Nancy Fish says serving with Fuller Center like “joining a family”
LANCASTER, South Carolina — Nancy Fish has always loved biking and service work. A little more than three years ago, she found a great way to merge those two passions when she signed up for her first Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure ride — the Tour de Florida.
“I had told a friend that I had done some bike riding with that I wanted to find a group to do long-distance bike riding with,” Fish recalled. “He’s the one who actually found The Fuller Center, and he knew how much my Christian faith was important to me. He’s the one who told me to check out the Fuller Center Bike Adventure.”
She was a rookie Adventurer on the annual winter ride that has begun in various Florida cities but traditionally ends in Key West. (The next Tour de Florida, which is full, begins January 29 in Sarasota and will cover 470 miles on its way to the February 7 conclusion in Key West.) She admits she slightly overestimated her cycling prowess before the ride.
“I thought I was prepared for the bike ride but found out I was not prepared for the bike ride,” she said. “But everybody was so caring and encouraging. They just accepted me without any questions.”
Unfortunately for Fish, she had to join that first ride a little late and missed the relatively short ride’s lone build day.
“I didn’t get to do the build, and I was so disappointed,” she said. “I loved the bike part — even though it was the hardest thing I had done in my life up to that time. I was told that I could join another build day on another ride if I wanted to.”
When the Adventure soon afterward had a four-week-long East Coast ride come through South Carolina, she saw that there would be a build day a couple of hours from her home. This time, she couldn’t make the ride, but she could make the build day.
“I got a campsite near there at a state park, and I went to the build day,” Fish recalled. “I loved it. Again, everybody was just so friendly. I just was adopted into the family, and I’m so happy to be here.”
Not only did she fall in love with the Adventure, but she also fell in love with putting Millard Fuller’s “Theology of the Hammer” into action on Fuller Center job sites.
“I had conversations with God and told Him that I wanted to serve others through The Fuller Center and through the Bike Adventure,” she said. “That’s how it all began.”
The past year has seen Fish’s volunteerism kick into high gear as she has made a dozen trips to western North Carolina over the past year since historic rainfall from Hurricane Helene caused flooding and landslides, destroying or damaging thousands of homes in that region.
After seeing that the Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders had set up a base near Black Mountain, N.C., she asked them about serving last December. She did not have the expert construction skills they needed in the immediate aftermath but was invited to join a team to see what the experience would be like when she planned to return with a church group months later.
“I fell in love with the team leaders — Rosemary and Bill Pate — and that week changed my life,” she said. “It really did. I’m going to cry right now talking about it. I saw the devastation that those people were overcoming. And I saw The Fuller Center there working so hard to restore hope and to rebuild houses. I just wanted to be a part of that.”
She would return in February and then get even more involved. Seeing how much Disaster ReBuilders staff had to do to maximize the impact and experience of volunteer teams who come to western North Carolina, she offered to serve as a volunteer staffer.
“I go up there whenever I have a free week and volunteer,” she said. “Mostly I go to volunteer as staff because the staff has so much to do. I try to help them however I can. There are times, though, when I actually get to work with a team on rebuilding. I love going there and have made lots of friends. I feel like it’s my home away from home.”
Fish is passionate about her faith, and she feels the Holy Spirit’s presence whether she is volunteering with the Disaster ReBuilders or pedaling alongside fellow Bicycle Adventurers.
“I like that we very subtly share our Christian faith by being the hands and feet of Jesus,” she said. “Everybody there is at a different level in their walk with Jesus. Some are very outgoing with wanting to pray, and others are more reserved. And there are some who go on the bike rides who don’t have a relationship with Jesus at all, but everybody just comes together to serve and is accepting. The light of Jesus just shines, and it’s such a very positive experience.”
Unfortunately, a fall from her bicycle in June caused a back injury that worsened over the following few months. She was able to make the Adventure’s annual fall ride down The Natchez Trace Parkway this past October, but she will have back surgery in January and will be off the bike for a while. Last month, her streak of 2,150 consecutive riding days came to an end after more than five years.
The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure will have its biggest year yet in 2026 with nine different route options, including multiple new ones. Fish encourages anyone considering a cycling experience to check out the Adventure.
“You will experience a bike ride like you’ve never experienced before because the camaraderie and the focus on Jesus just makes it so much more worthwhile,” she said. “You know that while you’re riding, you’re riding for a purpose, not just riding for yourself to be in shape and enjoy bike riding. You’re riding to promote The Fuller Center and what they’re doing and to be an active part of it when you have a build day.”
The camaraderie and shared experiences are something she will miss until her back heals.
“One thing that I like that everybody else may not like is learning to live in a community on a Fuller Center Bike Adventure,” she said. “We spend a week to 10 days or longer together living in churches. One of the things we say on the Bike Adventure is, ‘We live simply so that others can simply live.’ And it’s a joy to do that and work with other people. It isn’t always easy, but everybody agrees on what our ultimate mission is, and that is to share the love of God with everybody — including who you’re living with at that time.”
Meanwhile, she continues to be an ardent supporter of The Fuller Center for Housing and has become quite the ambassador when it comes to telling the ministry’s story.
“I’m always trying to get people to be a part of The Fuller Center whether they are praying, contributing financially or showing up to volunteer or ride a bike,” she said. “I was told when I did my first bike ride that once you’re part of The Fuller Center family, you’re always a part of The Fuller Center family. That’s what it’s like. It’s like joining a family and having people you stay in touch with who care about you and pray for you. They truly want you to experience the love of God and everything that He created you to be.”
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