STURGIS, S.D. (BP) – At the F.A.I.T.H. Rider’s ministry tent during the 86th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally last week, “I met a quiet man with tattoos all over his arms wearing a T-shirt with cutoff sleeves who said he wanted to hear my testimony and enter our bike giveaway,” a F.A.I.T.H. Rider said. “As part of my personal story, I shared how I was convicted about my sin, understood that Jesus’ death paid the cost of my salvation, pledged to turn away from my selfish desires and made Jesus my boss.
“That man experienced the same conviction, confessed his sins, accepted Jesus’ gift and made Him his Lord,” F.A.I.T.H. Riders’ board chairman Warren Abraham told Baptist Press. “From my first testimony-sharing experience at the 68th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2008 until now, my testimony, the Gospel message, and salvation invitation have been the same. How the audience responds to the Holy Spirit’s conviction is up to them.”
This is the “Sturgis model” of intentional, relevant, evangelistic witness at events that draw large, specific-interest crowds. There’s a motorcycle (prominently displayed on the sidewalk) to be given away, a “catcher,” who invites passersby to enter a 15×30-foot tent for a chance to win that motorcycle; a “sharer” who gives his/her Gospel-centered testimony in 3 minutes; and a “recorder” who takes the listener’s information and places it into a rotating drum with all other entries.
“Our testimonies establish rapport with our audience and open the door for our focus: sharing the Gospel and inviting a response,” Abraham said.
A national impact from South Dakota
The concept was first used by Southern Baptist Evangelist Ronnie Hill in 2004 at a NASCAR rally in Bristol, Tenn. Jim Hamilton, then-executive director of the Dakota Baptist Convention and a motorcycle enthusiast, heard about it and adapted the concept for Sturgis in 2006. The next four years Hamilton brought Hill to Sturgis to train up to 150 volunteers a year in correctly giving their 3-minute testimonies. Dakota leaders eventually took over the training.
Dakota Baptist Convention built the evangelistic ministry at Sturgis with the primary support of Georgia Southern Baptists and the North American Mission Board. Black Hills area churches housed volunteers, hosted pancake breakfasts, a “clean and sober” camp for bkers and more.
Activities also included a national 30-day pre-event prayer emphasis, (plus during- and post-event prayer) and follow-up of those who said they submitted their lives to Jesus’ authority.
“This [the Sturgis ministry] is one of the best things that ever happened in the Dakotas,” Hamilton said last week. “Typically pioneer areas never have that level of impact. The Lord just arranged things where the Dakota Baptist Convention could have something birthed in it that could impact the nation and beyond.”
A matter of F.A.I.T.H.
F.A.I.T.H. Riders, a Southern Baptist ministry housed in local churches, was first involved in Sturgis a year or two after the ministry started. It’s an organization that has grown from two couples in 2002 in Florida to 420 chapters across the nation today.
When Hamilton left for a new ministry in Alaska in 2019, the state convention withdrew from the Sturgis ministry to focus on in-state ministry. In its 14-year history at Sturgis, Dakota Baptists recorded at least 54,000 Gospel conversations and 10,647 professions of faith in Jesus.
F.A.I.T.H. Riders soon took over the effort.
They also began to use the Sturgis model in other places – like Daytona Bike Week in Florida (each March), Myrtle Beach Bike Week in South Carolina (each May), Lone Star Rally in Galveston, Texas, (each November) and over the late September/early October weekends, at Smoky Mountain Bike Weeks in Maryville, Tenn., and Bikes, Blues and BBQs in Rogers/Eureka Springs, Ark.
These in addition to local evangelism ministries across the nation.
At Sturgis this year, F.A.I.T.H. Riders reported a total of 1,892 Gospel-centered conversations and 209 people who “made Jesus their boss.” The total for their last six years at Sturgis: 10,089 Gospel conversations and 1,132 professions of faith in Jesus.
F.A.I.T.H. Riders’ name is an acronym for Forgiveness, Available, Impossible, Turn, and Heaven. Its scriptural watchword: 2 Peter 3:9. Its motto: No one left behind.
At the top of the homepage on its website – faithriders.com – the non-profit organization self-identifies as “A motorcycle ministry passionate about sharing Christ with the world. As the Lord inspires practical ministry opportunities, we are diligent to share the Good News of the salvation message of Jesus Christ to every person we encounter.”
Phillip Cook has been national director since 2024 of what is not a motorcycle club, but a ministry that utilizes members’ shared interest in motorcycles and in evangelism.
“Our plan is just continuing our efforts until we feel the Lord is moving our efforts elsewhere,” Cook said last week when asked about the organization’s future plans. “As of now we don’t see that happening.”
He was referring to each of the F.A.I.T.H. Riders’ ministry sites, Cook clarified.
“Our only purpose is to share the life-changing ‘good news’ by equipping the saints to engage in practical ministry opportunities, like community rides and local rally outreach efforts,” Cook said. “We are reaching people with their bikes who may not usually step foot into an organized church or Bible study.”
Catchers, Sharers and Recorders
This year about 100 F.A.I.T.H. Riders and 20 locals volunteered at Sturgis. Leaders said they would like to see more local churches and more Southern Baptists involved in each of its ministry locations.
“We’re actually doing two things at Sturgis and the other sites,” Cook said. “With the training, we’re discipling others to be ‘sharers’ or witnessers, and we’re sharing the Gospel with passersby over and over throughout the week.” The ‘sharers’ also are responsible for following up with the people who give their lives to Jesus, until that person is solidly connected with a local church. “What they learn at Sturgis or the other sites they can take home and use locally.”
Volunteers pay $150 for the privilege of serving at Sturgis and the other sites: $50 for housing at a church; $50 for food; and a $50 registration fee to help offset the ministry’s space rent downtown and other expenses. Prayer – before the event, that the Holy Spirit would bring to the tent those people ready to receive; during, for spiritual boldness and protection; and after, covering those who make decisions – is a major component of the ministry.
“Funding is the big thing,” Cook said for the organization dependent on donations. “Last year the Lord blessed us. We gave away four bikes at four events.”
This year’s motorcycle – won by a woman from Denver, Colo. – was a 2000 Heritage Softail driven only 35,000 miles. It was in excellent condition, valued at $10,000.
“We try to plan out a year or so ahead and put together a budget for what we want to accomplish,” Cook said. “Sometimes we’ll get a phone call about a motorcycle. Sometimes it’s just a lot of prayer.”
Catchers, Sharers and Recorders at the F.A.I.T.H. Rider ministry events work in three-hour shifts, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. In the evenings volunteers gather for prayer, worship and testimonies of the days’ interactions.
As for the volunteer organization, there’s a seven-person board of directors, with Abraham as chairman for the last three years, as well as a bookkeeper and website operator.
“F.A.I.T.H. Riders have a heart for lost bikers and personally bear physical and monetary burdens to ensure this people group has the opportunity to hear truth and accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus,” Abraham continued. “Everything we have is His, and we use what he has given us – His message, our stories, resources, time and talents – so that none perish, but all come to salvation.”
This article first appeared on Baptist Press.
