In the small town of Garden City, Kansas, truckers who stop at the Travel Plaza on a Friday night are invited to join in fellowship, prayer and praise.
Former trucker Yvonne Battles helped organize the Pit Stop Praise, an outreach ministry targeted for truckers passing through the area.
“A lot of drivers have appreciated our time because they don’t get a chance to go to church,” Battles told The Republic.
Battles said she knows the mental and physical demands involved in trucking and knows how lonely drivers can get.
The program is a part of the Garden City Presbyterian Church.
Jay Schoonover, an elder with the Garden City Presbyterian Church and one of organizing members of the Pit Stop Praise , said, “You’ve got a lot of truckers, and they’re on the road all the time. They don’t get fellowship much.”
Many drivers are away from their ‘home’ church over the weekend, so they often have to seek out alternative forms of fellowship. As a result, truck stop chapels and ministries are popping up across the country.
Trucking groups like Truckstop Ministries and Truckers for Christ connect Christian truckers across the U.S., and offer prayer and guidance. Truckstop Ministries is available for prayer or council 24 hours a day and can be reached at 1-800-248-8662.
This past Good Friday, Pit Stop Praise celebrated its 1-year anniversary.
“Because I drove a truck for so many years, I felt like I could have a connection with the drivers and share our experiences, and also share the love of Christ with fellow truckers,” she said. “It just means the world to me.”