Tylor Desilet gave his life to Jesus years back, and he now hopes to bring other men into the Christ-centered life. A member of the same motorcycle group that Desilet belongs to is shown here displaying his motorcycle jacket with the Disciples of Christ Motorcycle Ministry logo on the back. (Photo provided by Cat Cuevas)
By Gaye Bunderson
Tylor Desilet loves both motorbikes and the Bible. Born and raised in the Gem State, he is a biker and member of the Disciples of Christ Motorcycle Ministry, and he and other members of the group minister to men in prison, lead Bible studies, and regularly gather to share and spread God’s Word.
In God’s something-for-everybody reach to save all souls, a friend of Desilet’s named Edgar suggested he join a motorcycle group and meet other bikers. “It was a God-thing that Edgar invited me,” said Desilet, who quickly became a member of Disciples of Christ Motorcycle Ministry. That was 3½ years ago.
The original core members of DOCMM started the ministry in Bakersfield, Calif., with five men in all at the time. One of the founders was Cat (Catalino) Cuevas, who came to the Gem State in 2016 to start a branch of the ministry here. He remains president of the local group. Membership varies, but at present DOCMM in the valley has seven members. Membership has never been about numbers but rather the quality of the Christian faith of the men who join.
“We don’t recruit. Men will see us and want to join,” Cuevas said. “We are not a motorcycle club but a ministry.”
The group is strictly just for men. Said Cuevas, “We have a men-only group, and it was my wife who encouraged me to keep it that way, saying, ‘Men need a different type of ministry than women do’.”
When the local members get together, they call their meeting “church” because, “When we meet, we pray and study the Bible and talk about ways we can touch the valley and how we can reach people. We pray and fellowship,” Desilet said.
DOCMM also has written by-laws that require its members to attend a regular church – the only difference being one is not a motorcycle meet-up but is held in a typical church structure on Sundays. DOCMM meets on Wednesdays at the men’s prison at Gowen Field.
Membership must be taken seriously. In Desilet’s words, “With the guys, everything has to be Christ-centered, and they have to be willing to contribute to social change. They have to accept Christ and not just join in to fill their souls with selfish things.”
DOCMM’s involvement in prison ministry burgeoned locally through a member named Osa, who was formerly incarcerated himself and became aware of how much prisoners need ministry and prayer.
Desilet ministers in the prison and said of the incarcerated men he has worked with, “A handful are doing very well in life. We’re planting seeds, then God uses the seeds and does the real work.”
Sometimes a man will accept Christ as Savior without hesitation and live a fully committed life after that. Others turn away permanently; and still others try it, blow it, but desperately want to come back. Desilet shared the following story:
A man at the prison had accepted a life of faith, got out of prison, and then called Desilet and Osa out of desperation one night because, in his words, he’d “screwed up.” Explained Desilet, “He got in trouble, went to drugs, and rolled his car.” But after he talked with the two men of ministry, and accepted prayer and advice, he turned his life around again and, in Desilet’s words, “God moved in his life; he now reads the Bible and goes to church. He’s done a complete 180.
“Some people surrender to Christ; others are playing a game.”
The goal of the prison ministry is to help those men become productive in society again.
Desilet lived through his own crises in life. His father “indulged in alcoholism,” said his son, who ultimately got dragged into his dad’s indulgence as well. “It was rough in my past with my dad.”
Alcohol killed his dad, and Desilet was almost trapped in the same fate. He recalled a time when he was drinking a whole pack of beer, but he had to hide it because he had a roommate who enforced a “no beer here” rule. So Desilet hid the beer under a blanket in his room and carried on drinking in secret. Some friends asked him to go someplace with them, and he said no; and that’s when he realized, “I was just like my dad. I wouldn’t go out with people; I would sit there alone and drink instead.
“I’m glad I’m going in the right direction now; when I see the people we help in the ministry, I think ‘I wish I had had someone helping me’ – I needed it so much.”
It helped that his mother was different from his dad. “My mom was always a prayer warrior since about the fourth grade, and she would call me out. I’d always think of her when I hit bottom.”
His own efforts to stop drinking were fruitless. “I tried to quit – tried hard – but I couldn’t do it on my own. I couldn’t do it until I gave it to Christ.” A 2004 retreat he attended taught him a lesson. “I learned I had to surrender everything to Him [if I was going to make it].”
His dad was schizophrenic, and Desilet back then was very angry. “I couldn’t knock it until I gave it all to Christ.”
Desilet, who is now 42, went to schools in Meridian in his youth. He met his wife, Kelliee, on a dating app after encouragement from his sister. “I was meeting people other ways, but not good people.” The couple has now been married 12 years.
“Kel had been married before and had four children – three boys and one daughter – before I met her, and I helped raise the two youngest boys.”
He said regarding the good life he lives now, “I didn’t earn it. I have a good wife, good family, good people around me who care about me. I use my past to help others.”
Of his ministry he also stated, “I hope it’s productive; I see the fruit of it, but I see people who make mistakes that outweigh the victories. … Still, I see the good things, and then I say, ‘That’s why I do this’.’”
His wife is very supportive. “She’s on top of it and keeps me in check.”
The motorcycle club is always open to new members, but not just anyone can sign up. Desilet said, “They must be a believer. We have a system of checks and balances. We don’t let people in who would hurt other people.”
Cuevas stated, “I emphasize God first; family second; job third; and then the ministry.”
DOCMM likes to support other motorcycle clubs in the area when the clubs are involved in community service projects. “If they have a good cause, we’re going to support that cause,” the 68-year-old Cuevas said. Those causes include:
DOCMM is 501(c)(3) nonprofit. “We’re in good standing with the state and the IRS,” Cuevas said. He himself spent 32½ years working in law enforcement and 13½ years performing post trauma work with military personnel. “I’m here if a guy just wants to talk,” he said, emphasizing that overcoming life’s trials doesn’t include turning to drugs, alcohol or suicide, but rather to Christ.
He continued, “All sinners have a past and all sinners have a future.”
Keeping in step with Cuevas’s priority list for members to care for their families and be exemplary in their jobs, Desilet works in water restoration and mold remediation. This past summer, when he wasn’t working, he was shopping for a new ride – a Harley Road Glide Motorcycle. Few men are like Desilet and other DOCMM members who only want a new ride to multiply the effectiveness of their ministry – and get all they can from the meet-ups they call “church,” where Bibles are shared rather than bottles of beer.
To inquire about membership, call Tylor Desilet at (208) 971-8888, Cat Cuevas at 559-904-4334, or go to https://www.disciplesofchristmm.net.
