CAR WASH RAISES $6500
by Briena Dunkel
Ricky Burse, pastor at the Linary Church of Christ in Crossville, Tennessee, first heard about Wash for Life from an e-mail he opened on September 7. There was just over a week left to organize the event but everyone on his staff thought that it was definitely possible and an awesome idea. Pastor Ricky called up their local pregnancy care center, Plateau Pregnancy Services, to talk to them about it. The woman he spoke to told him that she had heard about Wash for Life that very morning on the radio. She had brought the idea to the morning meeting and they had prayed about it - asking for a group to sign on to support their center. "You must be the answer to our prayer" she told him. "OK, God, you don’t have to hit me on the head twice!" said Pastor Ricky, deciding that this was something he was called to do. He found a location for the wash and then asked local businesses to give matching donations. Three agreed to match what was raised by the car wash up to $1,000. Others were not able to match what was raised but offered to support the wash anyway.
Meanwhile, the youth pastor, Brent Walker, was spreading the word to the youth of the church. He describes the 20 youth who volunteered as "eager to help." At first most of the kids were a little hesitant about giving up a Saturday for a car wash, but when they learned that it was a pro-life effort many became very enthusiastic. "They were very excited about the whole thing," Walker said.
So was Donna Peak, the Director of Plateau Pregnancy Services. "It was awesome! It was so exciting!" Donna exclaims. She and some other women from the center were at the wash handing out brochures and telling people what they do. "The Wash for Life was great for us. The publicity was awesome." The Crossville car wash was in local papers, on the radio, and publicized by at least three churches who had been unable to organize their own wash. The local radio station even sent out a van to the site and every half hour or so the radio announcer would run an ad for the wash. Many more people now know about this pregnancy center, its needs, and the services it offers.
Plateau Pregnancy Services center is trying to go medical - to be able to provide ultrasound pictures to expectant mothers. Donna is very excited to put the $6,500 raise by this Wash for Life car wash toward purchasing an ultrasound machine.
Both Pastor Ricky and Donna agree - Wash for Life was an awesome experience. They also both want to get other churches involved next year. The Linary Church of Christ had not helped out the pregnancy center before but intends to use this as a foundation for their new relationship. "This is a good partnership for us and for them too!" Pastor Ricky said. He plans to continue to be involved in Wash for Life for years to come.