Ga. Church to Hold Worship Service for Bikers
A church in Georgia is planning to hold a worship service for a group not usually associated with congregations: bikers.
Timothy Baptist Church of Athens will be holding a church service for bikers at noon this coming Sunday, the first that the church has overseen.
In an interview with local media, Timothy Baptist Senior Pastor Tracy L. Boles sought to reach out to the biker community and go beyond the stereotypes associated with them.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"I think many times bikers have a rough image, and once you get to know them, the image you perceived may not be the person you meet. We wanted [them] to know that Timothy is a place where they can come and feel welcome and grow in the Lord like everybody else," said Boles.
"Timothy has been around for a long time, and I want the legacy of the church to continue, and the only way you can do that is to reach out to the community and let them know we're here."
Mike Cook, state coordinator for the Georgia chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, told The Christian Post that he thought the church service was a good idea.
"We have many churches in Georgia that do Biker Sundays," said Cook. "We have a chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association located in Athens called the Cycle Disciples who will be attending as a group."
Cook also said that another Christian biker group, Cycle Disciples, was planning on attending the service.
"Cycle Disciples will be visiting the church for their services on Sunday and will also have a short ride afterwards," said Cook.
After the service, scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. on Palm Sunday, bikers will participate on a ride escorted by the local sheriff on the Athens Perimeter highway and then return to Timothy Baptist for food and fellowship.
"I want [bikers] to know that [Timothy Baptist] is the church that cares, and what that means is that we not only care about those that come every Sunday, but that we care about the community at large," said Boles to the Athens Banner Herald.
"Many times you'll hear within the church community that the church wants to be the church without walls, and we thought this would be an opportunity to put some legs to that statement."
According to the Banner-Herald, organizers for the service expect approximately 500 bikers from 12 different biker clubs.
Timothy Baptist Church did not return comment by press time.
