Motorcyclists Mount Up to Spread Faith : Ministering: Thousands of riders belong to Christian clubs throughout the country, helping motorists and sharing the word of God.

Ever since Marlon Brando played the sneering leader of a fierce biker gang in the 1953 movie “The Wild One,” motorcycle groups have worn that outlaw image like the patches on their leather jackets.

The image still is there, nearly 40 years later, but belonging to a motorcycle group sometimes has a different meaning. That is particularly so for motorcycle groups that seek to bolster religious faith as they cruise the highways.

Among the many such groups is the Full Gospel Motorcycle Assn. International, formed here three years ago and made up of about 600 motorcycle riders whose mission is helping stranded motorists and spreading God’s message.

“The biker portrayed in movies mugs the ladies for his pastime,” said Shrader Gant, 42, a group spokesman. “And a lot of the public think a person who rides a motorcycle is associated with that lifestyle.

“We use our motorcycles to minister.”

Members of the group range from their mid-20s through late-60s. Most are from the Dallas-Ft. Worth area but others are scattered across Texas and in Florida, Washington, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Gant said.

Its oldest member, Bill Mays, 69, leaves his Dallas home four hours early each Sunday in case he needs to help someone stalled along his 30-mile trek to worship services in Arlington.

On the road, Mays listens to gospel music piped into his helmet. He says it puts him in the “mood for ministering.”

“I started doing this one Sunday, when I was on my way to church, when I saw a man about my age on the side of the road with his stalled car,” Mays said. “I wanted to stop and help him, but was afraid of being late for church. Afterward, I wished I had helped him.”

Mays’ 1985 motorcycle totes a trailer with tools, gas, jumper cables, water, cookies and religious tracts. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble--Psalm 46:1” is one of several Bible verses ornately painted on Mays’ metallic gold motorcycle.

Like Mays, several of the group’s members spend a few hours every week riding on Texas highways looking for stranded motorists who need food or water, a jump-start or a ride to get gas.

After the biker helps the stranded motorist, he often leaves behind a religious pamphlet, a coupon for a free dinner at a nearby church or a simple message: “God loves you.”

Several similar groups exist in Texas, such as Tribe of Judah in Houston and Bikers for Christ in Ft. Worth, but the largest and oldest international organization is the Christian Motorcycle Assn. in Hatfield, Ark., which boasts 37,000 members.

The organization began its motorcycle ministry 15 years ago, said David Edwards, editor of Cycle World magazine, based in Newport Beach.

Edwards said such groups are so numerous that he cannot figure out how many there are in the United States.

Many Texas members of the Christian Motorcycle Assn. also belong to smaller, local groups, said Christian Motorcycle Assn. leader Herbie Shreve, 35, in Hatfield. There may be subtle religious differences between the groups, but they often work together holding rallies, visiting biker bars and trying to recruit outlaw motorcyclists, those who may be involved with drugs or other crimes, Shreve said.

The Full Gospel Motorcycle Assn. meets weekly for services and holds a religious rally in Arlington every September to recruit outlaw riders and those who belong to non-religious clubs.