Listen to someone’s three-minute faith journey and be entered to win a motorcycle—sounds like a pretty good deal, right? For a number of years, volunteers from churches around the US have headed to Sturgis Bike Week or Daytona Bike Week to share their stories with those willing to listen. But do the hopeful raffle winners pay attention? Is the investment worthwhile?
Over the years, 22,852 presentations of the Gospel have been recorded at Daytona Bike Week. From those opportunities, 2,604 people prayed to receive Christ and were referred to a local church where they live.
In Sturgis, 27,000 presentations of the Gospel have led to 6,100 praying to receive Christ.
In total, the Gospel has been shared 49,852 times, and 8,704 names have been written in the Book of Life.
Through these ministries, more than 4,000 volunteers from around the country have been mobilized to share the Gospel with men and women who are far from God.
Bob Clardy, a volunteer at Sturgis this summer, shares what he and Buck Hill (associate executive director of the Dakota Baptist Convention) experienced one night:
Wow! I can’t describe what just happened other than to say glory to God! After everyone had left the Sturgis Bike Giveaway site and Buck and I had settled down to a cup of coffee before going to bed, we heard a loud knock at the door. We went to the door and there stood a couple with tears streaming down their faces and gripped in fear saying that they had heard a three-minute testimony from Melanie (from Georgia) and they hadn’t been able to rest since. Tony and Marie were led back to our camper to close the deal with their relationship with Christ. They are no longer lost, they are no longer wandering, but God led them from Arizona to Sturgis to be with servants of His so that their lives could be changed. They had a heart transplant that night and are walking on air! Praise God! Thank you for praying!
The after story is that Tony brought his mother by the next morning. She shared with us that she had been praying and sharing with Tony for the last 10 years and was grateful that he had finally listened to someone.
Tony shared with us that they would be going back to Arizona and getting married so they could make [things] right before God, [and that] they were coming back next year to have us do the big ceremony at Sturgis. Everyone is invited to a wedding in Sturgis, August 2017.
Over the past 10 years, God has used SBC of Virginia churches to pray for and volunteer at these ministry opportunities, where the spiritual fruit has been astonishing. Just this year, 3,085 people heard the Good News, and over 242 became Christians. Only God knows how the other 2,843 will respond in the coming days. Thank you, SBCV churches, for your participation in this evangelistic opportunity!
…this is why
