When most people think of bikers, they think of rough looking, scruffy, hell raising men and women dressed in leather clad. These bikers can be intimidating to look at and gangs like the Hell's Angels and Mongrels have had their stories made into countless TV shows and movies. While this grizzly type of a biker is a stereotype, there is a growing segment of the biker population who may still look scruffy and wear the leather, but these men and women are different, they are Christians.

Many of these bikers have always been Christian, others became Christian after years of partying had landed them in rehab where they found their higher power, and others became Christians in prison as a result of prison ministry.

Since bikers come from a culture that is territorial, loyal, and mainly patriotic and known for their all night parties, many bikers feel embarrassed at many mainstream churches because they feel they donâ??t fit in and may be the subject of ridicule. As a result of this, there are biker friendly Churches and Ministries popping up around the world.

Today, there are Christian biker organizations with chapters that cover the globe. One of the larger organizations is the Christian Motorcyclists Association or CMA. The CMA's main purpose is as an outreach ministry, but not exclusively to the motorcycling community. The CMA's noble mission is "To inspire their leaders and members to be the most organized, advanced, equipped, financially stable organization, full of integrity in the motorcycling industry and the Kingdom of God".

CMA has partnered with three other ministries which are the Jesus Film Project, Missionary Ventures, and Open Doors to spread God"s word across the world. In 2006 alone, CMA donated $681,044.00 to each of these three ministries from money raised at their Run for the Son fundraiser.

Another big Christian biker association is the Christian Biker Missionaries or CBM. CBM is a non-profit organization based out of one of the motorcycle capitols, Daytona Beach. Their missions is "To Spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the biker community by recruiting, placing, and supporting biker missionaries in the field to bring hope to the highways."

Christian bikers are international. An international association is the International Christian Bikers Association, or ICBA. The ICBA organizes special biker rallies and runs and are also active in prison outreach ministry.

There are also websites dedicated to serving Christian bikers. Christian Bikers Online is a site dedicated to helping Christian bikers to stay in touch while online. They like to think of their site at a cyber club house. At their site you will find a forum, gallery, dating system and resources for Christian rallies and rides.

There is no doubt, Christian bikers are a growing movement. They can be found in your local church, on the road, at rallies and around the world. They have a noble purpose to save the souls of their fellow bikers.

So next time you see grizzly leather clad biker, don"t be too quick to judge. That biker may just be your brother in the Lord.