SOPO is What the Church should be

SOPO is what church is supposed to be. SOPO stands for "South of Ponce", and it's a community project that encourages cycling. Their mission statement is "to create equitable access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance, services and education." But it's so much more than that.

I've been spending a lot of time there because I bought a vintage road bike that was a real fixer-upper. I love my bike..it's become my baby because I have lubbed it, replaced all the rusty cables, gotten it new tires, etc. And all this I did myself and for FREE, because of SOPO. At SOPO, you can build a bike from scratch for practically nothing because you build it using donated parts. However, you have to build it yourself, but that's what makes it so freakin' cool!

From the first night I showed up there, the community at SOPO was eager to help me with my bike project. I timidly walked up a little lost sorority girl among a sea of hipsters, but at SOPO they don't judge. It doesn't matter where you come from or what you look like, the SOPO community embraces and welcomes you.

There's bike experts that come up there just to help people and educate them on how to fix their bike. Everyone is working together, helping and teaching each other about their bikes. Serving one another and building relationships through working together.

There is also a place for the homeless at SOPO. There are homeless people that build their bikes and are also regular volunteers who teach dumb people like me how to pimp their bike out. SOPO embraces the homeless community and gives them a place where they belong and can be used.

SOPO is what the church should be...inclusive, non-judgemental, relational, serving and reaching out to the broken....just like Jesus.