By SONNY Edmondson
DIRT RACING MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
WE were chosen for motorcycle ministry . That ' s why we are members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association . Motorcycle ministry has many different avenues of opportunity . Most CMA members steer toward one or more of those ministry opportunities . One person cannot do them all . We must balance our time and steer our efforts to the opportunities God calls us to serve . These avenues of opportunity include connecting with motorcycle riders , motorcycle clubs , motorcycle events , and motorcycle racing . Sometimes these opportunities take us outside our comfort zone . But , I ' ve learned that if God calls you to serve , He has a purpose for you .
I have been called to serve in dirt racing events . I ' ve never been a dirt bike racer , and I have never been a follower of dirt bike racers . I am a street biker , but I know I have been chosen and called to serve at dirt bike racing events .
I do my best to be obedient to God ' s calling . Many CMA members have also answered this call . We meet annually in Newberry , Florida , for an event called the Mini Olympics . Last year we celebrated their 50th year for Mini O ' s .
The word " mini " is misleading because this is the country ' s largest annual gathering for Motocross and Supercross races . Racers range in age from five to sixty-five . They come from all over the country and all around the world . The races goes from the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the Saturday after . For CMA , it is a ten-day event .
We have the opportunity to minister to roughly 15,000 people , including racers , their families , vendors , staff , medics , and security personnel . They are a captive group for ten days . Last year we made a special effort to pray with people . Throughout the event , we prayed for approximately 1,200 people . After the first few days , people sought CMA members to ask for prayer . We were blessed with a fantastic opportunity to serve while ministering to people we don ' t typically run into while street riding .
Two years ago , the promoter for Mini O ' s contacted me and asked if CMA could help with Camp Gatorback . I said , " Sure we can . What is Camp Gatorback ?"
Gatorback is the name of the cycle park . It would be a gathering of kids ages six through ten for two hours a day for three days of the event . The focus was games and crafts . Several of our members planned for 30 kids a day , and we planned to make it more Christianfocused . We had over thirty kids on the first day , and by the third day , we had over fifty youngsters . They sang Christian songs and heard Bible stories . They also had time for 08⎪OCTOBER 2022⎪shop . cmausa . org