Deacons preach gospel with motorcycles

Women don't have to ride on the back of motorcycles anymore.\nThat's what Bonnie Antolik of Bloomington says. One of the deacons at the House of Prayer in Ellettsville and a mother of three, she has transgressed religious and gender stereotypes. \n"We don't belong to our husbands," Antolik said. "We are God's gift to them."\nAntolik, a devout Christian of more than 30 years, and her husband of 19 years, Gary Pitman, a semi-truck driver who grew up as a Baptist, use their 1969 Harley-Davidson motorcycle to minister to youth and adults on southern Indiana streets and in juvenile centers and jails throughout Indiana.\nHouse of Prayer Pastor Larry Mitchell and others founded Un-Chained Ministries in 1988. Pitman said members of the gang must be drug, alcohol and tobacco free. They must also ride a motorcycle of 650 cc or above, be a born-again Christian and be accountable to a home church or pastor.\n"We have to be a step above others," Antolik said.\nMitchell, who had been the president of the Cloven Hoofs motorcycle gang but gave himself to Christianity in 1978, said membership in the church has grown to 500 people since its inception. One-fifth of the church now rides motorcycles. Antolik estimates that 40 bikes park outside the church during a summer service.\nThrough the Un-Chained Gang, part of five House of Prayer churches in Indiana, and the Un-Chained Ministries program brings the gospel to people who seek inner peace.\nAntolik, who has been a member of the House of Prayer for the past 10 years and a deacon with her husband for five, found her peace and the gospel after turning down the bottle. \n"After a bad night, I had made a conscious decision at age 23 not to get drunk anymore," she said. "I bartended for a long time, so I draw a lot from those experiences."\nAntolik and Pitman, who serves as the Road Captain of the Un-Chained Gang, completely swore off alcohol two years before joining the Un-Chained Gang. They are now working to become Biblical counselors. \n"Technically, we can counsel now," she said. "As deacons, we dissect God's word to help people." \n"Our job is to support and shield the pastor," Pitman added.\nThe members of the House of Prayer also have supported the community, whether bringing the youth loitering in downtown hot spots to God or raising money for the children of incarcerated women through the Un-Chained Gang.\nAntolik and the rest of the House of Prayer congregation raise annual funds to benefit the children of Rockville Correctional Facility's female-only inmates, Antolik said.\n"At Christmas, we spend $30 per child. Wal-Mart gives us a tax break, and other stores give us discounts. People also use their own money to provide gifts for the children's wishes," said Antolik. "We bag the gifts, put their mother's name on it and let them give the gifts to the children at a Christmas party in the prison. We helped 151 children last year."\nFor other young people, drugs and alcohol can draw them to gangs and violence, Antolik said. After downtown Bloomington shootings at People's Park on Kirkwood Avenue and its transformation into haven for illegal substances more than five years ago, Antolik said she and the other members of the Un-Chained Gang decided to prevent further unnecessary loitering and illegal activity.\n"We parked the bikes there as a gang," said Antolik. "The actual gangs thought we were trying to move in on their territory, but we were just there to make our presence known. One of our members was a police officer, and soon the Bloomington Police Department began to welcome us. They saw less violence and drug use after we hung out there."\nBy "Taking it to the Streets," which is the Un-Chained Gang's motto, Antolik and the other bikers in the House of Prayer bring ministry to the crowds on Kirkwood. \n"Every kid in that area came and thanked us after we bought them a pizza one night," she said. "Most of them were in high school and didn't have any supervision at home. They looked like they were homeless, but they were just rebelling. We've had some really good discussions with those kids on religion. That started in 1996 or '97. Then they remodeled Peoples Park, but we started going back there again this year."\nPitman said the Un-Chained Gang visits Peoples Park on Fridays between 5 and 7 p.m. He and Antolik hope their ministry reaches the people there.\n"If just one kid listens and 'gets it,' this is all worth it," she said. "Kids are searching for something. They need love and guidance."\nPastor Mitchell guides the members of the House of Prayer with the help of Antolik and those like her in the Un-Chained Gang.\n"We look at our motorcycles as rolling podiums," Mitchell said. "When we draw a crowd, we direct the conversation back to Jesus Christ. I tell people I can afford Harleys because I don't drink or do drugs anymore.\n"I should have been dead 29 years ago," he continued. "I was a walking dead man, and God turned me around. We may look nontraditional at this church, with leather and long hair, but we get a hold of people who have been overlooked and minister them."\nAs a woman at the nontraditional biker church, Antolik welcomes the respect given to her and other female bikers, which differs drastically from the treatment women still receive in outlaw motorcycle gangs, Mitchell said.\nAccordingly, Antolik and Pitman remain equals as husband and wife. The couple grew up in Kentucky, unaware of how each of their paths crossed. Their kids knew each other, and they went to the same grade school without knowing it. The couple now has a daughter who works as a school teacher and two sons who work as a carpenter and a stone mason.\n"This was God's plan for us," Antolik said. "I'm country, and he's rock 'n' roll. We're so different, but through our ministry, we have grown closer. We know we're not angels; we're only human, and this church has filled gaps for a lot of people." \n—Contact staff writer Leslie Benson at leibenson@indiana.edu.