FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (KMOX) – If you see a group of bikers roll up to a VFW Hall on a Sunday afternoon, don’t assume they’re up to no good.
At the Sons of Thunder Biker Church, roaring exhaust is replaced with reverent song and prayer as they meet for worship, teaching and Christian fellowship.
Biker Church is an offshoot of Christ Church in Fairview Heights. Members were already talking about their faith at area bars and during weekend rides when they felt led to offer more.
Members of Sons of Thunder Biker Church in Fairview Heights, IL
“They rebel, but it’s still there that they have a yearning, and I believe everyone has a yearning for God,” explains Wayne Witter, President and Ministry Leader of Sons of Thunder.
His long white hair and black vest tell you riding isn’t just a sometime hobby, it’s part of who he is.
He and others suggested to church leadership that Biker Church be taken out of the traditional sanctuary and put in a place more comfortable to other bikers.
“Where did Jesus go? He hung out with the sinners, he hung out with the prostitutes, with thieves, he hung out with tax collectors,” Witter says.
And so Biker Church was first launched at a bar in Smithton and then moved to the VFW in Fairview Heights.
For their Christmas service, the pool table held the potluck buffet and the praise band performed Christmas hymns in a corner by the dart board. A baptism was held using a plastic pitcher and metal bucket.
Larry Weber, Campus Development Director for Christ Church, says they have no qualms about setting up a service in a place that normally serves another type of spirits.
“We go where we think there are people that we should be connecting with the Christ, and if that happens to be at the bar, then we’re prepared to go the bar,” he says.
“And now I can go to church too and not feel like a misfit,” explains Lisa Dixon. Dixon owned the bar where the first services were held.
She’s since closed down, saying she has a different calling.
“We have truck drivers that come in, we have bikers, we have young kids, which is really good to see,” Dixon says.
In his leather vest, chaps and boots, Sons of Thunder vice president Rich Rodawald leads the Lord’s Prayer on a recent Sunday.
A rough past and outlaw appearance have helped him reach out to people who might not otherwise step inside a sanctuary.
“The fact that I do have long hair and tattoos and all, people look at me like, ‘he’s just one of us, he’s just a biker,'” he says.
Rodawald matter-of-factly says he reconnected with God while serving time in Leavenworth Penitentiary, and when he got out was able to restore relationships with his family.
And he’s seen other lives changed, as well.
“I’m a pretty big boy, but it’s brought tears to my eyes a few times,” Rodawald says.
They call her the “First Lady” of Sons of Thunder – Vicki Norton was one of the first wives to ride along with the group as they shared their faith at biker events.
“They could be the roughest looking brute in the room, and when you start talking to them about how wonderful the Lord is … you see a different side,” she says.
Steve Carr with Road Riders for Jesus brings a message to Sons of Thunder Biker Church.
Sons of Thunder Biker Church meets once a month at the VFW in Fairview Heights. The services have drawn so much interest, Witter says they are now in prayer about whether to start up a second service somewhere else in the Metro-East.
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