When Marcus Merritt left Alabama with the F.A.I.T.H. Riders motorcycle group in early August, he was in full biker gear. By the time the group got to Kansas, he was down to blue jeans and a white T-shirt and grateful for the absence of a helmet law in the state.
The weather was hot but the group was still fired up about its mission: to share the gospel with bikers at the 68th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
This was the first time the F.A.I.T.H. Riders from Alabama made the three-day trip to Sturgis, S.D., for the rally.
Founded in 2002, F.A.I.T.H. Riders is a church-based motorcycle ministry with five chapters in Alabama and more than 60 others nationwide.
Sturgis is a rally with a reputation for hard partying and hard knocks — a tough crowd for anyone to reach.
“I had heard lots of stories about all the things that went on there; none of which were appealing to me,” said Cindy Hall, who, along with her husband, Rodger, works with the F.A.I.T.H. Riders chapter at Memphis Baptist Church, Dothan, in Columbia Baptist Association. “But when you are working for God, He will surprise you sometimes with the places He sends you.”
And the results of the ministry He calls you to do. According to Merritt, an associate in the evangelism office of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) and SBOM coordinator of F.A.I.T.H. Riders ministries, the response to the F.A.I.T.H. Riders’ outreach was remarkable.
Working out of a tent, the Alabama group, along with other F.A.I.T.H. Riders, registered people for a motorcycle giveaway and presented each person with the gospel. During the weeklong rally, the gospel was shared 5,183 times and 1,337 professions of faith were made.
“It was just awesome to see the people huddled in prayer — big, burly men; some scantily clad women; couples and families; and the missionaries who were leading them to Christ or praying for them and planting that seed for God to harvest later,” said Rebecca Abraham, who is active in the F.A.I.T.H. Riders chapter at Memphis Baptist.
Each new believer was given a Bible, the “Beginning Steps” workbook and the pamphlet “Baptism Matters.”
Merritt personally followed up on the six Alabamians who made professions of faith by contacting local churches and arranging for a pastor to visit them and help them get established in a church. Within 72 hours of the event, the North American Mission Board had done the same for the remaining 1,331 new Christians from across the country.
The Alabama F.A.I.T.H. Riders didn’t limit their gospel presentations to Sturgis. The group, traveling on motorcycles and in an RV, used every chance along the way to spread the good news.
“We camped in a campground that had people from all over the world,” Rodger Hall said. “We invited them for meals and our daily devotions and just talked to them as we met them throughout our stay there.”
It was a journey that emphasized the glory of God’s creation as well as the imperative of sharing the gospel.
“It was a missions trip in every sense of the word — not a lot of extras or luxuries,” Merritt said. “It was all about sharing the gospel.”
For more information about F.A.I.T.H. Riders, visit www.faithriders.com.
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