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The F.A.I.T.H. Riders Motorcycle Ministry of Elizabethton will host its second annual Bike Night at First Baptist Church Elizabethton on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 5:30 p.m.

The event will feature a free full barbecue meal, a bike competition, slow ride, followed by a ride for a free dessert to Johnson City’s Dairy Queen.

Everyone in attendance will also be eligible for a $150 gift certificate to Wrecking Crew Harley-Davidson in Johnson City. There will also be drawings for other door prizes.

The local chapter was founded by Larry Byrd, who had been a member of F.A.I.T.H. Riders in Georgia, before he and his wife, Carolyn, relocated to Elizabethton.

The local chapter, the motorcycle ministry of First Baptist Elizabethton, was established just a little over a year ago and has seen continued membership growth. Byrd hopes the upcoming event will be an opportunity for even more people to have fun and to learn more about F.A.I.T.H. Riders and its ministry.

The ministry was established in 2002 at the First Baptist Church of the Mall in Lakeland, Fla., and has since expanded to almost 400 chapters nationwide with two additional chapters in Cuba.

The ministry continues to grow and the only requirement for establishing a new chapter is that it falls under the leadership of a Southern Baptist church.

The motto of the ministry is “no one left behind” from entering heaven and challenges its members to pursue its motto based on the scripture of 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

This ministry uses motorcycles as tools for reaching people and helping them repent and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, but participation is not limited to motorcycle riders. Any adult Christian who has a passion to reach others for Christ is welcome to join.

The F.A.I.T.H. Riders Motorcycle Ministry meets locally every month on the second Thursday at 6 p.m. at First Baptist in Elizabethton, 212 East F St.

For more information, please contact First Baptist Church Elizabethton at 423-543-1931.