3 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Pastor finds ministry is obedience, not numbers

Photo by Michael Wacht

Motorcycle ministers Frank "Flash" Farrell (left) and Victor "Rainman" Russell (center) talk about bikes with Karl "Skeet" Smerkovich, a member of Anthony United Methodist Church in Anthony. Skeet, a one-time member of the Warlords, told the two ministers he wished he had known people like them when he was younger. "It brings tears to my eyes thinking about the way I used to be and seeing how you guys are," he said.

By Michael Wacht

ANTHONY — Anthony United Methodist Church here held its first Motorcycle Ministry Retreat March 2-4. Several weeks before the event, John Suskey, the church’s supply pastor, said he was worried about how many people might attend.

"I spent 25 years in accounting in construction and numbers were our goals, our achievements, how we gauged success," he said. "That has not been much different in the [United] Methodist Church with our monthly reports. Three weeks ago, God spoke to me and said whether there are 30 people or 300 people, it doesn’t matter."

Suskey counted 30 people in attendance the first night of the retreat.

The three-day Motorcycle Ministry Retreat was the vision of Suskey and Victor Russell, president of Spirit Riders Motorcycle Ministry in Jacksonville. "God spoke to Rainman [Russell] and me at the same time," Suskey said. "There’s something about what God tells you to do. We couldn’t not do it."

The event had two purposes — to invite area bikers and youth to get involved in the church in a non-threatening way and involve church members in ministry to the community. It included praise and worship services and classes on leadership, evangelism, and passion and ministry. Church members served meals, and Suskey led two communion services.

Suskey said he faced resistance from "people in the congregation who adamantly opposed the ministry."

"There’s a segment of the church that thinks we ought not be a part of the sinful community," he said. "We don’t want to go where that element is, but that’s where Jesus wants us to go. That’s where John Wesley went…"

Frank Farrell, a member of Christ’s Disciples Motorcycle Ministry from Lakeland, said he heard about the event through e-mail and was interested in the workshop on evangelism. He said he plans to use what he learned at this event and others like it to start his own tent ministry and reach out to hard-core bikers.

"So many motorcycle clubs don’t do anything but gather, go to a restaurant and go home. There’s no actual evangelization," he said. "I was really blessed with all the different insights on evangelism and how to share the faith."

Terri Turner, the church’s secretary and member of the event planning committee, said she was pleased with the retreat. "It’s outreach, trying to get the community involved in church," she said. "It’s something we’ve needed for years. For our first motorcycle event, it went very well. The number isn’t what’s important, it’s the spirit of the event."