“The motorcycle will expand the existing congregation’s reach.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

The Canadian Christian Riders connected with Partners in Hope Tanzania to donate a motorcycle to a Tanzanian pastor. The new motorcycle will help the African pastor spread the Gospel and encourage believers in difficult-to-reach villages.

“Over the Christmas period we raised $500 in cash and $1,500 from the sale of a member’s own motorcycle to meet our $2,000 goal,” says Peter Thorp-Levitt, the club’s national administrator. The money is enough for them to buy “a small motorcycle and enough gasoline and oil for one year of operation.”

The Ottawa-based motorcycle riding club had been looking for a ministry that was a good fit for a giving campaign, when Mike Hayes (a friend of many members) suggested helping Pastor Titus, in Tanzania.

“Churches in Ottawa helped support [Pastor Titus] to go to university,” explains Hayes, a director for Partners in Hope Tanzania. “In 2014, I led a small mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania, where I met him for the first time. The motorcycle will expand the existing congregation’s reach. They will be able to start distributing Bibles and Bible stories, and seeds for farms. They will be able to do services out in the smaller communities.”

Pastor Mike Welch (right) founder of the Canadian Christian Rider’s gives a $2,000 cheque to Mike Hayes of Partners in Hope Tanzania. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Christian Riders.

Pastor Titus has a compelling testimony. His mother was a witchdoctor and put a bounty on his head when he became a Christian. However, after studying for the ministry, God enabled him to lead his mother to Jesus. His church, in the village of Mwalwigi, is thriving and baptized 46 new members leading up to Christmas. They also have a ministry supporting orphans, street kids, and the albino population. However, he and his elders have been limited as their only transportation up until now has been riding bicycles.

“We think this is a natural fit for a motorcycle riding club like ours, especially at this time of year,” Thorp-Levitt states. “Such a gift is inexpensive to use, easy to maintain, and will have a significant impact on the spiritual health and well being of area families.”

To help them reach their fundraising goal, a club member donated a motorcycle that the club sent to be cleaned and checked over before they put it up for sale. In a providential twist, it was one of Hayes’ sons who eventually bought the motorcycle.