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By Elisabeth Altamirano-Smith/ Community Columnist

In June 2015, a group of local bikers came together and formed the Chilton County Chapter of the Faith Riders. The Faith Riders is a national motorcycle ministry passionate about sharing Christ with the world. Each year, the group travels to motorcycle events around the country, such as Sturgis and Daytona, and sets up a testimony tent to reach out to fellow bikers about the word of God.

“When someone comes into the tent, we are witnessing to that person one on one,” Faith Rider Carey Waldrop said. “We don’t talk or argue about denominations or doctrine. We talk about Jesus.”

The Faith Riders travel to other widespread events and cities, such as Panama City Beach and Muscle Shoals, which is known as the Southern Sturgis.

“When we travel, having a motorcycle draws attention,” Waldrop said. “When we pull over at a gas station, people come up to us to talk about our bike. It is a wonderful opportunity to tell them about what we do and talk about Jesus.”

There are over 350 Faith Rider chapters that span 29 states and the country of Cuba. The local chapter of the Faith Riders is a ministry of Mineral Springs Baptist Church. Every chapter of the Faith Riders is based in a Southern Baptist church.

“We have approximately 30 participants in our local chapter which include men and women,” Waldrop said. “Even though our chapter is a Mineral Springs ministry, we have many members that belong to other denominations and not everyone has a motorcycle. We come together to talk to people about Jesus. People that don’t have a motorcycle are equally as important to our group, and you don’t have to be a Baptist to participate.”

The local chapter of the Faith Riders also serves the community with various projects that they participate in including benefit rides for Chilton County Relay for Life and community service. Most notably, during last year’s wind damage in Thorsby, the chapter cleaned up tree damage for three days.

“All of what we do is to bring attention on how good the Lord is,” said Waldrop.

Additionally, the group fundraises each year to have giveaways at their testimony tent events.

“Every year, we give away a Harley Davidson motorcycle,” said Waldrop. “Our fundraising comes from people in the community and at our events that make donations. COVID has impacted our fundraising as well as some of the events we go to. We used to provide worship & music for Hatley’s Health Care every month but we had to stop that when COVID came around. We also visit the Jimmie Hale Mission.”

For more information about the Faith Riders, contact Waldrop at 205-389-1909 or faithridercarey@gmail.com.