There were three guys on a mission last Thursday night in downtown Houston.
The trio are members of “Riders on a Mission” (R.O.A.M.), a ministry group out of Ava that combines spreading the gospel with exciting motorcycle stunts. R.O.A.M. riders performing jumps and stunts on First Street –– on the opening night of Piney River Days hosted by the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce –– included Wade Woods, 28, Trampas Posey, 25, and Dane Bovard, 16.
Woods founded R.O.A.M. about five years ago after a former boss at a bike shop in West Plains suggested that he do some trick riding at an event in that city. It began with him, his brother Derek Wilkerson and Posey.
“I really felt in my heart that God was calling us to do this,” Woods said. “At first I was scared to tell anyone, but the guys said they were feeling the same thing. So once God was moving all of us in the same way, we just took off from there and He has really blessed it.”
R.O.A.M. performs about 15 times a year, including almost every weekend from June through August. The group has shared God’s word in multiple states, as far away as Florida.
“Word of mouth has been great for us,” Woods said.
Woods and Posey perform aboard Yamaha YZ 450 bikes, while Bovard rides a Kawasaki KX250.
“Our goal is to use our motorcycles as a platform to draw in a crowd, especially people who don’t necessarily know God,” Posey said, “and then teach them the gospel about what Jesus has done for everyone.”
Woods said shows are arranged with a first segment featuring freestyle motocross “ground stunts” and solo jumping, followed by testimony and concluding with a big finale featuring tandem jumps.
“We go from craziness, to speaking the word of God, to even more craziness,” he said.
As Woods shared his testimony with the crowd last Thursday, he said that despite doing it for so long now, he is still amazed at the whole R.O.A.M. concept.
“I never thought I would be jumping for Jesus,” he said. “But when God is in control, anything is possible.”
R.O.A.M. is raising money for a planned appearance New Year’s Eve in Matagalpa, Nicaragua (a city of about 540,000 located about 2 ½ hours northeast of the capital city of Managua). Woods figures there will be quite a reaction when the crazy Americans show up with their bikes and ramps.
“There’s basically no entertainment there,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see lots of lives changed for Christ.”