On a cold pre-dawn Sunday in June, while you were snuggled under your doona, the Rev Pat Jones was stretching his legs and warming up for one of the most important runs of his life. The generations pastor at St Paul’s,  Castle Hill was about to be chased by four teenage cyclists for 100 kilometres – all the way from Wollongong Lighthouse to northwestern Sydney. 

Titled Chasing Compassion, the four teenagers set out on their bikes, with their pastor on foot, to race the 100km from Wollongong to their evening service in Castle Hill, to raise funds for those affected by natural disasters in the Philippines. 

The four cyclists – Travis, Josh, Lachie and Alex – gave their pastor a five-hour head start. Mr Jones started on foot at 4.30am, and the four boys began their chase at 9.30am.

“Some of the younger guys came up with the idea [to raise funds for] Compassion,” Mr Jones says.

“It was painful and long. I got in just after 7 o’clock at night. The boys left five hours after me and beat me back by about an hour! It was good fun.”

They were all sore and struggling the next day, especially the boys – who don’t have a riding background and did very little training in the lead-up to the challenge.

The boys’ efforts raised more than $20,000. They, along with a group of 30 young people from St Paul’s, are flying to the Philippines with Compassion in the middle of the month. There they will have the opportunity to visit Compassion centres and churches, and learn how the Filipino church follows Christ. 

Many families in the Philippines are still rebuilding their lives after Super Typhoon Odette (known elsewhere as Typhoon Rai) ripped through their towns in 2021. With every kilometre they rode and ran, they were helping 896 children and their families to access safe shelter, clean water and rebuild their lives after the disaster. 

Mr Jones was greatly encouraged by the boys’ creativity and enthusiasm.  

“The younger generation have a real heart and a real passion for caring for people in need,” he says. “It’s great to see that Compassion offers such a channel for them to do that. It's encouraging to see that we’re able to help people, to channel that energy and passion that people have for caring for others. 

“The boys were really excited about the buy-in for the fundraiser – the way our church lifted it up.”