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Local church provides car safety

By ROBERT HELTON 4 min read

First Baptist Church in Minot held its biannual car care clinic this past Saturday, Sept. 26, for those who needed some extra help in getting their cars ready for winter. Many men were able to work on the cars while the women provided refreshments and fellowship inside the church.

The event occurs twice a year, once in the spring and the other in the fall.

The reason for the fall event is to make sure single mothers and single women have everything they need before the harsh winter of North Dakota sets in.

Pastor Brandon Smith with First Baptist said the Car Care Clinic started as a dream of one of the members of FBC and grew into what it is now.

“The goal really is to get cars safe,” he said. He explained they check brakes, oil and perform other simple maintenance of that nature. He said if there is something the workers cannot do in the church parking lot, the church will try to develop a relationship with the individual to get it fixed at a later date.

Smith also said they try to connect car care clinic clients with local resources and community programs that can help to provide any maintenance on their vehicles that is beyond what the volunteers can perform. He said they want to remove any barriers for them, and this is done free of charge.

There were plenty of things for volunteer workers to do Saturday. Men of all ages and shapes and sizes were on their hands and knees to service vehicles. From changing tires and checking oil to topping off transmission fluid and examining brake pads, they were either physically working on cars or were running to parts stores.

Corey Evans, one of many volunteers for the clinic, said he sees this as a chance to help people who are in need. He said people are busy, and the clinic helps them live their lives while removing any barriers they may have. He also said the clinic helps the volunteers be the “hands and feet of Jesus,” as taking care of cars is taking care of people.

Inside the church, clinic clients were welcomed by an assortment of books, Bibles, pamphlets and other materials. Ladies who were waiting for their cars to get finished could grab these and head downstairs, where church volunteers kept them company while their cars were worked on. Children could play together in the gym and run around to their heart’s content.

Volunteer Janice Pederson said her downstairs conversations with the women clients became conversations with couples who came in. Sometimes women will share their deepest secrets with strangers and what is going on in their life, Pederson said. She also said she will “share what Christ has done in my life” and provide a friendly face to show the women they are welcomed.

Pederson said she met a woman who had just turned 75 and her husband.

She said she has been working with the Car Care Clinic for six to seven years.

As an introverted person, she feels the clinic event pushed her out of her comfort zone and shell to reach and serve others, she said.

She said her favorite part of the car care clinic was seeing women walk out of the clinic, knowing they can leave in safety.

As evidence the car clinic was not just a church event but a communitywide event, the volunteers worked on a van brought in by Pastor Scott Mehlhoff, the senior pastor of Southside Church of the Nazarene. The van, which belonged to a single mom, had issues with its passenger doors and had burned out brake lights. The Nazarene Church wanted to get the vehicle roadworthy for the mother and her two children.

At the end of the day, the church counted about 30 vehicles worked on at the clinic.

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