Mike Canaday This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. www.fqmin.org

   www.fqmin.org/Testimony.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/4/2007   Last Visited: 4/4/2007

   Mike Canaday knew it as surely as he knew the odds were clearly stacked against him in this race. He rode one of the oldest bikes on the circuit, had only two years experience and knew next to nothing about mechanics. He knelt and prayed beside his custom Harley equipped with a bright-yellow, armor-like seat and a long wheelie attached to the back that kept the drag bike stable during speeds of up to 150 mph.
   
   An uneasy feeling in his gut persisted even after he prayed. He wanted to believe that it was just pre-race jitters, but his whole pit crew felt the same way.
   ...
   Mike walked out onto the track and looked around - for what, he wasn't sure. Perhaps for some clue about the warning signals going off in his heart. There was danger lurking somewhere - that much he knew. But where?
   
   Mike made his way to the other competitors, praying for one after another. He was the official chaplain for the racing circuit and had led many outlaw bikers out of the devil's grasp and into the kingdom of God. The devil didn't like Mike, and with good reason.
   
   The Seduction of Money
   
   Mike was raised in a blue-collar family in rural Illinois. At age 14, he worked for a vice president of Nabisco mucking horse stalls long before sunrise. Then after school, he would go back to work again. In the summers, Mike worked 40 to 60 hours a week at the ranch, and was steadily entrusted with increasing responsibility.
   
   During college, he worked part time for Nabisco and took a job at their corporate office when he graduated. By age 21, he earned more money in a year than he had ever imagined.
   
   There was nothing wrong with the income Mike earned - except that along with it, he developed a love of money and all the sinful pleasures it could buy. Forgotten was his love for God and Jesus, his Savior. The devil reeled him in little by little. Instead of church, he frequented nightclubs and strip joints. Mike had been seduced by money - and he never had quite enough to satisfy his desires.
   
   But all of that changed when his father confronted him. "Mike, I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is - it's not righteous."
   
   His father's words rang true in his heart and Mike finally repented. Determined to get his life right with God, he made himself accountable to his father and other strong Christian men. He made a concentrated effort to put money in its right perspective. And even when he didn't have enough money to pay on his $40,000 charge card bill, he made sure to pay his tithe.
   
   Most importantly, Mike Canaday took a no-compromise stand with the devil. Satan not only lost a victim - he gained a deadly enemy.
   ...
   But Mike decided it wasn't worth his soul. He refused to go to strip bars with the prince to gain a contract. He refused the offer of prostitutes. He refused to drink. During breaks in the business meetings, he went outside and read his Bible.
   
   "Yours is not the best equipment," the prince bluntly told Mike. "Yours is not the best deal. But I respect you because you refuse to compromise what you believe."
   
   Mike slid the contract across the table ... the prince signed it.
   
   Mike's first commission was far more than Shara's salary would have been for a year.
   
   The Prosperity Test
   
   The next test Mike faced would have brought lesser men to their knees. But when God told him to quit his job - where he stood to make a fortune - and move to Colorado, Mike didn't even hesitate. Only a fool would let money ruin his walk with God twice.
   
   Mike was no fool.
   
   "My greatest disappointment in moving to Colorado was that they didn't have a chapter of the Tribe of Judah Motorcycle Ministries there," Mike says. "I owned a 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster and had been hanging out with the Tribe of Judah in Houston. By faith, I sowed my Harley as seed toward a motorcycle ministry. Shara and I also gave away a 1989 LeBaron convertible."
   
   Within a very short time Mike was offered a job in Colorado which took him all over the world. Soon he and Shara were writing offering checks, over and above their tithe, for $10,000, and $20,000 and $40,000. Clearly, Mike had passed God's test for prosperity.
   ...
   And God had a plan to do just that when Mike was asked to start a Colorado chapter of Tribe of Judah. Happy Church licensed and ordained Mike as a homeland missionary and sent him to the bikers. Mike made inroads into the outlaw community through uncompromised love. He hung out with them in their territory, but refused to compromise his beliefs. Like the Saudi prince, the bikers liked and respected Mike.
   ...
   Mike and the Tribe of Judah had accomplished what no one had been able to do before. They bridged the gap between the outlaw biker society and the Church.
   
   Three years later, Mike accepted a job in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where he and Shara joined Eagle Mountain International Church. Mike started a new Tribe of Judah chapter in Dallas, and six months later pioneered another in Oklahoma City.
   
   "Outlaw bikers love drag racing, so I decided to start Final Quest Ministries and get into the sport," Mike explains.
   ...
   Mike pulled on his helmet and started his Harley. "See that patch?" Mike quipped with a grin, indicating the patch on the back of his jacket which read, Jesus Is Lord. "The Holy Spirit is going to blow on it - and I'll win!"
   
   Positioned in the right lane, Mike was ready and breathed out another prayer for God's protection as that uneasy feeling surfaced again. He did his burnout - spinning his tires until they smoked. Shara watched as Mike's Harley shot from the starting line, quickly accelerating to cross the finish line first.
   
   "That's a new track record!" the announcer screamed as fans roared their approval.
   
   Seconds later Mike hit a bump in the track - the Harley was airborne at 122 mph. Mike flew off the bike and hit a wall.
   ...
   Two ambulances screamed to a halt beside Mike. Medics ran to his aid, then radioed for a helicopter.
   ...
   Pastor George Pearsons stopped the service and led the church in prayer for Mike.
   ...
   A man in St. Louis watching the live broadcast from Eagle Mountain realized Mike had been injured and phoned Branson, Mo.
   ...
   Mike was flown by helicopter to Baylor Medical Center. Outside the ICU, Shara gathered the Covenant Riders, pit team and friends.
   
   "I appreciate all of you being here," she said. "God is taking care of Mike. I'd like for all of you to get back to the raceway and fulfill the Great Commission. People who don't know the Lord will be upset and distraught about the accident. You need to pray with them and tell them that Jesus not only bought our eternal salvation through the cross, He also paid the price for our healing. Tell them that God will heal Mike."
   ...
   Suddenly Mike moved his head, his bright brown eyes looking into hers.
   
   "What happened?" he asked.
   ...
   The next day, Tuesday, Mike left the hospital for home.
   
   On Wednesday, he said, "Cowboy up!" and climbed onto his Harley street bike and took it for a spin. That night he stood during praise and worship at Eagle Mountain and thanked God.
   
   Mike and Shara never questioned the outcome of the wreck that could have ended Mike's life. Not because they denied the facts - but because they believed the Truth. They understood God's policy about standing behind His Word.
   
   It's the same policy that Mike has incorporated in his own life.

2. 2. www.fqmin.org

   www.fqmin.org/Vision.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/4/2007   Last Visited: 4/4/2007

   Mike Canaday is a dynamic evangelist called to minister God's message of love and salvation through Jesus Christ to the world. He has become a speaker at church meetings, Christian television programs and in the streets around the world including the US, Australia, Germany, Russia and others.
   
   Through anointed Biblical preaching, Mike and Shara are bringing God's message of love to our generation. God is Love and Love conquers all things and breaks down all walls.
   
   The fulfillment of our mission is when the Love of Jesus brings our generation to the Lamb of God with a change in lives to have a holy passion for the things of God.
   
   Mike and Shara have an extended history serving the Lord and ministering the love of Jesus. Mike graduated from Evangel College in 1988. Since his graduation, he has served and/or been supported by many ministries.
   ...
   In 1999, Mike was led by the Holy Spirit to start Final Quest Ministries to minister to bikers utilizing drag racing as a pulpit and a tool.
   
   "Outlaw bikers love drag racing, so I decided to start Final Quest Ministries and get into the sport," Mike explains. "I bought one of the oldest drag bikes on the racing circuit. I didn't have any experience racing a quarter mile at speeds of 150 mph in a mere 8.5 seconds. Since I was depending on God and not myself, I didn't let that stop me. After only two years, I was ranked number 26 in the nation and 10 in the Western Division."
   
   On May 19, 2002, Mike had a bump in the road when his drag bike went airborne while making a pass down the strip. He was life-flighted and placed in ICU. The doctor report stated that Mike would potentially be a vegetable and spend many weeks in rehabilitation. God performed a miracle and Mike was released from the hospital in 48 hours. Details can be found in the May, 2003 version of Believers Voice of Victory magazine or by contacting Final Quest Ministries.
   
   Mike preaches the gospel from the streets on his Harley to denominational and non-denominational churches around the globe.
   
   He is called to:
   
   Demonstrate the Love of Jesus Christ (John 15: 12-13)