through it all and keep trusting him.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the kids first see the rocks they are often overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll say they can\u2019t do it and that fear parallels their lives,\u201d he said. \u201cI tell them that there is hope and a Savior. I tell them that there is evidence of who God is and who Jesus is.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CLICK HERE to read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little did Ron Simonek of Big Bear, California,\u00a0know when he made his first climb 20 years ago that rock climbing would lead him into a relationship with Jesus Christ and into a ministry of hope for youth and families, writes Carol Thomas Karaszewski in the Christian Examiner. After his climbing mentor led him to Christ…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,102],"tags":[1286,2204,1287,2201,1285],"class_list":["post-5206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-feature","tag-carol-thomas-karaszewski","tag-christian","tag-christian-examiner","tag-news","tag-ron-simonek"],"yoast_head":"\nClimber teaches kids to "stick to the Rock"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/08\/climber-teaches-kids-to-stick-to-the-rock-and-not-fear\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Climber teaches kids to "stick to the Rock"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Little did Ron Simonek of Big Bear, California,\u00a0know when he made his first climb 20 years ago that rock climbing would lead him into a relationship with Jesus Christ and into a ministry of hope for youth and families, writes Carol Thomas Karaszewski in the Christian Examiner. 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