The sign for Hellfighters USA in Laurel, Mississippi, is easily recognizable as a typical motorcycle shop. Until you notice the large “John 3:16” directly under the sign. Then it clicks that it might not be typical after all.
According to Joey Harris, director of ministry advancement for Mission at the Cross — a sister outreach — not only does Hellfighters sell motorcycles and parts, there is a purpose behind it. Both ministries were founded by Richard Headrick who died in 2020.
“Jesus is the center of everything,” Harris said. “You walk through Hellfighters motorcycle shop, you’re going to see Jesus everywhere. You’ll see a bunch of motorcycles, obviously. We sell crosses, gifts, jewelry, women’s clothing. We sell everything.”
The variety of goods is unusual for a motorcycle shop. But Hellfighters is one of the ways Mission at the Cross, a Bible-based addiction recovery program, is funded.
“We take in men who are addicted — whether it’s meth or cocaine or heroin or alcohol … whatever it is — for a 12-month program,” Harris said. “They have to agree to come and live here. During that time we take care of them. We feed them, clothe them, give them medical care, and we also give them jobs. They work while they’re here.
“They also go through an intensive Bible study program, morning and night, as well as a Christian 12-step recovery program,” he continued. “There’s also vocational training.
Bring them to Jesus first
“Our main goal is to bring them to Jesus first, then get them clean so they can leave here and start a new life — have a trade other than cooking meth or something like that.”
Not only is Mission at the Cross comprehensive, it’s also one of the few completely free recovery centers. Full funding is important so “we don’t have to charge the men. Because honestly, by the time they get to us and they need us, they don’t have any money — they’ve lost everything, including their families usually,” Harris said.
More than 1,500 men have come through Mission at the Cross since it opened in 2007, with a face-to-face interview and detox required before starting the program. Because it’s so intensive, not all who come through stay. Some leave on their own; some, if they are not serious and don’t follow the rules, are asked to leave.
However, success stories are plentiful. Many men graduate with a new vocation. Some are reunited with family. Others choose to pay minimal rent to live in an apartment on the 3rd floor of the mission or in one of the eight apartments in the Hellfighters USA building across the street.
“Ninety percent of the people who work at Hellfighters USA are either graduates of the mission or are currently in the program and are working,” Harris noted.
They repair and sell bikes, jeeps and other vehicles, but even more important than the skills and responsibility they learn is the opportunity to minister while they work.
“You can walk around here any time and see three or four people gathered around praying in the middle of the store, out on the street or anywhere else,” Harris said, “right there on Biker Boulevard, which is right in front of us.”
The men have a structured schedule — they get up at 5p.m., eat breakfast and participate in an hour-long Bible study — some taught by local pastors, others led by the men. At 6 a.m. they go to work, eat lunch and come back at 4p.m. for dinner. Each evening includes mandatory activities including a 12-step program, Bible study or Wednesday night church.
Sundays include attending Highland Baptist Church in Laurel three weeks out of the month. Usually once a month the men go to another local church and share their experiences. They also have an option to earn a certificate from Mississippi Baptist Bible Institute by attending four semesters of classes.
‘Saved and cleaned up’
The minimum time in the program is one year, since Harris noted it takes more than six months to turn around a lifetime of addiction.
“The mission is the heartbeat of this place because that’s why we’re here — that’s why it exists. We want to get them in there. We want to get them to Jesus,” Harris declared. “We don’t want to just clean them up — we want to get them saved and cleaned up. Because if they get cleaned up and don’t get saved and die and go to hell, you didn’t do anything. We want to do both.
“When they get to us they are dragging low,” he noted. “They are down; they’re out; they’re depressed; they’re discouraged. They have so many demons and so much baggage — they have a lot to overcome. They need a place like this because they have support.
“Some of these guys don’t make it. They go out and get back into their old life, and some die in that state. Even though you’ve done everything you can for them, it still happens. And then you see [others] go out and get reunited with their families or start a new family and keep going forward and become, as Mike Shirley, the director, likes to say, tax-paying, tithing citizens of their community.”
For more information visit www.hellfighters.org.
