“I Will Go Ride” Program Distributes The Great Controversy During 1,145-Kilometer Bike Ride Across Australia

The Seventh-day Adventist Church recently launched an evangelistic initiative called “I Will Go Ride,” which saw seven Adventists embark on a 1,145-kilometer (711-mile) bike ride across Australia. The journey, which took place in late May 2024, began in Brisbane, Queensland, and ended in Eugowra, New South Wales. The self-funded riders included Pastor Glenn Townend, president of the South Pacific Division, and Pastor Brett Townend, president of the South Queensland Conference. The event was part of a broader effort to inspire Adventists to spread their message through direct, face-to-face interactions.

The ride was inspired by the historical work of Phillip Reekie, a pioneer literature evangelist who traveled the backroads of New South Wales in the 1890s and early 1900s. Reekie sold copies of *The Great Controversy* from the panniers of his bicycle. In 1895, he met Thomas Kent, a Eugowra farmer who purchased a copy of the book and later became a baptized Seventh-day Adventist. Kent went on to co-found the Eugowra Church, and the single copy of *The Great Controversy* he bought is said to have impacted the lives of an estimated 20,000 people. Among those influenced are over 100 denominational workers, including 17 pastors, who are descendants of the Eugowra Church. Several of the riders on the recent journey were also descendants of the Kent family.

The Brisbane-to-Eugowra riders carried 1,500 copies of the 1911 edition of *The Great Controversy*, along with Arthur Maxwell’s *Your Bible and You* and brochures detailing the Eugowra trip. They averaged 160 kilometers (99 miles) per day, engaging in brief conversations with people along the route. When asked about their journey, the riders shared the story of Phillip Reekie and Thomas Kent and offered free literature from a support vehicle accompanying them.

One local resident expressed admiration for the effort, stating, “You and your team demonstrated in a beautiful way the joy and comfort and willingness to share with others. I think every SDA should have seen what happened today. It can be done. Very impressed.” This kind of personal engagement is central to the Adventist approach to evangelism, emphasizing direct interaction and the sharing of literature.

While “I Will Go Ride” highlights the value of face-to-face evangelism, it also contrasts with other initiatives tied to the global *The Great Controversy Project 2.0*. These initiatives have involved mass-mailing cheap copies of the book to hundreds of thousands of addresses. The recent ride, however, focuses on a more personal and localized method of outreach, raising questions about the effectiveness of different evangelistic strategies in reaching unchurched populations.

In 2023, an independent publisher, Remnant Publications, sent mass mailouts of *The Great Controversy* to residents of Portland, Oregon, which left many feeling personally targeted. This incident has sparked debate about the appropriateness of using the book as a tool for mass evangelism. The recent bike ride, by contrast, seeks to revive a more traditional, community-based approach to spreading the Adventist message.

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