It all started with a prompting of the Holy Spirit and an act of faith. The Spring Grove C&MA Church in York County, Pennsylvania, was passionate about supporting the global missions work of the Alliance family, and the Lord separately prompted the pastor and an elder to do more. As they came together and prayed, each shared how they had a desire to provide a vehicle for an international worker (IW) during home assignment—and the Missionary Vehicle Ministry was birthed.
Purchasing a vehicle for home assignment is often a losing proposition for IWs, renting is difficult and expensive, and few friends or family members have a spare vehicle they can lend out for an entire year. The task of finding a vehicle can take months to arrange and is difficult to do from the field. Having a vehicle ready and waiting for them when they return to the States is a huge blessing.
The elder board took this idea to the congregation in 2008. The church unanimously felt God leading them to pursue this but was unsure how they were going to afford such an undertaking. However, the small church of only 50 people decided they would follow where God was leading them—even if it required taking out a loan to purchase the first vehicle.
God blessed this act of faith and service. The Western Pennsylvania District Alliance Men’s Vehicle Ministry heard of the church’s intentions and seeded Spring Grove C&MA a 1992 Town and Country van. Soon after, an unexpected gift was given to the church—and before the end of the year, the ministry had two vehicles. One of them is still being used today.
Over the past 10 years, God has miraculously provided many vehicles for this ministry and the fleet has grown. Today, the Spring Grove C&MA Church owns four vans and four cars. Through divine provision and generous gifts from within and without, the church has never had to take out a loan to purchase a vehicle. To date, the Missionary Vehicle Ministry fleet has traveled close to 500,000 miles, crisscrossing the country with IWs on home assignment from various districts and many different missions organizations. Due to the tremendous need of vehicles, Spring Grove is booking its vehicles out to 2021 for Eastern Pennsylvania District IWs.
Now the church is looking to take another step of faith. Similarly to how the ministry initially began, several different individuals in the church have felt that God is leading the congregation to expand the ministry. Their vision is to daughter the ministry to other churches who are willing to bless IWs in this way. No church is too small to begin this ministry. Currently the ministry has vehicles in Florida, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Maryland. Because vehicles are needed all throughout the United States, the Spring Grove church is looking to find and assist other churches in the Alliance family interested in starting a similar ministry for their own district.
If you know of a spare vehicle someone would be willing to donate, want to give a financial gift, or would like more information about how to start your own fleet, contact Pastor Nate at [email protected]
Quotes From International Workers
“Spring Grove’s missionary vehicle program has enabled their church community to have a big impact through and beyond the district and to have an even greater significance in God’s global redemptive mission. In this way, they have been able to punch well above their weight and magnify their Great Commission influence.”
—Creative-access workers in Germany
“This is the third home assignment that we have used one of the cars. What a blessing this very practical ministry has been. Thank you, Spring Grove Alliance Church.”
—Ed and Sue Danneker, Thailand
“It is such a relief to not have to add in the task of making a car purchase for our year in the States or to have to attach that issue in the first few days back in America when all we want to do is sleep and be with families. Therefore, this ministry of Spring Grove Alliance has felt like a lifesaver to us, and we are so grateful to God that He has placed this ministry on their hearts.”
—Creative-access workers in Eastern Europe
“Thank you for blessing us in such a tangible way.”
—Robert and Cheryl Fugate, Mexico