Jason likes to go to bicycle races on Saturdays in the spring, and at one particular race, he had an idea that changed his life. At that race, he noticed a booth where a nonprofit was collecting money and bikes for kids who couldn’t afford them. Jason thought, “Why couldn’t we do that as a church?” So he and his wife, Jen, started a bike ministry with their church, Martinsburg Grace Brethren Church (MGBC) in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.

They named their ministry “Wheels of Joy,” because Jesus is the source of true joy—and bikes make people happy. During the ministry’s first Christmas, they gave away 10 bikes to families in the community who needed some help. As the years went by, Jason and Jen developed friendships with the families who received the bikes and shared the gospel with them. 

Wheels of Joy has been operating for 16 years now, and has distributed over 500 bikes and has helped more than 300 families with gifts, clothing, and food. Their goal is to serve as Jesus’s hands and feet by showing His love in real and practical ways.

Eventually, Jason and Jen felt like they were doing a good job of serving the Martinsburg area, so they wanted to expand and bless even more people. As a result, they started collecting coats, hats, socks, and food for a ministry called Ben Blessed, which serves the homeless population in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Last year, God gave Wheels of Joy their first opportunity to go international by sending bikes to the Caribbean island of Barbuda. The island has had a history of being severely impacted by hurricanes, so MGBC was already partnering with Bonnie Floyd Ministries (BFM) to help meet the needs there. When Jason and Jen learned how greatly the island needed bicycles for transportation, they knew they could help.

Through the generosity of their church, God allowed Wheels of Joy to collect a total of 150 bikes and send them to Barbuda! A team from MGBC traveled to the island in early 2023 where they assembled the bikes, distributed them, and taught locals how to assemble and repair them. The team also left them with plenty of spare inner tubes and parts for the future—and now the island has its own repair shop!

Together with BFM, Wheels of Joy ensures that the good news is shared and shown at every bike distribution.

We love it when ministries like this start in their Jerusalem, move to their Samaria, and then extend to the uttermost parts of the world. We praise God for how He used one man’s love for bikes to bless his entire town and even an island in the Caribbean!