Motor Racing Outreach - the ministry of racing
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Liz Allison
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By Liz Allison, Turner Sports Interactive
December 5, 2001
12:02 PM EST (1702 GMT)
Are race car drivers religious?
You bet they are. But have you ever wondered what the drivers and their families do about attending church since they are at the track almost every weekend February through November?
Motor Racing Outreach -- more commonly known as MRO -- is your answer.
It started as a vision in the hearts of MRO's founder, Max Helton, and three racing families -- Darrell and Stevie Waltrip, Lake and Rice Speed, and Bobby and Kim Hillin.
These drivers and their wives were actively praying for a special someone to come into their lives to not only lead them in prayer each week but also to provide spiritual guidance in their daily lives and the lives of all the racing families on the road traveling week-in and week-out.
They did not realize it at the time but Max Helton, who was the associate pastor at a California church, and his wife, Jean, and their four daughters, were also praying for a path to lead them to providing this much needed religious structure at the racetrack.
Max had a love for the sport of auto racing and had attended several different races from time to time. What he had noticed at these races was the lack of a ministry and somehow suddenly found himself feeling that God had made him aware of this for a reason.
Darrell Waltrip and Lake Speed met with Max Helton in California in the spring of 1988. It became apparent at that meeting that all parties involved knew that there was a very good chance this vision of a racing ministry would become a reality.
Max started traveling with the series every weekend, holding Bible study groups in his hotel room. He would sometimes have up to 30 people lining the walls in one hotel room as the ministry was growing by leaps and bounds.
It was obvious the need was there and the drivers and team members were now ready to support this ministry that had been put on the hearts of a few determined people and prayed for by many.
The very first MRO chapel service was held at the Pocono International Raceway in the summer of 1988. Max Helton gave the message to everyone present that faithful day. From that day on, the garage area would never be the same.
Now some 13 years later, MRO is bigger than one might have imagined possible since sitting in those hotel rooms years ago hearing Max speak of his faith and the teachings of the word of God.
MRO now has over 20 traveling chaplains in many different racing series such as Winston Cup, Busch Series, ARCA, Trucks, SM/MX, Hydro-Prop and AMA/WERA.
Their mission is to simply reach many people through racing worldwide who would not otherwise hear the Gospel. This is not limited to racing families but the race fans as well.
MRO leads a race day church service to race fans at key racing venues centered around a mobile platform allowing the fans to sing and hear God's word though the MRO pastors.
This had become very popular with the fans and you never know who might show up to talk. Several of the driver's kids have given their testimony to the children at these open services.
MRO is quite similar to your traditional missionary, as the chaplains and their families travel the full circuit as a pastor, counselor and friend.
MRO also provides bible studies, one-on-one discipling, trauma response and a children's network known as the MRO Kids Club, which teaches the word of God to the children of the families through a nurturing and fun-learning environment.
The MRO service is always held on race day even if the race is not on Sunday. The service itself is filled with music and teachings of the Bible. Many different drivers will take their turn at leading the group in prayer and will often give their own testimony.
That small group that started out in 1988 is now so big that the service is held in the garage area so that not only the drivers can have their privacy but also to allow as many people that want to come to be able to attend.
This includes NASCAR officials to drivers' families to crewmembers and so on. This is an inter-dominational church so everyone feels welcome regardless of his or her religious background.
So, yes, the drivers are deeply religious and most of them are quite open about their faith. And even though their beliefs might differ somewhat, the one thing that is common in them all is the support they lend The Motor Racing Outreach and the crucial role that the ministry plays in their every day lives and the lives of their friends and family.
To find out more about The Motor Racing Outreach go to http://www.go2mro.com
NOTE: Liz Allison's column appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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