ROCKINGHAM — About an hour before church every Sunday morning, a handful of members of Abundant Life Church are out of their houses and on a mission: bringing those who can’t travel to church — any church.
These same drivers — though they may shuffle others in depending on availability — do the same thing for the Sunday and Wednesday night services, as well as each night of Abundant Life’s revival, which is being held this week. They travel to individuals’ homes and stop at each Richmond County nursing home transporting homebound, disabled or elderly residents to church and even to doctor’s appointments for free.
The Bus Ministry, as they are called, began about 17 years ago with one van and now has five vehicles.
“We want to be a blessing to the community,” said Pastor Joe Wilkes. “If I was (unable to travel) I would want somebody to come get me because we have people in that church where we’re all they have — they have no family, none — and it really breaks my heart to know there’s people in rest homes and they don’t have anybody.”
Wilkes said their church has had as many as 12 people in wheelchairs in a service at one time thanks to the Bus Ministry.
“We’re trying to help them along this journey so it will be a little easier,” he said.
On Sunday, Della Hewitt and Belinda Oblinger picked up four people for the morning service: two from their homes, one from Richmond Pines and one from Hamlet House. On the home stretch, the group sang “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and “Silent Night,” among other songs.
Kay Prince, 84, said she started taking the buses three months ago after having a “spell” in which she became severely lightheaded. Erring on the safe side, she called Hewitt to see if she could get a ride from the Bus Ministry.
“A lot of people want to go to church but can’t,” Prince said.
Oblinger said the Bus Ministry has helped make the church a “tight-knit family.”
Wilkes said they bus in about 30 people to each service. Members of at least four other churches have called on Abundant Life to borrow their buses to help their members get to church, according to Wilkes. One of the churches that has taken advantage of the Ministry is Hamlet Pentecostal Holiness Church.
“They’ve always been there to help anybody that’s handicapped or having a hard time getting around,” said Al McCormick, pastor of Hamlet Pentecostal. “It lets us know that there’s still people that love people and love the Lord.”
One of the major financial supporters of the Bus Ministry is Mike Griffin, owner of Griffin Crysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Griffin said he began to notice how “diligent” Abundant Life’s bus pickups were when he would see them while visiting a loved one at Richmond Pines.
“It’s not easy, going in and getting them on the bus and then doing it all over again,” Griffin said. “It shocked me what they were willing to do.”
If you are interested inquiring about the Bus Ministry’s pickups, call Pastor Joe Wilkes at 843-439,0677 or the church at 910-410-0544.
