Amid a sea of suits, sport coats, and polo shirts at the 2010 South Carolina Baptist Convention annual meeting, the three men dressed in black leather motorcycle vests really stood out. Two of them are pastors, and the third is the current president of the ministry they are a part of, the Carolina Faith Riders.
Members of the Carolina Faith Riders motorcycle group joined other messengers at the SCBC annual meeting.“We have a well-kept secret, and we need to get the secret out,” said David Wampole, a member of Trinity Way Church, Greenville. “We want to represent this ministry, and we need to be seen.”
Carolina Faith Riders is a statewide ministry that gives folks with a passion for biking a platform to share the gospel. “We are not just a riding club, we minister and share about Jesus,” said Jimmy Hudson, member of Lancaster Second Baptist Church and current president.
The biggest event the Carolina Faith Riders attend each year is the popular Bike Week in Myrtle Beach. They set up a tent where, once inside, other bikers can receive basic medical assessments and hear a three-minute gospel presentation. The chance to win a real Harley Davidson bike helps get bikers inside.
“God calls us to plant seeds,” said Gary Hanna, pastor of Redd’s Branch Church, Aiken. The group is already seeing a harvest; at the 2009 Biker Week event, they shared the gospel with 1,327 bikers and saw 237 make professions of faith. Because of their follow-up efforts, including helping new believers find a local church and teaching them to share their faith, Hanna said they saw a total of 600 professions of faith as a result of that Biker Week.
“We just use something as simple as motorcycling to share about Jesus,” Wampole said.
For more information about Carolina Faith Riders, visit www.scfaithriders.org. – SCBC