Christian Motorcycle Association seeks fellowship through faith

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Exhaust fumes and thundering engines don’t necessarily conjure images of holy men. But a few local Christian motorcyclists are out to challenge the notion that spirituality is better left inside church buildings.

Longtime biker Gary Snyder is president of Bayside Believers. His chapter is part of the international Christian Motorcycle Association. Snyder’s motorcycle became an outreach tool. He wanted to bring his faith back to the subculture that made him.

“There’s a lot of bikers who are tired of the biker world, and they want a place where they are comfortable and don’t want to expose themselves to negative elements,” Snyder said.

Christian motorcyclist continue to crop up in Maryland. They are often interdenominational, and most require prospective members to hold to a statement of faith crafted in the same vein as doctrinal creeds at churches.

“It’s easy to mix your faith with whatever you’re doing if you are in a relationship with Christ,” said Jeremy Repp, a member of HonorBound Motorcycle Ministry. “HonorBound started with a few of us getting bikes at church. We scheduled rides and more people started to buy motorcycles.”

For Chester Witten, a member of Bikers for Christ, the notion that Christian motorcycle groups cannot blend in with their more traditional faith-based neighbors is based on misperception.

“We had leadership roles at the Franklin Graham Festival at Camden Yards last summer,” Witten said. “The wife and I were in charge of communications and other members were heading up field security and crowd control.”

And what kind of bike would Jesus ride? Witten, Snyder and Repp are all in agreement on that: a Harley-Davidson.

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