Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1382582
1 Strategies For The Best Biker Breakfast Ever! Marty Edwards There are three things every biker likes: Food, Music and Motorcycles! We like to ride and we ride to eat! Throw in some raffle prizes and the chance to show off our ride and we're a bunch of happy campers! There is a fundamental truth that every person in motorcycle ministry needs to grasp: "It's not about the motorcycles!" What we aspire to do is about the ministry. The bikes (and everything else in biker culture) are the means to reach our ministry objectives and goals. A typical biker breakfast will include a fun, friendly restaurant with basic grub, a lively atmosphere with familiar music (rock or country depending on your region), door prizes, 50/50 and contests and possibly a nice ride afterwards. Beginning in 1999, it was the biker breakfast that built Black Sheep HDFC. We started in a small Mexican restaurant with about a dozen people and ended up hosting a regional breakfast in a bigger venue with an average of 150 to 160 guests; more on Christmas and the 4 th of July when we centered the event around the holiday. Patriotic bikers love the 4 th and everybody loves Christmas! The first thing we had to do was to ask ourselves, "Why are we doing this?" Breakfasts are a lot of fun but they are a lot of work as well. I would never go through the trouble "just for the fun of it" but BSHDFC has the expressed mission "To introduce the world of motorcycle riders to Jesus Christ, for the purpose of making more and better disciples through the ministry of the local church." A breakfast (the way we do it) is always mindful that our objective is to introduce people to Jesus. That is not only our mission but our motivation and our inspiration for doing the best job that we can. The next thing we had to do was decide, "Who are we catering to?" There are thousands of worthy missions out there, everything from reaching out to the homeless and those in recovery to caring for single moms and abused children. BSHDFC is reaching out to those who ride and more specifically to those involved with corporate riding groups such as H.O.G. and I.M.R.G. (Indian motorcycle Riders Group). Why the focus? Because where like minds gather together, ministry can be more effective. For example: The annual gathering at Sturgis attracts bikers from all over the world. Some ride Harleys, some ride sport bikes and some dare to trailer in their Vespa. There are the hard core motorcycle clubs as well as the eager middle-aged yuppies who just bought their first Honda Shadow. While solid ministry does indeed happen at events like Sturgis, a more (a) focused and (b) year-round opportunity takes place at the dealership where people have known each other for years. Long term relationships are developed when a ministry rides with HOG or IMRG or any other similar group. Once we know the WHY and the WHO we need to determine the WHAT. Skilled fishermen know what bait to use. Hunters understand what they need to do and what they need to bring to the hunt. The successful biker breakfast needs to use the same careful cunning if organizers want to achieve their stated objectives. As Christians, we will have to forego the "wet t- shirt contests" and drinking games, but there are still plenty of things that appeal to those who ride; good food, good music, bike games, etc. Overly zealous Christians will unknowingly encourage organizers to model the breakfasts after church-type events, but biker missionaries need to be "as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves." Our "what" needs to include "clean" popular music and as little "Christianese" as possible. The focus of an OUTREACH breakfast is to REACH and ATTRACT people who are not responding to hymns and Bible Study. This is not to suggest