Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1521627
2 One night, Marty drove out to Riverside HD where they were having an event. Marty drove so that he could take a small card table and a chair and some literature. Only one person stopped by to talk with him, but that one rider gave his life to Jesus that night and became a regular with our new ministry. It was Pastor Fred Z (founder and president of BIKERS FOR CHRIST) who suggested that we focus on HOG, simply because none of the other Christian groups were doing that. Heck! HOG was almost 2 million strong and to our knowledge NOBODY was reaching out to those "yuppie bikers!" The way we saw it, souls were souls, whoever they were! We heard about the Laughlin River Run, and wanted to go...but some of comments from church people were warning us of the nudity, vulgarity and dangerous outlaws. Nevertheless, we signed up, believing that we absolutely could represent Jesus in a dark place like that. We printed up 25,000 flyers entitled, "10 Things Every Biker Needs to Know before they die!" They were a hit! Everybody wanted them. It presented the Gospel clearly on a classy 5x7" card. No Christianese, just the basic truth of the Gospel! There were 70,000 bikes in Laughlin that year! We got our first website in 2000 and had 125 hits of interest on the first day! We used to get together as a group to mail out a monthly newsletter. Our assembly-line folded, stapled, addressed and stamped the newsletter - and then took it to the post office. We also sent out membership packets upon request. (Remember, this was before mentorship was required.) It wasn't long before we received an unexpected donation of $1000 and so we used that to buy a small trailer which we used to rescue stranded bikers at large events. Here's a tip: NEVER accept a financial gift! Instead, simply say, "Thank-you so much, but we do this as a service to our Lord." The impact is that they can't believe we weren't simply "fund-raising." We really were doing this for Jesus and THAT testimony was the goal! Charlie Daniels and Bobby Sherman were two celebrities that sent us money to help our young ministry get started. Churches were also starting to support us! After Temecula, our second chapter started in Hemet, Ca with a gentleman named, "Joker!" And Joker still rides with us today! Shortly after that, Marty and Denny went to Northern California to start our third chapter in Livermore (east of Oakland). On our second trip to Laughlin, we were wearing our new patches. People were very curious. Everywhere we stopped for gas, people approached us and wanted to talk. One of those times a 1% club member saw our patch and that's when the concerns began to grow. "Who were these people!? And when were they approved by the COC (Confederation of Clubs)?" Marty started to get phone some calls! There's not enough space here to explain how Marty had to go and present the BSHDFC patch to the Confederation of Clubs (COC) in Los Angeles and then San Diego. Our beautiful black, silver and red patches were rejected by the COC's and so we had to start over with new patches. (Same design with new colors.) Coming home from the COC's Marty said, "Sweetheart! We're not in Kansas anymore!" Debbie reports that one night at an event, standing off to the side of the thoroughfare, she witnessed a 1% club member pointing out our patch to his buddy. She heard him say, "Ya know, there's power in that patch!" That was just a small clue that we were indeed having some impact for Jesus. There not time or space for us to report to you here about: • 3 unrelated "Words of Knowledge" affirming BSHDFC • Meeting Jim Birmingham on the road "by chance." • Our first BSHDFC motorhome burning to the ground. • Receiving our non-profit status...free! • A denomination covering Marty's salary for 3 years or... • How a small town newspaper affiliated with ABC New came to Temecula to film and interview the Black Sheep for prime time! That event took us from 6 states to 14 states in one day! To God Be The Glory! We were learning to trust God for everything and just trying to be a blessing to our local HOG chapter, dealership and biker friends. Again...we discovered the most effective strategy was NOT to plan big events but to support [in a Christ-like way] what was already happening. If we made THEM a success they were more likely to listen to and trust us. We heard so many times in those first few years, "I have been watching you guys...you are the real deal!" It was like Jesus winking at us! That is the highest compliment that we will ever receive (except for the one when Jesus says one day, "Well done my good and faithful servants."). A lot of people ask how we got our name. It happened one weekday when the original 5 rolled into The Lamb's Fellowship parking lot. Our church secretary came out and said with a grin, "Well, here comes the black sheep of the flock!" ...and the name stuck! The only thing more precious to this ministry than Jesus Himself, are the consistent, faithful, giving, serving members the mission of Black Sheep: Harley-Davidsons for Christ. We are only as strong as our wonderful members. To God be ALL the glory and honor for this mission and its missionaries!