“Everybody needs prayer and everybody needs revival.”
Phillip Cook said he knows that to be true and for the past several years as he’s been riding around Alabama on his Harley Davidson he’s felt a burden for that to start right here.
So this year for the months of June, July and August, he and other members of F.A.I.T.H. Riders Alabama will circle the perimeter of the state on motorcycles, praying for churches, pastors and communities and asking God to bring revival.
“We don’t want it to stop there but to begin there,” said Cook, state coordinator for F.A.I.T.H. Riders Alabama and a member of Enon Baptist Church, Montevallo. “We want this to be something this ministry consistently does. We want to encourage pastors and church people and show them we care and that God cares.”
The plan consists of using the men and women of the 30 local F.A.I.T.H. Riders chapters throughout the state to cover specific regions on the map. F.A.I.T.H. Riders, a Florida-born motorcycle ministry that migrated into Alabama more than a decade ago, focuses solely on sharing the gospel through practical ministry. It’s in the name itself — F stands for forgiveness, A for available (forgiveness is available), I for impossible (it is impossible to please God on our own), T for turn (from sin) and H for heaven.
Chapters will work to cover 150- to 200-mile stretches of road around the perimeter of the state.
Robert Rhodes, pastor of Cottonton Baptist Church in Russell Baptist Association and national F.A.I.T.H. Riders chaplain, says the heart of the effort comes from 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“God has told us that ‘if My people will humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land,’” Rhodes said. “Our Alabama chapters of F.A.I.T.H. Riders believe our state can lead the way for healing here and around the country.”
While the project will begin on the state’s perimeter, it will not end there. Cook said after the perimeter is covered, the organization will begin working through its local chapters to cover the interior of the state.
“We want people to know we are taking this seriously,” Cook said. “We want to get to every county and as many Southern Baptist churches as we can. We want to meet as many pastors and church members as we can. We want them to know when we are going to be in their area so we can pray for them and with them. There’s something very encouraging about experiencing another brother or sister in Christ praying with you.”
Mike Stewart, national director of F.A.I.T.H. Riders, said it is only through prayer that meaningful ministry can take place.
Catching the vision
“The primary focus of this incredible motorcycle ministry is evangelism, but without prayer and the support of local pastors and churches our ministry would not be effective,” he said. “This vision and outreach in Alabama will set the standard for the other 28 states with F.A.I.T.H. Riders chapters. We pray that other states will catch this vision and follow in Alabama’s tracks.”
Anyone is welcome to join the ride this summer, Cook said. (TAB)
For more information, contact Phillip Cook at faithriderphillip@gmail.com or 205-369-3770.
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