Tammy Bugg stowed her motorcycle helmet in a compartment of a powder-blue Harley and headed toward the hostess’ stand at the restaurant as another diner pointed and sighed, “It’s one of those orange people.”
Tammy Bugg stowed her motorcycle helmet in a
compartment of a powder-blue Harley and headed toward the hostess’
stand at the restaurant as another diner pointed and sighed, “It’s one
of those orange people.”
Although the orange people – or FAITH Riders – were
but 100 or so in number last week in Nashville, Tenn., their presence
left an impression with bikers and non-bikers alike.
And the impact was for more than the orange
tee-shirts they wore that said, “The Gathering 2005” and “Sharing
life’s answers across Nashville.”
The motorcycle ministry also showed love in action
last week through rallies, church-sponsored block parties, a parade and
toy distribution to hospitalized children. Some of the events featured
testimonies of riders like “Jim,” a former drug runner whose
sports-tattooed biceps and buzz-cut hair helps attract audiences to
hear about God’s forgiveness.
The FAITH Riders also rumbled their cycles past the
city’s most visible honky tonks to rev up interest in Jesus. By the end
of the Crossover events, FAITH Riders had influenced 10 professions of
faith, reported Alan Bugg, director of a motorcycle ministry at
Heartland Worship Center in Paducah, Ky.
Bugg also looks every bit the part of the hardened
biker with his shaved head, beard stubble and his black sleeveless
leather vest decorated with colorful patches. But he shares easily
about his savior.
“We handed out red shop towels with a tract rolled
inside them,” Bugg said, explaining the group’s approach to witnessing
to other bikers.
“One tough guy took it and thought I was passing him
some stash (drugs) and said, ‘Oh, man, thanks buddy.’ Then, he realized
what it was, and he dropped all the obscenities. He really cleaned up
his language, and he appreciated the shop towel.”
The group also distributed bright orange “One Way”
stickers to children and used EvangeCubes to present the plan of
salvation. Based on a kind of Rubik’s Cube from nearly 40 years ago,
the hand-held EvangeCube is a flexible multi-sided block that shows a
series of images illustrating Christ’s death and resurrection and
explaining the gospel.
For the most part, the response FAITH Riders
received was warm as they handed out flyers advertising events at a
Harley Davidson bike show in downtown Nashville. Dave McClamma gave a
flyer to a Road King rider at the show. The man stopped, read it and
said he and his wife were going to do my best to come to one of the
scheduled FAITH Riders event.
The man and his wife are typical of a new generation
of middle-aged riders, often husband and wife, who enjoy motorcycle
riding as a leisure activity. The Motorcycle Industry Council reports
the median age of motorcycle owners currently is 42, up from 27 in
1985, while the median income of motorcycle owners is $55,850, more
than twice what it was in 1985.
“It is the start of something big,” one FAITH Rider
participant said of the group’s effort to tap into the growing interest
in motorcycle riding with the gospel.
“I think what God is going to do is to allow a lot
of churches to step into a venue to reach people who won’t come to
church because we all dress like preachers. But they’ll come if they
think they are welcome.”
As he spoke, the roar of a touring motorcycle grew louder in the background. (BP)