Sturgis, S.D. | The annual Sturgis Bike Rally drew around 300,000 people to South Dakota this summer; 242 left having made a decision to follow Christ.
Brothers Josh and Jeff Mueller were among the volunteers who worked with the Dakota Baptist Convention to put on their annual bike giveaway and evangelism initiative. Before registering to win the prize, a 2016 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softtail Classic, rally attenders listened to the personal testimony of one of the volunteers.
Josh Mueller was one of these “sharers,” but during his first shift at the evangelism venue, he was too nervous to share his faith with anyone, much less a stranger. Like many Christians, Josh was nervous about personal evangelism. Unlike many Christians, Josh develops a stutter when he’s nervous.
That night he observed and prayed for the team.
The next night Josh was a different person, said his brother, a pastor in South Dakota.
“It was definitely divine circumstances and by God’s grace that he was able to share his testimony and faith in Jesus,” Jeff Mueller said.
On that shift, Jeff was in front of the venue working as a “catcher,” interacting with Sturgis attendees and inviting them to register for the motorcycle drawing at the end of the rally. The brothers had a signal. If Josh was too nervous to speak to the prospects Jeff brought in, he would nod.
As Jeff approached with the first two guests, there was no nod. Josh shared his story with two young men who had life stories similar to Josh, and they both made professions of faith in Christ.
“We were on cloud nine that whole night,” Jeff said. The rest of the week, Josh was a “witnessing machine.”
Josh and other volunteers made 3,085 gospel presentations that yielded 242 decisions at the Sturgis rally. Visitors came not just from across America but also from England, New Zealand, Australia, and Slovakia.
Garvon Golden, the Dakota convention’s executive director, said the success of the annual Sturgis Bike Giveaway has been their prayer emphasis. Each of the 128 volunteers received a guide called “Thirty Days of Prayer for Sturgis” to prepare spiritually to share their three-minute testimony.
The 2016 Sturgis Bike Giveaway—the 11th occasion for the evangelism outreach—entails a partnership between the Dakota Baptist Convention, North American Mission Board, Georgia Baptist Mission Board, and donations from individuals and businesses.
– From Baptist Press