When motorcycle enthusiast Duane Kraayenbrink asked Teaching Pastor Terry Embke if Morningside Bible Church in Sioux City, Iowa, could set aside a Sunday to welcome bikers like him to church, Embke was more than happy to oblige. He and his elder board agreed to host Biker Sunday, and the special service has become an annual event held on the first Sunday in May ever since.
As president of Solid Rock Riders, the Sioux City chapter of Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), Kraayenbrink and his wife Jodie often set up tents at riding events to socialize with secular clubs and riding groups. There they meet unbelievers and invite them as well as CMA members from other chapters to church.
Kraayenbrink says, “It makes it easier for non-Christians to come into church if other bikers are going.”
For Biker Sunday at Morningside, the whole church pitches in. Embke encourages congregants both to invite any motorcycle riders they know to attend and to befriend any first-time guests—especially those who don’t already have a home church.
“We ask people to strike up a conversation with somebody they know is not from our community,” relates Kraayenbrink. “The bike kind of facilitates that, because everybody’s eager to talk about their bike, right?”
The special service itself isn’t too different from any other, but afterward, the church grills hot dogs and hamburgers. They hand everyone a ballot to vote for their favorite bikes, and the completed ballot becomes their lunch ticket. The Kraayenbrinks and other CMA members offer blessings over the bikes and pray with bikers for safety.
Embke knows that coming to faith is often the result of many seeds planted over time, not of any one single event.
“We’re not satisfied with [biker outreach] just being a Sunday morning service,” he emphasizes. “We’re trying to establish relationships. We think that if [bikers returning to our church] didn’t happen this year, then maybe they’ll come back next year, feel more comfortable, and then come out for something else.”