JOHN had a biker friend who was not a Christian that brought him a handwritten application. The man said this was not something he was interested in, but he knew John was a Christian and thought it might be something he would be interested in. As John looked at the application, he thought,β Well, how interesting; a Christian motorcycle group.β He put the application in a drawer and forgot about it. Sometime later, going through the drawer, he saw it again. At that point, he filled out the application, put some money in an envelope, and sent it in to Hatfield, Arkansas. John Sr and Becky joined CMA in 1982, immediately jumping into ministry to the secular biker world in southern Arkansas, as well as the motorcycle prison ministry.
When John and Becky first
joined CMA, the total membership was just over 7,000 members. It seemed like a small family affair that was just getting started in the motorcycling world. The heart and DNA of CMA had been established, but organizationally, it was still young and lacked structure. The role of the evangelist at that time involved attending events and sharing the Gospel, rather than developing and growing chapters. The heart and dedication of the members were strong. CMA was beginning to be established at secular events across the states.
In 1986, John and Becky initiated the charter process for the CMA Chapterβ Charity Ridersβ( completed on April 13, 1987) in their hometown of Camden, Arkansas, where John served as president for the first 10 years of the chapterβ s history. In 1998, John was asked to fill a position on the CMA Board of Directors.
In September 2000, John was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors, where he continues to serve to this day.
Thinking back throughout the years, John says his favorite memory in CMA was when He and Becky took John Jr and Jeremy on a 6,000-mile trip around the United States, visiting a couple of state rallies. At the Colorado state rally, their youngest son, Jeremy, accepted Christ. The next stop on their trip was the Idaho state rally. At this event, they saw the true heart of God through fellow CMA members. At the 4,000-mile point in the trip, they found both encouragement and rest as the family of CMA ministered to them. It was a refreshing event with Herb Shreve being the evangelist who brought the messages that weekend. John says that joining CMA was one of the wisest decisions he has ever made. CMA
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