Biker Church Revs Up Ministry

Berto Flores' life was damaged almost beyond repair, and he desperately needed a breakthrough.

“I spent most of my life trapped in gang culture and addiction, starting at just 13 years old with the Latin Kings,” he explains. “I was in and out of prison and lived a life full of brokenness.”

But when Flores was released from prison after four years in February 2022, something changed.

“I moved into a sober house and one of the guys invited me to what I thought was a meeting—but it turned out to be Broken Chains Biker Church (BCBC),” Flores, 41, recounts. “That Friday night, I walked into something I didn’t expect: love, acceptance and the presence of God. I knew I belonged. I had prayed in jail, telling God I was done living the way I was living. That Friday night was the beginning of a new life.”

Flores' once-broken-but-now-transformed life is one of many testimonies that have come out of BCBC, an atypical Assemblies of God church in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Tom “Flathead” Iddings and his wife, “Chopper Deb Iddings,” launched Broken Chains Biker Church (BCBC) in 2011. They recently celebrated the church's 14th anniversary and now own their own buildings, including a sober house.

The couple had been active in a motorcycle ministry since 2001. In 2013, the couple became licensed AG ministers, with Tom as lead pastor and Deb as associate pastor.

Since he got saved at Broken Chains, Flores has never left.

“I’ve been mentored by pastor Tom, became deeply involved in the church and even launched a prison ministry to help men transition from incarceration to a life in Christ,” he says. “That ministry grew quickly and today I also run multiple sober homes—including the very one I first moved into.

“I’ve been blessed with a godly wife and now help lead a new ministry at Broken Chains called the On Mission group,” Flores adds. “We are on mission to share the good news. We participate in car and bike shows and pray for people and bless bikes or cars.”

Iddings notes that Broken Chains “simply doesn’t fit the box” for a regular church matrix.

BCBC meets on Friday nights at a former Episcopal church built in 1867, which the church bought seven years ago.

“We are a group of people who, in riding down life’s road, have learned the truth about breaking the chains that bind us,” he says. “We gather in our jeans, T-shirts, long hair and tattoos—celebrating a victorious life in Jesus Christ.”

The parking lot typically is filled with Harleys, as well as a few guys standing around talking about bikes. Currently, Broken Chains draws about 140 people for weekly worship services.

The worship team plays familiar blues, rap and rock ’n roll tunes that are rewritten to honor Christ, but the sermons are “Bible-based, Holy Ghost-filled preaching,” Iddings points out.

“This ministry has always been outward focused,” says Iddings, 68, noting that the church also attracts non-bikers and is considered a community church. “The reason we meet Friday nights is so we can go out to events and gatherings everywhere possible, throughout New England, Pennsylvania, and down to Florida for outreaches.

“For prayer nights on Wednesdays, we have 40 to 60 people, and an area intercessor group wants to make this church a prayer hub,” he adds. “One of the advantages of being a Friday night church is that folks from many churches attend. Building the whole body of Christ is more important than building our church and insulating it.”

Southern New England Ministry Network Superintendent Nick Fatato, who has known Iddings for 15 years, is “grateful for the work Broken Chains is doing.”

“The church and the Iddings have followed God's leading to reach friends and those in a very specific people group—bikers,” he says. “The result has been profound fruit. The distinct group and culture of bikers calls for a unique and distinct missional approach.

“Tom and Deb have successfully earned trust, communicated the gospel, and discipled men and women in the biker community,” Fatato adds. “The profound impact is that this couple listened to the Lord of the harvest and then acted as He directed. Lives have been saved, delivered, and restored by the grace of Jesus.”

A Teen Challenge graduate, Benjamin Scuderi has known the Iddings since 2009 and even attended Global University with the couple, but lost touch over time. However, he was invited in 2019 by a friend to a “biker church service.”

“To my surprise, there was Tom and Deb, now serving as lead pastors,” Scuderi, 46, recalls. “It felt like God had orchestrated this reunion all along. Now, we’ve reconnected and are working together to save souls for the sake of the kingdom of God.”

Scuderi, who is part of the leadership team of Broken Chains and is working to be an ordained minister, notes that his “entire life has transformed” since he started attending services.

“My thoughts and heart have both changed significantly,” he says. “BCBC provided a safe space for me to reconcile with God. I had walked away from Him, but I found my way back into His loving arms.”