Each year, tens of thousands of motorcycle riders pass through northern Alabama as they participate in the Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride. When Sammy Gilbreath was named director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions about 16 years ago, he realized there was not a ministry in place to reach out to this robust population of riders in the state.
An evangelism tool
“My wife and I prayed about it, and we decided to buy a Harley, even though we’d never had one before,” Gilbreath said. “She and I started riding together and then decided to expand it and make that an evangelism tool.”
This year’s Trail of Tears Ministry — which took place Sept. 15 — attracted about 100,000 riders. The event was a great success that went off without a hitch and resulted in many riders being saved, Gilbreath said.
By reaching out to riders during the Trail of Tears ride, this ministry became the largest single event for evangelism outreach in the state, allowing volunteers to come in contact with thousands of bikers — many of whom are unchurched.
To reach out to these riders this year, volunteers from Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, Athens; First Baptist Church, Florence; and the Madison Baptist Association hosted events including special worship services, booths set up with water and snacks for the riders, gas and flat-screen TV giveaways and a blessing of the bikes. To be entered into the drawing for the flat-screen TV, bikers had to agree to let a volunteer share a three-minute gospel presentation. Likewise, when bikers chose to participate in the gas giveaway, three volunteers would be a part of the process: one would fill the gas tank, a second would wash the bike’s windshield and a third would share God’s Word with the biker.
As a rider himself, Ric Camp, pastor of First, Florence, said this event has particular significance for him. Still, he was quick to point out, many participants from his church are not riders themselves and enjoy participating in this evangelical outreach. Since the event, Camp has heard from several of his church members who are interested in getting contact information for some of the bikers they met via the outreach just so they can continue to stay in touch.
First, Florence, has been involved in the ministry since Camp joined the church’s staff in 2010 and has enjoyed building its participation through the years.
“In past years, we’ve worked with F.A.I.T.H. Riders to give away a Harley,” he said. “This year we decided to try something different, so we moved to the flat-screen TV.”
As for continued growth of the ministry?
“This will only get bigger,” Gilbreath said. “We are probably going to make this a national event next year. Buddy Newsome, co-founder of F.A.I.T.H. Riders, will be bringing F.A.I.T.H. Riders from all over the country to work the event, so we’ll have more booths and more volunteers.”
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