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STURGIS, S.D. (BP)--Main Street in
Sturgis, S.D., the first week of
August each year becomes a sea of
motorcycles parked row upon row,
block upon block, restrained only by
sidewalks lined with vendor booths
selling everything from t-shirts to
tattoos, and filled with people from
around the world wearing "do-rags"
(bandanas), ripped jeans, leather
and Harley Davidson t-shirts.
It's a massive "party" known
worldwide as "Sturgis," which brings
up to a half-million people to the
Black Hills for a week of motorcycle
competitions –- a far bigger crowd
than virtually any sporting event in
the world. This year's rally began
Aug. 6 and runs through Aug. 12.
The rumbling procession of big bad
Harleys and Harley wannabes entering
one end of Main Street can be
deafening, drowning out most
conversations. At the other end of
Main, volunteers at the Dakota
Baptist Convention's evangelism
booth call out to people walking by,
offering them a chance to win the
gleaming black 2007 Harley Dyna
Glide parked on the sidewalk.
"Have you guys signed up yet? Get a
free ticket for the drawing," a
volunteer said to two burly bikers
walking by. "Seriously, we're giving
this bike away on Friday."
What do they have to do to get a
free ticket? Give up three minutes
of their time and listen to a person
give his or her Christian testimony.
In the first four days of Sturgis
this year, 2,643 people listened to
a three-minute Gospel presentation
at Dakota's evangelism booth. Of
those, 404 made professions of
faith.
Daniel Buie, 29, was one of those.
Buie and his fiancé rode their bike
from Gardner, Kan., to Sturgis
expecting, they said, to have a
"good time, meet good people and see
the beautiful country." They did not
expect to hear Russell Evitt tell
his story.
As Daniel and his fiancée strolled
down Main Street, looking at the
bikes and the people, they passed
the sign at the Dakota evangelism
booth that said, "Bike Giveaway."
Giving it a cursory glance they
walked on by. But something
compelled Daniel to turn around and
walk by the booth again.
As they passed the sign for the
second time, a volunteer standing at
the edge of the booth cried out,
"Bike Giveaway! It will take just
three minutes of your time!" Buie
decided to do it.
At the booth, Buie and others like
him listen to a volunteer share
Christ for three minutes. At the end
of that time the listener may ask
more questions or they may simply
say, "OK –- let me fill out that
ticket!"
Daniel and Kelly allowed themselves
to be drawn under a hot, noisy booth
as volunteers shared testimonies
with people from all across the
country. They were introduced to
Russell Evitt, a deacon at First
Baptist Church in Williston, N.D.
As Evitt shared his testimony of how
Jesus Christ makes a difference in
his life, Evitt said later, he
looked into Buie's eyes and knew:
"He got it!"
Evitt asked if they wanted to invite
Jesus Christ into their lives, and
Buie said yes.
"Russell didn't tell me anything
new," Buie said with tears running
down his cheeks. "Others have told
me about the same thing, but today,
today, he got to me; he connected
with me. Today, I got it!"
For the past 67 years -– it started
in 1938 but didn't meet during two
of the World War II years because of
gasoline rationing -– Sturgis has
been the site of the biggest
motorcycle rally in the nation.
Attendees nearly double the state's
population during the first week in
August. By people coming early to
secure accommodations, and staying
on to enjoy the beauty of the area
that includes Mount Rushmore,
Sturgis has grown to encompass
nearly a month.
In 2006, the Sturgis Motorcycle
Rally also became the site of the
Sturgis Motorcycle Evangelism
Ministry, a cooperative venture of
the Dakota Baptist Convention, other
state conventions -- this year
Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina
and Florida participated -- and the
Southern Baptist Convention's North
American Mission Board. The Georgia
Baptist Convention this year footed
the bill for the booth space.
"We're just thankful we have the
funds to share in Dakota's vision,"
said Phil Pilgrim, a regional
missionary with the Georgia Baptist
Convention, and an 11-year-member of
the Christian Motorcycle
Association.
Pilgrim leads training of volunteers
in "biker culture" at 8 a.m. each
morning. Ronnie Hill, an evangelist
from Texas, leads training in
"sharing your testimony."
"Bikers are sort of a forgotten or
ignored segment of our society,"
Pilgrim said. "We like to win pretty
people. People with long straggly
hair and tattoos ... most church
people are actually afraid of those
kinds of people and will not go out
in the field, but it's a field
that's ready to harvest."
The strategy of the evangelism
ministry has been to train
volunteers to give a three-minute
testimony of how receiving Christ
has changed their lives. Last year
during the entire rally, 2,124
people listened to a Gospel
presentation with 744 individuals
praying to receive Christ.
"I always wanted to come to Sturgis
when I used to ride [a motorcycle],"
said volunteer Louise Griffith of
Bakersfield, Calif. "I never thought
I'd be here on behalf of Christ."
Jedidiah Caldwell, a 17 year old
from Purcellville, Va., led at least
a dozen people to the Lord, and at
midweek showed no signs of slowing
down.
"I came out here to witness to other
people, but I found out you get
witnessed to," Caldwell said.
One person who stopped at the booth
was a pastor.
"He pointed out a Scripture to me
that said go out and talk with
strangers, because you might meet
the face of an angel," Caldwell
said. "That verse has stuck with me;
I'm going to carry that out with
me."
Stan Bricker, a member at Black
Hills Baptist Church in Whitewood,
S.D., where volunteers were trained
each morning before going into
Sturgis, participated in the Sturgis
ministry for the first time this
year.
"For 21 years, I'd never come to
downtown Sturgis during the rally,"
Bricker said. "This year God gave me
a reason to be here. I've prayed
with 17 people to receive Christ.
"It's real," he said. "You see guys
I normally would have written off if
I had seen them out on the street -–
you see their eyes tearing up as you
pray and then thanking you for
telling them. You see the rebirth
happen in front of your eyes in
three minutes."
Jim Hamilton, executive director of
the Dakota Baptist Convention and a
former hard-core biker, said the
ministry booth changes both
Christian and non-Christian alike.
"People never come to Sturgis
thinking they're going to meet
Jesus," Hamilton said. "But when
they walk by the tent sometimes
something just draws them in. They
don't understand what it is, but
they get in here and hear someone's
story about how Jesus saved them,
and He does the same for them, [the
biker.]
"Often people never think about
Jesus at Sturgis, but I guarantee
you," Hamilton said. "Jesus is here
at Sturgis."
--30--
Debra Hanson is a regional reporter
for the Dakota Baptist newspaper.
John Guillott contributed to this
article.
Original story by
by Debra Hanson posted on
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