Jumping for Jesus

High-flying ministry packs pews

Todd Bennick has an unusual ministry.

He jumps buses for God.

Twenty-six weekends a year, Bennick, 28, travels around the country to Baptist churches, where he sets up his ramps, hops on his 2003 Honda CR 250 motorcycle and launches himself in the air above a gap where, typically, seven to 10 school buses are lined up beside each other.

In mid-jump, he’ll often soar 50 feet above ground, traveling 80 to 110 feet horizontally before landing on the other side.

Is this guy nuts?

“I just take a lot of precaution. I’ve been riding a motorcycle 21 years now, since I was 7 years old. People do what they know, and I ride motorcycles. It’s just like breathing to me,” says Bennick, a former star on the supercross/motocross circuit.

But he’s not out there, rocketing over church buses, just to draw attention to himself and his daredevil ways.

In fact, aside from free will offerings taken to offset his travel expenses, Bennick doesn’t get anything out of his high-flying act.

Well, not anything of an earthly nature. His motivation, and his reward, is strictly spiritual.

“I’m storing up the treasure in heaven,” he says. “People come to church and get saved. They come to see a motorcycle jump, and while they’re there, they find out they might not be ready to meet the Lord. And they make a decision to get ready.”

DAREDEVIL TODD BENNICK rockets over buses during one of his motivational appearances at a Baptist church. Bennick will jump six buses Sunday at Heritage Baptist Church, 1781 E. 800 Road.

In other words, Bennick’s trying to bring souls to Jesus — one jump at a time.

But he never confuses the role he plays at churches and youth rallies. He knows he’s just an attraction, a surefire way to draw a crowd.

“I’m just a sideshow,” Bennick says. “The main course is the Gospel.”

Bennick, who lives in Nebo, N.C., will perform his motorcycle stunts this weekend in Lawrence. After the 10:30 a.m. Sunday worship service at Heritage Baptist Church, 1781 E. 800 Road, he’ll jump six buses, repeating the stunt 10 to 15 times.

He’d jump even more of them, but that’s all the church has.

Word began to spread

The Rev. Scott Hanks, Heritage Baptist’s senior pastor, explains why the 300-member congregation has invited Bennick to bring his motorcycle ministry to its church.

“The goal is to get as many people into that morning service as possible, so that we can preach the Gospel. What it does is that people who don’t go to church very often would come out to a motorcycle jump, and get preached to also,” he says. “It’s going to be right after our morning service, which lasts about an hour. Of course, we’re hoping to get people to come to the service, too. The motorcycle jumping’s not near as important as the service.”

Heritage Baptist is hoping to have more people in its pews Sunday than ever before. The goal is to attract 1,000 worshippers.

Bennick can help with that.

“If the church promotes it right, it can double its usual crowd. A lot of people, they hear, ‘Yeah, some guy is going to jump some buses,’ but they don’t really believe it,” he says.

Bennick, who works during the week as a grading and excavating contractor, has been jumping buses on weekends at church gatherings for the past five or six years.

First he jumped at his home church, then he appeared at a youth rally in front of 3,500 people at New Manna Baptist Church in Marion, N.C.

“The pastor asked me to do it. I thought it would be a good way to get the crowd’s attention, and I’d give my (Christian) testimony,” he says.

From there, word of his feats began to spread, through the pastor grapevine, to other Baptist congregations.

“Now I jump about 26 weekends a year. I’ve been to the Philippines twice, all over the East Coast and the central United States. I’ve been as far out as Colorado.”

Flying without wings

It was faith that led Bennick to his ministry.

“I started racing at 13, turned pro at 16, raced East Coast supercross against the best of the best, all of those guys you see on TV. Got right with the Lord when I was 18, gave up racing. Now I go to Baptist churches and jump for them,” he says.

Bennick met his wife, Carrie, in 1993, and she invited him to attend a youth camp. There he attended a life-changing worship service of preaching and singing.

“I made a decision to serve the Lord instead of being at the track on Sunday. Racing isn’t all bad, but it kept me out of church,” he says.

Bennick has no regrets that he left professional motocross behind, and he shares his story with those who come to watch him.

“I just tell them how the Lord’s blessed my life. I had choices where I could have been famous, making a lot of money, and I chose to be in church, and the Lord has blessed my life. I’ve got a good business, a good wife, a good home,” he says. “No, I believe I’m right where I should be. There’s a bigger picture sometimes. Just common sense says that we’re all going to die, and we’re all going to spend eternity somewhere. I want to do my part to get a couple (more people) going to heaven.”

So far, Bennick has been able to avoid serious injury.

“I’ve never been hurt doing my ramp jumps. Sprained wrist, scrapes and bruises, but I’ve never broke any bones. I’ve been fortunate,” he says.

Bennick has no plans to quit his ministry any time soon, as long as he stays healthy.

“It’s a lot of fun. After you do it a couple of times, it gets repetitious. But that first time, it’s awesome,” he says. “That big gap — you just hit it. It’s like flying without wings.”