Church puts cars back on straight and narrow

By Kristen Gelineau
The Associated Press;

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP Craig Brandenburg looks under the hood of Pam Cornell's car at the auto shop at Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell. Many U.S. churches offer such services. Customers, especially single women, who often get a raw deal from regular auto mechanics, can obtain hassle-free repairs at honest prices.

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For mechanics Craig Brandenburg and Teang Ie, praying for automotive miracles is just part of the routine at Cedar Park Assembly of God church in Bothell, where every weekday the two service a steady stream of cars in their mechanics ministry.

Cedar Park is one of many churches across the nation offering such a service, where single women, the elderly and the poor can get a hassle-free fix-up for a sin-free price. Some of the ministries even refurbish donated cars, then give them away or sell them at bargain prices.

Church car-donation programs have become more popular over the past decade, said Jay Van Groningen of the North American Ministry Team of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. Hundreds of religious organizations now have car ministries, he said.

	Brandenburg, left, and Teang Ie pray during their morning devotional in a back room of the auto shop at Cedar Park Assembly. They service a steady stream of cars in their mechanics ministry.

Brandenburg's shop looks fairly typical. Cars — some on lifts, some on the floor with their hoods open — take up most of the space, and the piercing whine of an air wrench permeates the room. But the shop's wooden cross clock, and its regular shipments from the local Chrysler dealership addressed to "God," remind all of the mechanics' higher purpose.

Every morning before they pop the hood of their first car, Brandenburg and Ie sit in the shop's office and bow their heads to pray. As the two huddled together one recent morning, Ie thanked the Lord for any help he could bestow upon the day's lineup of ailing vehicles.

"I can tell you some great stories about God healing cars," Brandenburg said with a chuckle, as he twirled a wrench in his grease-stained hands. "Sometimes you just pray for a revelation."

The mechanics' ministry at the 5,000-member church charges on a sliding scale, depending on the income and circumstances of the customer. One Saturday a month, the ministry, which has serviced about 2,200 cars since it began four years ago, holds a free fix-up day. The shop also accepts donated cars that are repaired and either sold at low prices or given away.

"It's always nice to be able to help those who are just in need," Ie said as he plugged up an oil leak in an aging Dodge Caravan. "Every one of us has been in that place."

One of Brandenburg's longtime customers, 73-year-old Kitri Moran, said she would be lost without the ministry. Moran lives alone in a Kenmore trailer park and must drive six miles to get her water from a local well — not so easy if her 1987 Ford Escort breaks down.

"He's an angel in disguise," said Moran, who scrapes by on Social Security checks and occasional housecleaning jobs. "I cried when I walked out of there because he was so sweet."

Pam Cornell brought her business to Brandenburg when another mechanic wanted to charge her $200 for what she later discovered was a $10 repair.

"I needed to find a real mechanic that I can trust," the 38-year-old single mother said as she handed Brandenburg the keys to her Honda Civic. "I know he's not going to purposely tell me something's wrong that's not."

As he pours antifreeze into Cornell's overheated car, Brandenburg patiently gives her tips on how to keep it running smoothly. When Cornell asks what she owes him, he waves her off without charging her a cent.

"You get to help people out and do what you like to do," he says with a smile. "It's the best."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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