Biker Sunday at Powerline Nazarene Church
Take 200 motorcycles, 300 riders and passengers, 3 days of riding, one God-loving rock and roll band, a Hell's Angel turned preacher, and a Nazarene Church that welcomes them all and what do you get? The Fourth Annual Biker Sunday at Powerline Church of the Nazarene in Elon, North Carolina.
Powerline Church of the Nazarene opened its doors and welcomed bikers from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia for a weekend of getting closer to God. For some it was a renewal of their faith. For others, it was an invitation to start a personal relationship with Christ.
Uncaged Biker Ministries, the biker outreach ministry of Powerline Church, has been reaching out to the biker community for the past four years to proclaim the love of Christ and His message of salvation through this annual event. Uncaged Biker Ministries was founded by David Middendorf to reach out to an unchurched community: motorcyclists ignored by traditional churches.
As Powerline opens its doors to long hair, beards, tattoos, jeans, and leather, it embraces a culture of diversity and openly accepts all who want to love Jesus. Uncaged Biker Ministries is not for saints.
It is for sinners who want to love the Lord, accept His gift of grace and mercy, and be forgiven.
On Saturday night, 110 bikes led by the Uncaged Biker Ministries pastor, David Middendorf, took off for a night ride through the countryside. Upon returning to the church, the riders found a roaring bonfire, hot drinks, and s'mores waiting for them, served by Powerline's Celebrate Recovery ministry group. Everyone settled in, talked God and bikes, and relaxed. Campers on the church property settled down for the night and the rest retreated to their hotel or home to rest up for Sunday.
Sunday was an awesome day as 200 bikes rumbled in to the church parking lot. Bikers were covered in prayer as they paraded through a "Prayer Tunnel" of cheering Powerline Church members welcoming them to Biker Sunday. Harleys and Hondas, Kawasakis and Suzukis, choppers and cruisers all mixed and mingled in a rumble and jumble of sound and color. The entire parking lot (instead of the normal ten parking spaces) was designated "bikes only," and the "cages" (cars) were relegated to a grassy field next to the church.
Evangelist Barry Mayson, a former Hell's Angel, delivered God's message to an overflow crowd. The alter call had bikers standing two deep at the front of the church. After lunch, David Middendorf led a parade of bikes through Elon and the surrounding countryside.
Biker Sunday is a free event. As David Middendorf told the bikers on Sunday afternoon: "There is no charge for any of our events. We do this because God loves you and we, the biker-friendly members of Powerline, love you." Members of the church and corporate sponsors pay the expenses for everything the bikers receive during the weekend.
"If we lead one biker to have personal relationship with Christ, everything we have spent, done, and worked toward for this weekend will have been accomplished," said Middendorf.
Mike Gregory is grateful believer in Jesus Christ and a member of Powerline Church of the Nazarene and Uncaged Biker Ministries. He and his wife Cindy are the proud grandparents of Daisy, one of the newest Uncaged Bikers. They ride a Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic.
For more information about this ministry and how to start a biker ministry in your church or community, visit Powerline www.powerlinechurch.org and Uncaged Ministries www.uncagedministries.org.
Holiness Today, September/October 2005
Please note: This article was originally published in 2005. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
