TIPS EVERY MOTORCYCLE MINISTRY MEMBER SHOULD USE

  Do you know what I see, and what the general public perceives at motorcycle rallies?  They see a lot of guys and gals wearing biker patches, but really not actively witnessing.  Most Christian bikers are  just walking around, like everybody else.  Advertising, by wearing a Christian patch sends a message, but it really is not an effective witness compared to what you are going to learn here.  Read the article to discover more about this.

  This article will make you very productive, much more than you realize you ever could. We will begin with some basic, but important tips, then progress into some very powerful tools.  I encourage you to print this page and send it to other biker ministries and post one in your Motorcycle Ministry newsletter.  See the legal notice at the end of the article giving you permission to publish the article, as is.

  Please share this information to other biker ministries so they too can be increasingly more powerful witnesses. - James Russell

Witness to Everyone - Do not ignore those who are lost.  The motorcycle ministry is not as specific as you may wish it to be.  The Lord said to witness to all, not just a specific targeted few.  Ministry is not only to reach the non-affiliated hardcore outlaw biker, ex-military riders, civilian patch-wearers or the 1% clubs.  The goal is to reach everyone for the Lord.  That means the general public visitors and the participating bikers who have no affiliation.  Open the horizons in your sphere of influence.  Think big.  Expand your ministry outreach. 

Be More Friendly - Too many Christian Bikers are intimidating to the general public and they don't realize it.  Simply wearing a patch strikes fear into people, even if it is a  Christian patch.  A person's adrenalin rises to the defensive.  They will not admit it and they will hide their fear, but you can see it in their eyes and the way they will avoid you.  You can't witness to people who are scared to be near you.  So that means the responsibility is upon you to be "very outgoing and friendly" to all you meet.  Learn to smile at people, shake hands, put your arm around them for a moment.  That breaks the ice.  Even if just in passing on a crowded sidewalk, go out of your way to smile and be friendly.  If you do not smile, you will appear too tough.  Hey, that's the way it is when you wear a patch.  The ball is now in your hands.  You will find people will want to talk to you and be seen hanging out with you if you let them feel you are approachable.  You can look and act tough like the outlaw biker and you will not have any ears to listen to your testimony.  You got to become very friendly.  Don't worry, you will see that you will get a lot more respect from other bikers when you do. Try it.  It is hard work at first, but it will come easy after a bit of practice, especially when you start to get a lot of results for the Lord.

Learn About False Conversions  - There are a lot of false conversions  that result in backsliders and much effort lost.  I can't delve into this subject in one paragraph, so I will strongly urge you to read Ray Comfort's book "The Way of the Master" use the simple techniques in this book to blow away the sinner on the spot.  You will have a powerful advantage over the sinner to the point it will shut his mouth and be awestruck.  Example you may ask: "Do you believe you are a good person?"  They say yeah, I'm a good person.  I have my faults, but overall I'm a good person. (even the hardcore criminal does good deeds, so they think they are basically good, too.  Toy runs is an example you can use on bikers who know they are bad and admit it.) So you say, "Have you ever told a lie or gossiped about someone?"  Most will admit it. Now ask, "A person that lies is called a what?"  Wait for an answer.  Urge him to be honest with himself. "People that tell lies are known as liars, right?"  He will admit to it.  "So, by your own admission that makes you a liar and it means you have broken the 9th Commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." 

  Then ask, "Have you ever stolen anything?  Even when you were a kid?"  Make them admit to it. "Oh, c'mon be honest.  Everybody has taken something that was not theirs at one point or another."  They will eventually admit to stealing.  "So, that would make you a what?  A thief, right?"  They will say, "Yeah, I guess so."  So you say, "So that makes you a thief and that means you have broken the 8th Commandment.

  "Have you ever looked upon a woman with lust in your heart?"  Few men can ever deny this.  (If the person admits to being a homosexual then replace the word woman with man).  "Jesus said in the Bible that even if you look upon a woman with lust you have already committed adultery in your heart. "So that would make you an adulterer and you violate the 7th Commandment." 

 "So, by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving adulterer and you still think you are good enough to get into heaven?"  If they say yes, then say, "The Bible, which is God's Word says liars, thieves and adulterers will not enter heaven.  God make the rules, it is His heaven and it is not negotiable regardless if you do not believe it."  If he says, "no" then say "Then by your own admission you have broken three of the ten commandments and we still have seven more to go, but we will stop at three for your sake."

  "The Bible says God will keep His promises and He promises to send anyone who violates any of His commandments will be thrown into hell-fire for all eternity.  You have admitted before God you have violated His commands.  You are lost forever.  However, there is one who has saved you, Jesus Christ.  He paid your fine, your bail and your penalty for you by dying for you on the cross.  He took the hammer of God's wrath upon Himself, for you.  He will save you, if you will accept this free gift from God."  Now you can have him say the  sinner's prayer, or give him a Gospel tract that has the sinners prayer on it. 

  Even if you do not get a conversion on the spot, you have laid the law on his heart and the Holy Spirit will convict him later.  It will be a seed planted that will grow in his gut until he has to deal with it or it will consume him.  Now, when he reads a Gospel tract that he finds, or hears a Christian biker talking, he will at least "understand" why you guys do what you do and the danger he is in to reject the Savior.  He may even harden his heart, but at least you did your job of proclaiming the Gospel to him like putting a gun between his eyes.  No doubt about that.

  You will discover the sinner will not have power over you in his typical arguments when you use this method with the Ten Commandments, The Law of God, to convict the sinner of his sin and to bring him to his need for a Savior.    Read Ray Comfort's book and you will be amazed the techniques you can use.  You will have the sinner's knees knocking, held against the wall with the Gospel at his throat.  That's how powerful the technique can be.  It results in true born-again conversions.  You will create real "on-fire" Christians who want to proclaim the Gospel and will get busy working to get the job done.

Powerful Gospel Tracts - Do not use the typical salvation message Gospel tract or they typical biker ministry Gospel tract.  I will tell you why.  The lost can not relate to what it says!  It is too strong for them.  Preaching the cross is foolishness to him.  The lost do not know they are lost, until they realize they are guilty and they need someone to save him from hell-fire.  Jesus is his only hope and Savior, but they don't know that they need a savior.  It is better to do what Jesus did.  He preached about 33 times warning people about hell-fire punishment.  We need to put the fear of God into the lost, because He is to be feared.  Why?  The Lord's wrath remains upon  everyone who does not accept Jesus Christ.  That is a fact.  Nobody is getting into heaven except by Jesus Christ.  The lost think they are good and they really don't believe a good God will toss them into hell.  That is why they do not fear God.  But when the discover that sin is real, hell is real and they are going there, they will cry out, "What must I do to be saved?"  Chick.com has a nice tract you should use; "Hi There!"  I use it.  It has the death angel on it and the story is for the tough guy you scoffs at heaven and hell until he dies and goes to hell. It is perfect for motorcycle ministries.  It matches many skull paint schemes on bikes.  Write to: Chick Publications, P.O. Box 3500, Ontario, CA 91761.   Another tract I use is "Does God Really Send People to Hell?" from Moments With The Book, P.O. Box 322, Bedford, PA 15522.  Another is, "Your First Six Days in Hell"  from American Tract Society, P.O. Box 462008, Garland, TX 75046. Most all tract Publishers have hell-fire tracts.

More About Hell-Fire Preaching - Tough guys need a tough message.  They will not easily respond to a love message when they live a life of brutal crime with deep hatred upon rivals and others they dislike.  Remember, deep within, they hate the Christian way and that means they hate you.  You may get some friendly hugs, but deep down on a level you can never see they serve their father, the devil, and they will hate God's light.  That is why you need to send them a tough message that they can relate with.  They will relate with someone in authority, someone who has power over them and over others.  I like to say it is the shot-caller effect. The outlaw needs a strong message.  They will not accept a message that appears to be of weakness.  Jesus understood the hardness of hearts and He did preach hell-fire warnings in His parables.  So, give them the most powerful message in the Bible, the pains and suffering of hell.  And it does not matter if they do not believe hell exists, tell them they are going there whether they believe it or not.  God does not lie and He promises it will be as He says it will be.  So, get some hell-fire Gospel tracts.  It is the proper place for motorcycle rallies.  Just look at all the hell fire on the bikes, the death skulls, wizards and demons on paint schemes.  That is the message bikers can relate to, so you give them what they want!  And if you do not like the hell-fire tracts you can buy, nothing is stopping you from writing your own.  Just make absolutely certain it is 100% Biblical and a technique that Jesus has used and you won't go wrong.

Backsliders - Do not be overly concerned about backsliders.  They know the way to Salvation.  They already know the Bible is true.  Do not alter your ministry to appeal to backsliders.  The Lord Jesus said a man is not worthy to follow Him if he puts his hand to the plow and looks back.  A backslider has not only looked back, he has actually looked back and left Jesus.  Your job is to reach the lost, not to chase after backsliders.  None of the Apostles chased after Judas to convince him to repent and rejoin them.  Jesus said many would turn away from the truth.  He also said to let them alone and to shake the dust from your feet and walk on proclaiming the Gospel to those who will listen.   A true born-again believer is not going to backslide unless he absolutely wills it upon himself; those who have false conversions will eventually fall away anyway when tribulation comes.  Jesus will not allow a true born-again Christian to be snatched from His hand.  Backsliders can "game you" to waste your time preventing you from witnessing to someone else who needs the Gospel.  Tell them to recommit now to the Lord this minute.  If he will not, excuse yourself and leave so you can get back to work. 

Time Thieves - When you are at a motorcycle rally you are on God's time clock.  That means you don't let others talk about secular things to you.  That sidetracks you from proclaiming the Gospel.  You don't talk sports, motorcycles, politics, the latest news or other worldly things at any great length.  This is not a social hour.  Not for a Christian biker.  You can take your coffee break when the rally is over. Do not waste time to reach the lost, especially when they are delivered into your hand by them attending a rally.  Now is the time to strike and to work hard!  Too many Christian bikers are socializing with each other, walking about like a bunch of window shoppers.  Break up into pairs and get to work saving the lost!  Jesus wants you to bear much good fruit, not just make a showing at the rally.  Even your club members can steal your time if they want to socialize and hang out.  The club needs a new rule.  "We work for the Lord at the rallies.  We serve the Lord, not ourselves at this time.  Jesus' purpose to save the lost is our goal and we have no time to waste."  You get the idea.  It is time to work and to work hard.  Too many Christian bikers are just hanging around looking good, but not actively working to save the lost.  Many do not even know how! That brings us to a training program.

Training Program - After you have performed your normal indoctrination and training program your club has implemented it is time to do some real-to-life evangelization training.  Here you take a well-trained disciple and a few will follow him around witnessing with boldness.  That is how your club members will dissolve their fears.  Monkey see, monkey do, works.  Now mind you we are not just walking around, we are aggressively handing out Gospel tracts and Christian gifts (everybody likes receiving a gift).  If you want to learn some powerful witnessing techniques get our book Walking With The Lord.     

Operating a Rally Booth - Operating a booth is okay, but what we normally see is a passive booth.  Many people walk right on by and many do not stop to chat. Those that do don't stay long.  Only the well-trained and friendly biker ministry member should man these booths and they must have a couple of "very aggressive" members in front waving people to come over to pick up a gift and get a drink of water or soda, tract, bible or whatever.  Jesus was not passive, He was very aggressive.  So were the Apostles and disciples in the early church.  The lost are swimming by your booth like a fast river, but you do not have anyone standing by the shore with a fishing pole, hook and bait to catch the fish.  Get the picture?  You need to lure and catch the fish or they will swim on by you.  The aggressive men in front can hand out Christian gifts.  That will make people stop and receive what you are giving to them.  Try our gold-tone Biker Gospel Coin if you want to see some real stopping power.  You can use other Christian gift as long as it works.  The next step is to get people to enter your booth.  Yes, you need to get them out from the flow of traffic to come inside your booth. So arrange the layout accordingly so you can get them inside and out of the distraction.  Here they will get a bible, tracts, more gifts with the Word of God on it, bookmarks, your business card, etc.  You should even get a guest register.  This will help you to send them some Christian mail once in awhile and a simple thank you letter with an invitation to come visit you at the booth next year. Make visitors feel welcome. Let them know they are special and you care about them as fellow bikers.  Mail them a special card or gift that has a special blessing from God on it for protection and tell them to put it on their bike somewhere or on their person.  These are just some ideas, but I think you have the picture now.           

Distributing Gospel Tracts - Send your hordes of faithful hard-working Christian bikers out to work.  Give them ammunition of Gospel tracts and they better not come back empty-handed, or else they have to polish the chrome on a member's bike (kidding of course, then again on second thought...).  Use double-stick mounting tape to attach the tracts everywhere you can.  You don't have to hand them out to people, but I have seen this done by groups of bikers on sidewalks and it is a good method.  But let's get some hell-fire Gospel to them!  Something that they will  simply have to read out of curiosity, but the message will convict them of sin, punishment and the need for a Savior.  The "God Loves You" message does not cut it with the lost.  Only the saved strongly relate to that message with ease.  Anyway, the lost already believe the "God in their imagination" already loves them and will not throw them into hell.  What they need to learn is "the truth" that God's wrath is upon them!  They are all condemned to hell and that is the Gospel truth.  That is why Jesus preached about hell and He said everyone is going there unless they repent and believe.  Get the picture?  We have been doing it wrong.  We need to get back to the power of the Gospel to save.  Save from what?  Save from hell.  That is what Jesus is saving us from.  He is saving us from hell and giving us eternal life.  Read the entry below, Effective Witnessing, for more tips.

Gospel Coin - You just have to try these coins.  I have developed the coin for bikers and all those who are lost and for those who need God's promise for a miracle.  I do give a free sample, so give it try.  You will really like these coins and it will do wonders for your motorcycle ministry and your effectiveness in witnessing to the lost.  Just leaving them around like an Easter egg hunt at rallies gets the message of the Gospel out in force.  I even place them in and near streams in the mountains.  The shining gold gets people real excited.  I hand them out to people with great ease and boldness.  People really like them, even the outlaw and the 1%ers like them.  I plant them on sidewalks and even place them on some motorcycle seats or by the kickstand.  I leave them on countertops, seats, restrooms, pool tables, coin slots on vending machines and telephones and much more to explain here.  The Gospel Coin lasts forever because it is metal and has value.  Paper tracts work, but they have no staying power.  Just think of this.  After you are dead and gone, the coins you gave away will still be proclaiming the Gospel.  Can you imagine the rewards you will receive in heaven?  Just how many people can just one coin save in the next 50 years?  A dozen?  More?  Just try these Gospel Coins.   Forgive me for pushing the Gospel Coin, but it is the most powerful witnessing tool I have yet seen that simply lasts for hundreds to maybe a thousand years or more.  Something with real staying power with powerful Biblical promises.   

Gospel Stickers - I have seen some biker ministries make peel and stick labels advertising their biker ministry with a Gospel message on them. This is really a fabulous witnessing tool.  You have probably seen them stuck to fences, railings, telephone poles, utility transformers at ground level, even to concrete curbs and sidewalks, etc..  I made stickers and some big signs with a stronger hell-fire message, "Danger, it is Hell without Jesus."   You may want to consider making up some stickers of your own liking.  It is powerful advertising.  Try to put a Gospel verse on the sticker if you can.  Next year you will even see a few of the stickers actually still exist.  That means it was working year-round each day while you were away.  Imagine that.

Gospel Signs - Why not just make up some large wood or plastic signs with a simple Gospel message on it and tact them up on roadside telephone poles and fences.  I have seen these on motorcycle ride routes and they are effective.  People do see them.  Just arrive early and start posting them.  Some will even survive a year later.  If you put the signs on private property fence posts out along the highways there is a very good chance it will not be removed.  People think the "owners" put up that sign on their property. And if the owners are Christians, they will let it stay.  I learned this by actual experience, so use this technique as much as possible.  Telephone poles and public government property will eventually send a cleaning crew to remove your signs, but they won't touch private property.  Your sign stays unmolested.  I still post them on telephone poles.  They at least will last for the rally.  Other Christian groups use signs like this.  "God Loves Bikers" is what some use.  How about trying, "Trust Jesus, or God To Hell"  That's a strong duel-message, but it will get people to think will it not?  Make up your own ideas and get your signs posted. 

The Enemy Works - At the rally the enemy is very busy distributing its literature.  The cults are leaving their false Gospel tracts and magazines here and there right under you noses.  It is not your job to trash the literature when you find them, but to become more aggressive than they are.  Get your Gospel tract program into high gear. 

Let's Ride - Get Gospel Coins and Chick tracts.  Staple the loose end of the paper tract so when you toss them from your motorcycle they fly like a Frisbee. Then ride in to neighborhoods leaving tracts in driveways.  Leave a coin here and there.  You can reach thousands of people in just a few hours in one night.  Now you are actually using the motorcycle to deliver the Word of God and you are not knocking on doors to disturb people.  However, people will look out the windows hearing the roar of bikers.  Try it, it is fun.  What you are actually doing is making people make a decision for or against Christ when you make deliveries like this. Today is the day of Salvation!    It is a newsworthy event and will likely get exposure in the television news.  You could even invite other biker ministries from out of town to a "rendezvous" where they too come to work your city tossing tracts.  The ride is slow, but fun.  Assign a few bikers to one street at a time while the others work another street nearby.  The entire neighborhood will be roaring with invading bikers. Do this when you are at motorcycle rallies too.  Imagine if each biker passed out 1,000 tracts this way each night.  You will soon discover that delivering 1,000 tracts is too easy to do in one evening. 

Note: you place bundles of tracts under your leather jacket.  You fix the bike's cruise control so the throttle sticks in second gear.  This will keep the bike rolling forward, slowly, giving you time to retrieve and toss the tract with your right hand as you roll past each home.  It's easy to do.  Or you can simply use a passenger to perform the deliveries.

Here's Something New - You are actually kicking yourself in the shin when you tell the sinner that God loves him.  We know that God hates sinners, right?  He loves sinners?  Well, which is it going to be?  For a real eye-opening education on how to reach the lost, as Jesus did, read this article God Hates You

Surprise, Surprise - Just show up at a street corner somewhere and start handing out Gospel tracts, Gospel Coins and Christian gifts.  Do this once each week or at least per month.  Who says we need to wait for a motorcycle rally to witness?  Do this where bikers hang out at social gatherings points, include the poor rice-burners.  Most of them young whippersnappers are going to hell faster than the general biker population. 

Vintage Auto Rally - When you think of the 50's you think of 57 Chevy's, Ford T-buckets, and black leather motorcycle gangs.   What is missing at the automobile rallies?  You are!  Get your ministry out there mixing in with the crowd.  Reno Nevada has a huge week-long rally called, "Hot August Nights" and the biker ministry should blend right in with the era.  There are many car rallies nationwide.   

Motorcycle Events - Have you considered creating a rider safety course in your area?  If not, consider a free bike-wash or a good old fashion free BBQ diner?  One thing you need to keep in mind is that your unconverted friends that you are trying to attract to your event do not want to listen to Christian music or participate in prayer or any sort of worship service.  That is "playing church" and it is not witnessing.  All you will do is make them feel terribly uncomfortable and they will leave never to return again.  Do not use church-tactics or use methods suggested by a pastor who has no experience or practical witnessing skills or abilities (some talk like they do, but they have a poor tract record of success).  Most events fail because the pastor wants a church service and he is only interested in increasing the size of his church membership.  Salvation of the lost is really not his true motive.  Jesus did not conduct church services to the public, he simply preached the good news through demonstration and by word and explained the Kingdom of Heaven, sin and judgment to come.  Do what Jesus did and do not do what your pastor wants to do.  You would be way better off to leave the pastor home so he can't "control" the event and derail it.  Also, this event should be financed by the biker ministry members by donation, not by the church.  Keep it separate.  The apostate church today is totally out of touch with the lost and only makes things worse when they have a hand in reaching out to the lost.

  upon the high places of the earth..." - Isaiah 58:14.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  I have been to many motorcycle rallies across the USA and I am seeing the same pattern with Motorcycle Ministries.  I was once a CMA member but I did not want to limit my ministry to just motorcycles.  I want the entire world, every lost person I can find in shopping malls, downtown streets, courtrooms, zoos, amusement parks, you name it, every day, not just once-in-a-while witnessing.  That is what I do.  I go everywhere to proclaim the Gospel.  It would be a good idea that your motorcycle ministry expand it's sphere of influence. 

  Jails and prisons the biker ministries already do and that is fabulous, but how about spending some time in front of the courthouse?  Here you can reach the lost before they commit a more severe crime that gets them a ticket to prison.  Let's cut them off at the pass before they become prison convicts and save victims from misery of being a target of crime.  I'm just sharing some ideas here, but they are good ideas.  I am certain you can think of other areas like visiting nursing homes, hospitals and other public events held in towns and cities.  There is a lot more opportunity yet to be utilized - James Russell Publishing.  

   ...

End of Article