From the Outlaw Bikers of Newark to Sixty Years Riding
Nineteen, sick and scared, he told God to get him now or never. God did.
“I have disappointed Jesus many times. But He never, never disappointed me.”— Pastor Tom, the Bible Biker
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.”
“If you don’t get me now, you’re not going to get another chance”
Tom Hughes started riding at sixteen on a Honda 250, 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.”
“These Are My Church Clothes”
Tom's biker friends have had to call six or seven churches before one would let them in. 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.
Three in the morning on the Dalton Highway
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.
Ordained Seventh-day Adventist pastor, 1981
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.
Tom & Cathy, partners on the road
Tom is married to Cathy. She plays piano when he sings, and she rides with him.
Hear It From Tom
The radio episode first, then the videos.
Tom's Testimony
Tom tells his own story: the outlaw bikers, the Army, and the night he called on Jesus.
The First Interview
Tom's first Hope Channel interview, 2010.
The Testimony in Three Parts
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Come Ride With Us
“He loves you too much to turn you away, and He loves you too much to leave you the way you are.”
Churches usually cover travel and give an honorarium or love offering. Ask Tom what works for your church.