On June 25th, the Heartland Church held their 17th annual Heartland Christian Center Valparaiso Car & Bike Show on a beautiful breezy day full of community, cars, and Christ.
Over one hundred bikes and cars were projected to be at the show, which is also a fundraiser for local charities such as First Contact, Women’s Center of Northwest Indiana, Housing Opportunities, New Creation Men’s Shelter, and many others. The show featured free food, games, raffles, and cool cars to the pleasure of the Region’s car enthusiasts.
Pastor Phil Willingham, who has been the lead pastor at Heartland for 17 years, gave a moving sermon about restoration.
“We used to do an annual picnic, bike show, and car show, but for the past seven years, we’ve sort of combined them all together into one event,” said Pastor Phil Willingham, Lead Pastor for Heartland. “It’s just a good time to bring people out in from our communities.”
Willingham, who has been the lead pastor at Heartland for 17 years, gave a moving sermon about restoration and connects that to faith and God.
“Every year I do a sermon on restoration,” Willingham said. “We’ll take a story of a restored bike or restored car, and we build a concept. It’s about how a lot of lives, families, and marriages get wrecked, and how God can restore them.”
Pastor Willingham, who also displayed his 2012 Ultra Class Limited Motorcycle, was making his way through the lot mingling with people and enjoying the festivities.
“We have about fifty motorcycles in our church if everyone showed up at one time, and we have a few car people. This is just something that the community connects with.”
Terry Keelen, CEO of Terry’s Discount Windows, was a sponsor of the event and spoke highly of the annual show that does so much good for the community.
“We’re here volunteering, and giving back of our time,” Keelen said, who was there helping coordinate all the show vehicles, parking, and handing out goodie bags with his family and staff. “We like doing this because we can give back, the church gives the donations to the needy, and local missions in the area.”
Keelen and his family have been a part of Heartland for fifteen years and has been helping with the car and bike show every year since the became members all those years ago.
“Being members of Heartland, we enjoy this event every year,” said Julie Keelen, Co-Owner of Terry’s Discount Windows and Keelen’s wife. “We love being able to give back to our church home as well as our community.”
Guests were welcomed by a variety of collectible cars and motorcycles, ranging in styles, accessories, and stories. One community member who has made this show a tradition, William Austin Berk. brought his combat Type 5 WWII motorcycle to the show. He explained that it came from Poland and that Type 5 was made during 1943 and 1944, which means the bike could have been used during D-day.
“I met the pastor about a couple of year ago, and he asked me to bring my bike,” Berk explained. “He told me about the show here and I’ve brought it back every year.”
Danita Clemans, who has been a member of Heartland for over a decade now, brought her motorcycle, a 2013 Harley Davidson Frankenstein, to the show, an event that she looks forward to every year.
“I’ve been coming here to Heartland Christian Center for twelve or thirteen years now,” she said. “I like coming here cause it’s a great environment for families and to support the community and the mission.”
It was another successful Heartland Valparaiso Car & Bike Show Sunday afternoon as thousands of people gathered to show their support for countless charities and organizations that, just like Heartland, are working to make the community a safe and enjoyable place to live.
For more information about Heartland Community Church, go to http://hcc.ag/.