As the Lord leads us along His path, sometimes He calls us to leave where we are and to find where He wants us to put down new roots.  We all know from our own life experiences, that some things are for but a season where others are for a lifetime.  That is the path followed by Darran Markham and wife April as they led the Fellowship Riders of the Hill Country ministry.  In seeking the Lord’s direction, they have now relocated that ministry to Boerne, Texas and the Kendall County Cowboy Church. 

To welcome this new ministry, and to introduce it to the membership, Darran presented Pastor Steve Gross, also a “rider of motorcycles” and rider of the equine variety, with his own Fellowship Riders vest.

It is with our prayers that we affirm this new ministry as our newest affiliate in the Great State of Texas and look forward to what the Lord has in mind for this ministry as they will be blending in some “iron horses” with their roping horses – all for the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the weeks have passed since the official welcoming of Rigena Christian Church into the Fellowship Riders family, there have been a number of email communications as well as the gathering of materials and start-up items to be shipped to our most distant ministry, Nyamarambe, Kisii, Kenya.

This package; filled with many prayers, our Riders Tool Kit, and everything from bike flags to decals; is now in transit and was last tracked aboard a plane bound for Kenya. 

It is our hope that, like the reflective trim around these caps, the Shekinah glory of Almighty God will break forth when that package is opened, that the spirit of brotherhood and encouragement overflow that carton, and that every item strengthen and enlarge the Kingdom of the Most High God in Christ Jesus.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a church in Kenya who wished to become an affiliate of Fellowship Riders. Having received emails from Africa and other nations requesting financial or other assistance, I was skeptical and a little reluctant to respond; fully expecting the usual motivation for contacting Fellowship Riders.

In reading that first email there was no request for money, just a simple message asking if they could partner with Fellowship Riders in starting a motorcycle ministry. With a measure of caution, I asked more about the church and questioned whether our materials provided to our ministries in the U.S. would be of value in their culture and language. The reply I got from Pastor Jared Omweri was that they are a small church in Kenya with only 38 members and no motorcycles, but they wanted to establish a relationship with us and together to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.

Now how could we not immediately shout praises to Almighty God for His connecting our hearts as Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, for we are of the same Baptism and same Spirit!!!

As we continued to exchange emails and to share the heart of the Father, the Board of Directors of Fellowship Riders unanimously approved Rigena Christian Church as an honorary affiliate with all rights and privileges afforded our ministries.

In working with other ministries outside the U.S., there can be a concern for the safety of individuals or churches and it is with the permission and agreement of Pastor Jared that this information is being shared. Please know that even now, Satan desires to destroy all the works of the Kingdom of God and we need to pray diligently for these and Christians everywhere.

We are now gathering a “Starter Kit” of our Riders Tool Kit, patches, decals, flags, and other Fellowship Riders materials to be sent to our newest affiliate as they join with all the other Fellowship Riders affiliates in going into our communities “Powered by Christ”.

Please join with the leadership of Fellowship Riders in welcoming our newest affiliate, Rigena Christian Church, in Kissii, Kenya as they begin the work of following the Lord’s call to start a motorcycle ministry and “take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.”

Ron Kidwell, President of Fellowship Riders, along with the Board of Directors, would like to welcome Fellowship Riders of Alamance County at Trailhead Church in Graham, NC to the family of Fellowship Riders ministries.

Brian Hurdle, the director of this new ministry, and I had been seeking the Lord for a year; asking where He would open the door for a motorcycle ministry; and it is in the Lord’s perfect time and place that He has opened that door at Trailhead Church.

As Brian and I were talking immediately after the church leadership had approved and blessed this new ministry, the Lord said “Just as I commanded a Sabbath rest for the land, the land has rested and now it is time to plant for the harvest.”

So with that Word, we welcome Fellowship Riders of Alamance County and Trailhead Church – Powered by Christ – “to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Hi Ron, I just wanted to share with you and all our brothers and sisters affiliated with Fellowship Riders what a blessing Angel Tree 2016 was for all of us here at White Horse M/M.  This was our first year participating in the program and we were not sure what to expect.  Needless to say our group was blessed beyond measure. 

With the help of our church, the Greater Johnstown Christian Fellowship, we were privileged to bless over 40 families and 100 children.  I cannot help but to think of Olivia, her picture is attached to this email, when she opened her gift and saw the Barbie doll her face lite up and as she hugged the present she stated; “My daddy knew just what I wanted”.  Priceless!!! Continue reading →

“a child shall lead them…” – Fellowship Riders of the Hill Country

I have been making Angel Tree deliveries for several years and it never ceases to amaze me the blessings that the delivery teams receive. Once again this year, we began our journey to deliver to the children of incarcerated parents in cold damp weather and, in keeping with the Fellowship Riders tradition, we feel that this must be done on the back of our motorcycles if at all possible. 

The weeks leading up to the delivery of the gifts are spent calling the recipients care-givers and learning of the family and children’s needs.  One particular call caught my attention; I spoke with a grandmother about her grandchildren and she began to tell me of the difficulties the family was going through.  She was travelling back and forth to San Antonio for medical treatments and struggling to get the children; Realea (3), Christian (7), and Julian (10); anything for Christmas.  The two younger children’s requests were what most would expect, but Julian’s was something special.  I learned Julian loved to read religious books and wants to be a pastor someday.  He cannot get enough to read and his Bible was worn and needed to be replaced. This delivery was going to be special; I could tell it already and grew more anxious each day. Continue reading →

Once again, all the ingredients were in place for a blessed and fun time of providing new back-to-school shoes for the at-risk children who have the God-ordained guidance of Youth World to “Find your place in the World”. 

Impacting the surrounding community for Christ, Youth World; through its Summer Camps with more than 400 students in attendance, After-School programs, Summer reading program, and a wide range of other activities; has served over 100,000 lunches, furnished 3,911 pairs of shoes, and children have read more than 33,526 books. 

 As always, everyone participating returned home with more than they brought – the memories of again being the Lord’s hands and feet and sharing the smiles and laughter of these children, especially when playing “Birdie on a perch”.

Scheduled for the first weekend of August each year, we look ahead to the Youth World Shoe Ride for 2017 and invite everyone, whether local to DFW or not, to support this event by sponsoring one or more children with new shoes for the upcoming school year. 

To enjoy the fellowship and joy of traveling together, Fellowship Riders-Lubbock takes several trips each year in addition to many activities in their community. 

On June 8-13 this group of 25 rode over 2,600 miles through Wyoming and Montana while sharing devotionals, divine appointments with those they met along the way, and prayer.  On day three, a couple went down and were injured; however, what the enemy meant for harm became an opportunity for God to show up and show off His sovereignty over all things.  During the 1^st few minutes of the crash, the Lord brought a Trauma Doctor, 2 nurses, and many prayer warriors to the scene.  An hour later emergency services arrived to airlift one rider and transport the other to a hospital 1 hour away where he was treated and released.  A state trooper commented that this was the calmest crash scene he had ever responded to and the brother of the injured rider explained it was the presence of the Lord.  Within a few hours the Lord revealed that the riders would be restored and gave peace to continue the ride.  Funds to cover hotel, food, and airfare to return the riders to their home in California were provided by riders and others who learned of their need. Continue reading →