500 ChangeMakers: 90 Miles a Day, One Purpose

By Holly Meriweather

Beginning in Bilbao, Spain, the Tour de France will take place this summer amid stunning views that include the Pyrenees mountains and the Alps. In 23 days, these first-class athletes will wind their way through the French countryside 100 miles a day to the bikers’ final goal — the Champs-Élysées and its victory laps. At the end, one man will hoist a trophy and be declared champion of the most famous bike ride in the world at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It’s estimated that 12 to 15 million people will line the route to cheer them on. 

On May 5 of this year, BMA Global President Dr. John David Smith began the first of five 90-mile legs of a 444-mile bike ride beginning in his home state of Mississippi, where the Natchez Trace Trail begins. At the end of the ride, he crossed the finish line to receive fist bumps from BMA Global Vice President John Meriweather and Lifeword Director of Digital Strategy Jon Dodson, who chronicled the sometimes painful journey he had trained for.

There’s no way Dr. Smith could have guessed that so many people would follow his journey that ended without ceremony in Nashville, Tenn.

John Meriweather said, “Before the ride, we knew we wanted to create a mini documentary, posting at checkpoints along the way and stopping at milestone markers. As we were loading up the van in the morning, we noticed people engaging, and there were already 200 likes by the time we got to the hotel that night before the first leg. We could tell that people were engaging, then they began asking questions about his nutrition, the weather, their exact location, so we began taking questions and answering them to make it an interactive experience. People told us they were waiting on those posts.

“In every single video, John David gave attention to the ride’s purpose — raising funds for ChangeMakers around the world who work tirelessly for God’s mission. It was his main message, even though the physical challenge was what they were curious about. We intended to tell the story, but weren’t sure how people would react. The hundreds of interactions clarified what we needed to do — bring people on the journey and let them follow along. Honestly, John David would have done the ride even if no one was following.”

According to Jon Dodson, “During the week of Changemaker Challenge, the videos, pictures and posts created a large amount of interest and engagement online for BMA Global. The BMA Global web site realized a 502% increase in traffic, with 3,407 visits. BMA Global’s Facebook page reached 382,000 Facebook accounts (a 5,900% increase in reach). There were 39,400 minutes of Changemaker Challenge videos posted on the BMA Global Facebook during the week of the ride, with 32,125 engagements on the BMA Global Facebook page during the ride.”

As far as the funds raised, donations continue to come in, and there have been promises of matching funds and other commitments. If you would like to donate toward the $1 million goal, visit bmamissions.org/changemakerchallenge and click the blue “Give” button.

Middle East Coordinator Charlie Costa said, “Recently we saw leadership at its finest from the president of BMA Global. It was not leading from behind or by proxy but from the front and by design. Weeks of preparations went into the lengthy bike ride Dr. John David Smith took along the Natchez Trail to raise funds and awareness for our work.

“I wonder how many will respond to such faithfulness and commitment. Never in the history of the BMA have we seen such selflessness. What I love about it is that the funds raised will go to an endowment that will fund church planters (ChangeMakers) for years to come. That’s forward-thinking leadership. That’s a leader I want to take our churches and pastors to.”

Small but mighty, that’s our association. ChangeMaker Challenge did not have millions of excited, fanatic people encouraging their favorite riders along the route. There was no fame or fortune for the winner and no declaration of victory over the other riders — just one man’s obedience to the cause of Christ.

What an honor for all of us to be part of a “family” that desires to give God the glory through both prayer and financial support.