By Dan Holly

Mention Shonte Johnson’s old van to the car-care team at Triangle Church of Christ in Durham, N.C., and heads start shaking.

“That van was on the road longer than it should have been,” said Rick Fuller, referring to Johnson’s 2002 Toyota Sienna.

Rick Overturf, the church’s lead evangelist, said the van gave them nightmares. “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Makes a preacher want to cuss?’ ” he quipped.

They’re both joking around; in fact, helping people like Ms. Johnson is why the team exists.

The team does not charge for repairs. It even provides lunch for the people waiting for their vehicles.

Johnson, a 46-year-old certified nursing assistant, smiles as the car-care team gently teases her about her old van on a recent Sunday afternoon in November. She has since moved on to a Toyota Camry. Now she brings that in for regular maintenance.

“This has meant everything to me,” Johnson said while watching the team circle around and crawl under her Camry, inspecting and testing.

“I wouldn’t even be on the road with what I can afford – none of this stuff,” Johnson said. “I’ve been a single mom since I moved here. …They’ve been a Godsend.”

Twice a year, Triangle Church holds car-care days for single moms. The events – named the Single Moms Car Project – are held in the church’s parking lot. At the Nov. 1, 2025 event, the team had 16 cars signed up and about 20 volunteers from the church doing the servicing.

Overturf explained that these car-care days are the most visible part of the car ministry; throughout the year, they also do follow-up or as-needed repairs – whether at the church, at a church member’s home or wherever they’re needed.

Though the team is staffed by volunteers, the operation is more professional than amateur. Overturf and his son, Logan, who works at the church and serves as the team’s official leader, are ASE-certified mechanics. The church has a huge arsenal of equipment including two tall tool chests, several hand-held diagnostic computers and a larger computer that can both read and manipulate diagnostic data.

The church budgets $1,200 a month for the Single Moms Car Project, which it has offered since 1999.

Asked about the motivation behind it, Overturf does not have a complicated answer. “It’s just something I knew how to do growing up,” he said. “And so it was a way to serve in the church, particularly our single moms who come from a very difficult background. … We saw plenty of them driving around with kids in the car, and they were just unsafe. You’re like, ‘We’ve got to fix that.’ ”

Some church members have donated to the car-care ministry –beyond the monthly budget. Others volunteer regularly and have become well versed in vehicle repair.

Jeff Kiel has done both.

“I think the main reason is just thinking about what we can do to be a blessing to both members of the church and obviously members of the community as well,” said Kiel, a senior manager at Nvidia. “God has given us so much. I can’t help but think I’ve got to find ways to be able to help.”

The program has been invaluable to the single moms in the church. “I was a single mom with three children, and I worked two and three jobs,” said Denise Kendall. “If I had not had my car, it would have been very hard for me to provide shelter for my children.”

The women often struggle with challenges beyond solo parenting.

“Right now, I’m unemployed, so this is helping me with affordability. This is saving me about three to four hundred dollars…I’ve actually been on disability for two years,” said Jayne Brayboy Back, who has two children, ages 15 and 13.

As much as the car-care team helps the single moms, it helps the volunteers as well. Lincoln Billado, 17, attended the Nov. 1 event – watching and learning. “I learned about electrical systems and wiring and why newer cars use coils instead of wires. And, honestly, this helped me a little bit serving-wise, sort of developing a good mentality around that.”