Some exciting changes with the local structure of the Seattle spoke of the International Christian Cycling Club (IC3NW).   We really believe that the Lord is leading us into a new chapter of the IC3 in the state of Washington. Feel free to contact me by replying by email or check out our Washington Spoke page  to get more information.

Recently, a member of our club got an idea for a re-start in the northwest area that would involve partnering with a local (NW) charity creating a co-labeled team in order to bring awareness, funds, volunteers, etc. to both of those organizations. This re-start would also include a more organized racing component, which has not previously existed in the NW for the IC3. After some prayer, email discussions, and meetings we were able to form a partnership with the Seattle Union Gospel Mission (www.ugm.org) to essentially make the focus of our IC3 NW chapter have two prongs. One to continue to spread the name and love of Jesus to others through cycling with the mission of the IC3 national organization being at the forefront. The other to promote the UGM, they too are a Christian organization and have the same ultimate goal of sharing the word and works of God through the love of Jesus, but instead of cycling they do it through food programs, recovery programs, job training, etc. Combining these 2 was a natural fit in that cyclists, being mobile by definition are always out and about our community riding, talking, and wearing a colorful jersey that can be a rolling reader board and would naturally generate questions such as “what does IC3 mean?” “What’s the deal with the UGM logo on your jersey”, and hopefully “what does it mean to be a Christian?” and then “How do I come to know Jesus?”. This partnership allows both groups to have another chance at achieving our desired and mutual goals.

Although still in its infant stages we are forging ahead with this team re-start and are looking for your prayer and support to make it happen. We have set a goal of raising $5,000 for the UGM in 2012. Most of this money will hopefully come from sponsor money but would also come through donations to our specific spoke via the IC3. The financial structure of the team will now be to split any sponsor/ specified donations money 50/50 with the UGM and the remaining amount IC3 NW chapter and the infrastructure of the Team (jersey program, promotional items, web hosting, printing costs, licensing, etc.)

********* The part that you can help with most, besides your prayers is that we have also set a goal of having 50 paid members of the IC3 NW chapter in 2012. This is a lofty but very achievable goal with your prayer and support. One of the main ways that we can get the word out about our Team/Mission is to get team clothing out to our members. This is another piece of this puzzle that we are extremely excited about. We have decided to use some of our sponsor money to subsidize the cost of a standard short sleeve jersey and a small local club fee of $20 and be able to offer every paid member of IC3NW a FREE jersey with their membership. This local club fee of $20 along with the annual membership (required) to the IC3 of $40 for an individual will get you all the benefits of being an international club member but would also get you a local club jersey, which will have both the IC3 and UGM logos along with our local and national sponsors on it. This is a big leap of faith and will require a lot of trust that God has blessed this idea so we can forge ahead. If you want to be a member of the local spoke you are required to send your $20 local club due directly to Mike at the Seattle Spoke address (see below), this will get you on our “team” list and enable you to receive the local team jersey, etc.. These plans are scalable and will need to be tailored to fit the donations/ sponsorships that we are able to bring in but we think these goals can be met. We hope you will continue participating in the club in 2012 and be a part of our team re-start. We would like as many people around the area wearing these new jersey’s as much as possible. This could take the form of many things from participating or leading group IC3 rides in your community to racing on the weekends (road, track, mtn, cyclocross) to commuting to work wearing your IC3 kit. If you are interested in any specific aspect of the team in regards to volunteering, participation etc. please contact me to see how we can get you connected. We are looking forward to having some organized events this year that will help raise some more funds for the UGM so stay tuned. All of this is for the glory of God and would enable us to participate in the lives of those helped by the UGM.

We are hoping to get a new spoke website soon that will be linked from the national site that will be a great place for communicating news and information about events.  The “official” launch the new and improved IC3 NW/ UGM Cycling Team will be at the Seattle Bike Expo that will happen on March 10-11 in Seattle (at the Smith Cove Cruise Ship Terminal) where we will have a booth representing our club both locally and internationally. If we can get enough sponsors and donations, we will have new IC3NW / UGM Cycling Team water bottles to give out to anyone who makes a small donation to the UGM. I hope you get a chance to come to that event to not only check out all the cool toys but to support IC3NW and the Seattle Union Gospel Mission.

Please feel free to contact Kyle Foss if you have any questions about this team planning in regards to sponsorships. If you know of any Christian owned companies that may be interested in partnering with us via sponsorship Kyle would love a chance to share the vision with them. The sponsors will be a tiered commitment with the amount given corresponding to the size logo that will be placed on the jersey. There are 3 levels; Silver $500, Gold- $1000, and Platinum- $1500. Each sponsor that comes on board will be participating in the 50/50 split with IC3 and UGM. The money will initially go to the IC3 and then the Seattle spoke will write a check on behalf of the IC3NW to the UGM at the end of the year. We want to be very transparent with this program so feel free to ask us any questions.

Thank you for your time and again we are very excited about these changes and look forward to seeing what God has in store for this “new” team. In addition to God’s blessing and provision membership participation is key to our success so we hope that you are also excited about what we are going to be doing. If you know of anyone that is interested in joining our club/team please have them visit http://christiancycling.com/spokes/washington/.   Kyle can be reached at kylejfoss@gmail.com

Remember, you join nationally for $40.00 and get all of the benefits of the huge discounts from our sponsors and then join the local spoke for $20.00 and be one of the first 50 local club members and receive a jersey basically for $20.00 !  *********************Please keep the spoke and all who are involved in your prayers that the enemy would be bound during this transition.

Riding for and with HIM,

Mike

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  3. Seattle Spoke News June 2009
  4. IC3 Seattle Spoke News-January
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