The testimony

From the Outlaw Bikers of Newark to 60 Years Riding

Nineteen, sick and scared, he told God to get him now or never. God did.

Tom and Cathy Hughes side by side in their patched leather vests

“I have disappointed Jesus many times. But He never, never disappointed me.”PastorTom Hughes

Tom Hughes, mid-testimony, holding his Bible outdoors

Two Minutes With Tom

The Brotherhood of Bikers

A Harley Owners Group treasurer with a couple hundred members gave his heart to Jesus at one of Tom's meetings. He was dead on the highway the next day. Tom tells you who showed up at the funeral.

“The brotherhood of bikers is nothing compared to the brotherhood of people who love Jesus Christ.”

Watch the whole testimony on YouTube »

01The Night Everything Changed

“If you don’t get me now, you’re not going to get another chance”

A young Tom Hughes in fringed leathers standing in a winter field

Tom Hughes started out on a Sears Vespa scooter. At about seventeen he got his first motorcycle, a Honda 250, and was soon hanging out with the outlaw bikers in Newark, Delaware. He has been talking with, and ministering to, that kind of biker ever since. He joined the Army as a drummer and went to the Armed Forces School of Music in Little Creek, Virginia. A soldier there named Roger Ford kept bugging him. Have you seen the light yet? Have you given your heart to God? Did you read that New Testament I gave you? Tom's answer: “No. Leave me alone.”

At nineteen, on a bad night, sick and scared, Tom looked up the way he'd seen Roger do and said, “God, I've gotten myself in a jam down here. If you don't get me now, you're not going to get another chance.” His words: “Ten thousand angels didn't run through the room. No lightning. None of that.” But God made Himself known, and Tom has been riding with Him ever since.

“You don't have to quit doing anything to become a Christian. You can come to Jesus exactly as you are. Don't try to fix your life up first.”

02The Patch

“These Are My Church Clothes”

Pastor Tom Hughes preaching in his patched leather vest, up front in a church

Tom's biker friends have had to call several churches before one would let them attend their service. So a lot of them wear a patch:

“These are my church clothes, because we don't care what you wear as long as you're there.”

“The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” Nobody has to change a thing.

03The Arctic Circle

Three in the morning on the Dalton Highway

Tom and Debbie Hughes on the Harley at the Arctic Circle sign on the Dalton Highway, Alaska

Coming back down the Dalton Highway from the Arctic Circle, three in the morning in the July twilight, Tom and Debbie got a flat. The nearest trading post was a hundred miles back. A van stopped: two Athabascan sisters whose family was fishing the Yukon for the summer. On the three-hour ride back they told Tom their mother had died two months before. They had been praying for God to send somebody to tell them where she'd gone. Tom told them. Both gave their hearts to Jesus. Tom calls it a divine appointment at three in the morning.

More of these, in Tom's own voice, are in the radio archive. His full testimony episode is below.

04For the Record

Ordained Seventh-day Adventist pastor, 1981

Tom and Debbie Hughes on the cover of Visitor magazine, "Random Acts of Witness" — Tom and Debbie on the cover of *Visitor*, “Random Acts of Witness.”

Tom holds a BA in Theology and Psychology from Columbia Union College and an MA in Religion from Andrews University. He was ordained in 1981, the year he married Debbie. She was his partner in ministry for decades. She rode with him from the Blue Ridge to the Arctic Circle and sang on the radio show and the records. She passed away several years ago.

He rides with the Christian Motorcyclists Association and Adventist Motorcycle Ministries. He's pastored churches in West Virginia and Ohio.

05Cathy

Tom & Cathy, partners on the road

Cathy Hughes in her patched leather vest at a grand piano in church — Cathy at the piano, vest on.

Tom and Cathy Hughes on a boat — On the water

Tom and Cathy Hughes on a motorcycle together on a mountain road — Two up

Tom and Cathy Hughes at church — Sabbath morning

Tom is married to Cathy. She plays piano when he sings, and she rides with him. Here she is, in her own words.

We met in Ocean City, Maryland, at Bike Week in 2019. I was filling in as pianist for a church service where I did not normally play. Tom had ridden his Harley more than 500 miles from Ohio to attend Bike Week with several other members of Adventist Motorcycle Ministries, and had been asked to speak at the service that morning. We met when he autographed his book, The Skull & The Cross, for me after the meeting.

I've played the piano as long as I can remember, but had my first lesson at age 7. I began playing the organ and piano for church when I was 14.

I get goosebumps when Tom sings “I Can Only Imagine.” That was also the first song we did together, at Park SDA in Salisbury, Maryland, the church where we were married.

I had not been on a motorcycle since I was a teenager, so riding again was a little nerve-wracking, to say the least. We rode around the neighborhood rather slowly, and my anxiety eased a bit.

When we lived in Tennessee, I heard about the “Tail of the Dragon,” an 11-mile stretch of road in the Smoky Mountain National Park, known for its 318 hairpin turns. I told Tom in no uncertain terms that I didn't want to ride on “The Dragon.” He agreed that we would not ride there that day.

One sunny fall afternoon, we went for a ride on the Foothills Parkway, or so I thought. There were lots of sharp curves in the road, and we met several motorcycles and sports cars as we rode. There were also people on the side of the road taking pictures as we passed, which I thought was odd.

We eventually arrived at an area with shops and a restaurant, and Tom pulled over. He said, “Congratulations, you rode the dragon! Go pick out your t-shirt, you earned it.”