By Stephen Smoot
Mitch Berkenkemper, who rolls with the Shenandoah Valley Christian Riders of the Christian Motorcyclists’ Association, gets it completely.
One of the last things that most people identify with bikers of all stripes, from weekend warriors to Hells Angels, is Christianity. A half-century of successful mission work by the CMA, however, says differently.
The ministry started, said Berkenkemper, with a pastor named Herb Shreve in 1975. He felt that God had called him to minister to the motorcycle community.
Rewind back to the time of the brief Gerald Ford Administration. The biker gangs that emerged from groups of disaffected World War II veterans served as the almost complete public perception of motorcycling. Shreve, a motorcyclist himself, walked into a hard bitten biker bar with a Cross sewn on his vest.
More jokingly than aggressively, a patron inquired “Preacher? Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
The response? “Actually,” Shreve said, “I’m in the right place.”
Since then CMA has grown, along with numerous other biker organizations with a Christian foundation. CMA, however, serves as the largest such community with more than 200,000 members in 1,400 chapters nationwide.
The CMA conducts outreach bringing the Word to individual bikers, after all, their motto reads “changing the world one heart at a time.” One of the hallmarks of the group comes in its “bike blessings.” As Berkencamper explains, bikers often share beliefs that open them up to receiving blessings for their safety on the machines. “They tend to be very receptive,” he noted.
CMA members will always ask before laying hands on the bike out of respect for a culture that admonishes all to not touch the motorcycles of others. As Berkenkemper describes, to conduct a mission with bikers, one must adhere strictly to the ideal of you must give respect to get it.
That respect extends to the culture between bikers as well, one that looks quite askance at displays of emotion or pain. Berkenkemper related a time when he was asked to meet a high-ranking officer of a Hells Angels chapter in an alley.
Understandably nervous, he went anyway. The tough and intimidating, and highly respected, club officer asked if they could pray together. “His niece was very sick. He wanted prayer for her and he didn’t want to be seen with us,” shared Berkenkemper. Since God works in any way he can, so did CMA.
Andrea Berkenkemper, Mitch Berkenkemper’s wife, joins him in his mission work. She told of one instance at the East Coast Sturgis rally when they and others with CMA were asked to join a group to pray. Just before that point, a group experienced a severe car accident and all prayed fervently “for several hours” for their recovery.
She shared that “the next year when we came back, this man and woman approached me.” They happened to be part of the group for whom she and the other CMA members prayed.
The organization also raises funds for its global mission work.
That mission work includes working with a group producing a film on the life of Jesus Christ. Additionally, CMA supports efforts to provide personal transportation to circuit riding ministers in some of the most remote and unforgiving areas of the world, such as parts of India, Africa, and elsewhere.
Sometimes the pastor does receive a motorcycle, but generally the donation comes in the most convenient transportation option, which could include bicycles, horses, or even camels.
Another project that the organization remains passionate about is that which secretly smuggles Holy Bibles into countries where possession of Christian works could bring about imprisonment, torture, or even death.
CMA has held Run for the Son as a major fundraiser since 1988. It encompasses a number of different runs conducted by chapters across the nation. Shenandoah Valley Christian Riders has planned a run for Labor Day weekend that includes a stop at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia while zig zagging along roads featuring jaw-dropping scenery in both West Virginia and Virginia.
Funds raised at any CMA event go 40 percent for biker evangelism and 20 percent each for the three global missions they support.
One need not officially join CMA or even own a bike to take part. The organization does ask all to abide by their stated Christ-centered values. While they encourage donations, one does not need to do so to join the ride. Riders must take care of their own gasoline, meals, lodging, and other needs besides those of faith. Those who wish to join should register by August 16 with Mitch Berkenkemper at berke777@hotmail.com or call at (540) 520-0330.
