They appear in your rearview mirror, a throng of motorcycle riders dressed in leather, roaring down the highway and gaining on your four-door sedan.
As they pull into the left lane and start to pass, the roar of the engines increases. Your grip on the steering wheel tightens.
Relax. It’s riders with the Christian Motorcyclists Association.
“When people see us, they get a little nervous until they see the back patch,” said Beal Trahan, a member of the association’s Denver chapter.
The back patch depicts a Bible with a cross on the cover. A triangle around the image frames it with the words “Christian Motorcyclists Association.” Banners above and below the triangle read “Riding for the Son.”
“We’re all told to ‘go forth and spread the word,”‘ said Bill Chartier, president of the Denver chapter. “We use our motorcycles as a tool.”
This year, the Denver chapter, with about 120 members, celebrates its 25th anniversary.
The CMA is an international, nondenominational Christian organization with more than 100,000 members in about 800 chapters throughout the United States.
The association and its chapters are not a club but a “ministry,” members say.
Beyond spreading the word to the general public, and more specifically to bikers in motorcycle clubs, the Denver chapter performs charitable work for the homeless and helps support a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for teenagers in Morrison called Lost and Found.
The chapter spearheads a toy drive going into the holiday season, and the CMA also has a prison-ministry team.
Members attend and volunteer at large motorcycle gatherings such as the annual rally in Stur gis, S.D., where they can be found helping medical staffers, fixing broken bikes, praying and generally helping keep the peace.
“A lot of people have done a lot of hard work,” Chartier said. “We value that.”
Steve Britton is a Marine who served in Vietnam and overcame drug and alcohol addictions 23 years ago; he has been a member of the CMA for about four years.
Britton and his wife, Maxine, had been attending church for years, but they recently heard a deeper calling, Britton said.
“We really got pushed by the Lord a few years back to get up out of the pew and spread the word on the streets,” Britton said.
Britton said one of his favorite places to minister other than Colorado is at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
Member Bruce Jones, a self-described “longtime Christian,” has five motorcycles and has been riding for 40 years. He joined the CMA about 18 months ago.
“It’s a great combination to do both,” Jones said of riding and practicing his faith.
For more information on the Denver chapter or to find other CMA chapters in Colorado, visit the state CMA website at www.cmancr3.org/co.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
