CLERMONT — A 1996 advertisement run by skateboard manufacturer World Industries in many skateboarding magazines offered kids a chance to sell their souls to World Industries and "ensure your permanent place in Hell." The three-page cartoon depicted heaven as a boring place with prohibitive rules, while hell is full of skate parks, attractive women and fun.

"There was even a coupon contract at the end the kids could fill out and send in," said Dave Sippel, youth pastor at First United Methodist Church here. "This is serious. They’re making hell look like a great place to go."

Members of the Clermont church here are just as serious about giving skaters the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and find a church home. The church opened a skate park on its property last April and now has nearly 80 kids registered to skate there.

"That’s one of the great things about this church," said the Rev. Richard Bordin, pastor of the church. "They have the heart and soul to think outside the box."

Sippel said the idea for the park came to him through a string of related incidents.

At about the same time Sippel saw the ad, he read about a church in Canada that built a few small ramps on its property to give local skateboarders and in-line skaters a place to go. It now has a ministry to more than 150 community kids.

Sippel said he also started noticing skaters hanging out on the church grounds and met a couple of them who had dropped out of school.

He then spent several months collecting as much information about skate parks, equipment, safety and costs as he could. He spoke to Jim Severance, the Florida Conference’s risk manager, to find out what the conference’s insurance would require.

"Jim gave us a list of seven things we would have to do to meet the insurance requirements," he said. That list included fencing around the park, adult supervision at all times, mandatory pads and helmets, signed parental release forms, proof of health insurance and using only equipment built by a professional company that has its own liability coverage.

Funding for the park came from a permanent endowment fund at the church that provides money for missions and emerging ministries, according to Sippel. With approval from the church’s trustees and administrative board, the fund paid the $8,000 start-up cost. The ministry must meet the budget on its own in the future.

The church is already planning to expand the park and purchase a portable ramp the youth group can set up at local malls and parking lots.

"We’ll set it up…and let kids come do tricks on it," Sippel said. "Then we’ll have one of our kids talk to them."

Sippel said the ministry has been successful so far. It is getting some of the neighborhood kids off the streets, attracting new people to the church and changing lives.

Chris Oleson, 14, moved to Clermont early last August. He said he heard about the park from a kid he met at school. He and his family are planning to start attending the church.

When a neighborhood kid named Steven started skating at the park, Seth Johnson, the assistant youth pastor, asked him if he believed in God. "Steven just laughed," Sippel said.

About two weeks later, Steven started asking questions about the Christian music other kids played while skating. A few days later, Steven told Sippel he had been to a Christian bookstore and bought some new compact disks.

"One night after the kids had gone, Seth opened the dumpster," Sippel said. "He called me over and said I had to ‘see this.’ There in the dumpster was a stack of Steven’s old CDs…Snoop Doggy Dogg, Metallica and others."

Steven now wants to start a Skaters for Christ group at his high school and lead a daily devotional.