KINGSPORT — Ride for Hope — a spring motorcycle ride complete with food, music and camaraderie set for April 20 — will help the homeless help themselves.
Ride for Hope is a 75-mile motorcycle ride in support of Hope Haven Ministries in Kingsport. The ride begins at Abernathy Thomas on Sullivan Street next to the Hope Haven facilities and ends at Providence Church, behind Food City, in Church Hill. Riders will meet at Hope Haven at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 20, to tour of the facility, enjoy breakfast and register. Commemorative T-shirts will be available. Kickstands go up at 11 a.m.
Registration is a $20 donation per bike and $10 per passenger. Registration includes the ride, breakfast, a tour of the Hope Haven facility, lunch by Braeden’s Barbecue and hot dogs, door prizes, and a concert by the Christian rock group, Face Like Flint. The ride is open to all motorcyclists.
Sponsors are Mark’s Grading and Landscaping, Nathan Vaughn–State Farm, Woodcraft, Cycle City, A-1 Expert Tree Service, Tri-State Enterprises, Carew Cuts, Pappy’s Custom T’s and Diamond Exchange.
“We wanted something that would catch everybody’s ear and eye, and that would be a lot of fun,” said event coordinator Karen Taylor. “My husband and I ride motorcycles, and we had entered a ride before. We’re hoping for 200 or more riders, the more the better. We want it to be an annual event for Hope Haven.”
Fortunately for Hope Haven Dan Gathercoal, a member of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), was on hand to assist with planning the ride.
“The Christian Motorcyclist Association is a global ministry headquartered in Hatfield, Ky.,” Gathercoal said. “It started out with a father and son back in the ’70s, and it grew to almost 200,000 members across the United States. And we’re operating in about 30 countries around the world. We have a chapter here in Kingsport with over 100 people.”
Gathercoal and two other members of CMA, Jim Holcomb and Steve Raines, mapped out the route. Holcomb is road captain and Gathercoal and Raines are assistants.
“We’re going to go up into Weber City, then out towards Yuma, and then we’ll wind up in Mount Carmel,” said Gathercoal. “We’ll have a police escort through town, and then maybe we’ll have another police escort to get us across (Highway) 11-W as we go over to Church Hill. It’s going to meander around back towards Rogersville. It’s about a 93-minute ride. We’ve mapped it out by car, now we’re going to ride the route by motorcycle and make sure everything works well.”
Gathercoal has a special reason to sympathize with the needs of Hope Haven residents. “At one time in my life, I was in a position where I was one step away from being in a shelter like this myself, and I didn’t realize it.”
He became involved with Celebrate Freedom, a recovery ministry of Celebration Church in Blountville, and that led to his own ministry work with Hope Haven.
One Monday a month, men from Celebration Church visit the men of Hope Haven to advise on job opportunities and contacts, to encourage them and pray with them. Jack Skelton, Rex Mullins and Mike Spivey work with Gathercoal on Monday night visits. Gathercoal, Mullins and Spivey also provide transportation to residents of the men’s, and the women’s and children’s facilities who wish to attend Saturday night services at Celebration Church.
“God gave us the passion to ride these motorcycles,” said Gathercoal. “I believe that every good thing comes from the Lord, and I want to use it to glorify Him.”
For information about the ride, call Hope Haven Ministries at (423) 246-6012.