Reading: Video Transcript: Leading Worship and Communion on the Road

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Yeah, okay. Here we are back. So we've been dealing with a lot of the issues, doing ministry, the Ministry of presence, theological issues. Last session, we talked about the gospel, you know, skills and how to bring people to the Lord, little tracks, connecting to ministries and all that. Let's now talk about some of the traditional acts of ministry that a truck stop chaplain does—that is, holding an actual worship service, communion, all of those things that happen on the road.

So let's get busy right into it—leading worship and communion on the road. Worship and communion connects travelers to God's presence. Every place becomes a chaplain where hearts turn out for Christ. Chaplains bring sacred rhythm to the road.

So we're actually going to get into this. So first of all, on one level—and we've been talking about this—is, it doesn't have to be a worship service for worship to happen, right? God meets people wherever hearts are open. A truck stop parking lot can be holy ground. The place matters less than the posture of the heart. Talk about that a little bit, and talk about like the traditional understanding of a truck stop chaplain.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
I don't know what the traditional understanding of it...

Speaker 1 (Henry):
What I mean by that is, like most people, when they think about a truck stop chaplain, would be like that pastor who came to the church and the chaplain leads a Sunday service on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
Okay, yeah, okay, that's what—yeah.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
I would say that like, you know, yeah, a preacher who has a little— I remember when I was young in ministry, there was a truck stop chaplain seat in Illinois, and we had a truck stop chaplain, and his goal was to get local preachers to show up on Sunday, and the truckers would come in. It was Joliet, Illinois, where I was asked to sub—truck stop there. I don't remember it anymore, but they had a little chapel, and sure enough, I took on, because I love truckers, I love my dad and everything of that.

So I would—in fact, one time I took him to the actual service. We had, like, four truckers there, okay? And I gave the message, and then afterwards, you know, I loved it. My dad sat around—I think we stayed about two hours long, because my dad was in his element. Oh yeah, you know, because he would live to Wisconsin. And we said, “Hey, come on down for that deal, and I'm going to be at this truck stop chaplain.” He wanted to come. And, I mean, I think we might have—I could have been more than two hours, because all he wanted to do was talk about this rig and that rig and everything, okay?

But clearly, the chaplain left like a half hour after, and my dad and I hung around because my dad wanted to talk about trucks and everything. I love talking to the truckers, but I'm saying the traditional view, right, was you come in and you leave.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
Right? Yep. You come in, you have the service, and then you go home.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Obviously, that's not the way it happens for us. On a typical Sunday, we get there at least two hours before the service starts. Our service is at 9:30. We get there, we get ready. Bobby sets up. We set up the table downstairs, and we go upstairs, and she's got music.

Our worship leader is Alan Jackson—I don’t know if he knows that or not—but we use a CD of his, okay? And then we have the music going. The truck stop we're at is very hospitable towards us. Not every truck stop gives big freedom to the chaplains, but this one does, okay?

So, when we get there, they have the TVs off in the TV room, and they have it all cleaned up for us. And so we play that music from the time we get there until, you know, the time when I do the Bible study or preach or whichever. And then we get it ready and we greet drivers. And I’ll go downstairs and hang around the table and greet drivers as they come in and tell them about service. And then we’ll walk the lot, invite drivers to service. Bobby typed up an invitation that we can give to each one of them, that they can take with them to remind them of the service there.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
What time is the service?

Speaker 2 (Monte):
9:30.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Okay. Is that the sweet spot, really? I mean, it’s hard to find this. Is there another—okay, so there is no sweet spot like a 7 a.m. because people get on the road.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
If I had the outside chapel, I would have an early like a 7 a.m. service, and then I would have an 11 o’clock service, okay? Because some of those drivers, when I was on the road, you know, I’d get up at six o’clock and be ready to go, because you’ve got your schedule, you’ve got it in your mind where you’re going to stop next and what the parking is going to be like when you get there.

Okay, so if I’m up at 6:30 and I’m looking and their service doesn’t start till 11, do I want to wait around four and a half hours for that? You know, probably not. So ideally, to have an early morning service—to be there for the drivers that are going to leave early. Call it like a sunrise service. Sunrise service, whatever you want to call it that way, and then a later service.

And of course, with the mobile chapel, you have a freedom. You can have evening service, weekday service, that kind of thing. But normally, when they give you the TV room, you get an hour, right?

Speaker 1 (Henry):
So then, if you have one hour, 9:30 splits the difference, like people might wait around for the chapel service, but the 11 o’clock says that too.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
Yeah, that’s what—we’ve tried to raise it. How well is it working? I don’t really know how far is that, but that’s the time we’ve decided on.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Okay, so do you have to have complicated things going on? Is it really interesting? Simple settings can host powerful encounters with God. Reverence, not performance. What makes worship sacred? Stillness lifts divine presence. The bottom line is, you know, “Be still and know that I am God.” You don’t need a big production.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
No, not at all. And they can see through a production—they can see if you’re real versus if you’re performing.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Right. Even in the service itself. Yes. So let’s talk about the role of music and prayer. Music and prayer unites hearts and focuses attention on Christ. Even one song or short prayer can shift the atmosphere. Let worship be simple, Spirit-led, authentic.

And again, these slides are developed because we know in truck stop ministry, simple is better than performance.

Speaker 1 (Henry):
Very much so. So let’s go back to what you do. So you have the role of music and prayer in your service. How does that work? Now, in your case, you have an open truck stop that allows you to do things.

Speaker 2 (Monte):
What I usually do in the service is, of course, open with prayer. And then I like to tell them a little bit about me. Bobby tells a little bit about her, and then I give them the opportunity to tell a little bit about themselves.

Their story—their story. At least, you know, who they are, where their home is, who they drive for, that kind of thing. Maybe their salvation experience, okay? But that way, this is a family of Christ here in this truck stop for now. Now we kind of know who we’re worshiping with. So it’s that familiarity that kind of opens it up a little bit.

And then sometimes we sing, and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes they don’t want to sing, right? And we don’t force them to sing. You know, we’ll open it up—Bobby’s made a songbook, and she’s more creative in some ways than I am. But anyway, she’s made a songbook, and we give it to them.

“Do you want to pick out a song?” And we’ll begin to sing it and, you know, praise the Lord. Try to keep the focus that it is. And some of them are like, “I just don’t sing. I just—yeah.” Some of them will sing anyway. Some of them—we just feel like, “Okay, we’ll go on to the sermon,” or whatever.

And then, sermon time—if I have four or five, whatever—I’ll stand at the pulpit and I’ll preach it. But if I have one, two, or three, then I’ll turn a chair around in the TV room and face them and sit down and make it more of an informal Bible study that they can take part in. And that seems to work pretty well too.

Speaker 1:
I say that really, that brings up this whole now, the role of Scripture, God's word, is the center of worship, read slowly, reverently, clearly, encourage each other to meditate on what they hear. And that could be in a larger setting, or it could be turn-all-the-chairs setting, you know, so in other words, even there, you're kind of dealing with your situation, right?

Speaker 2:
And we set Bibles out on the chairs, and we set the same version that I use so that their wording is the same.

Speaker 1:
Gotcha. Oh, I see that's really important. Communion of the road, the Lord's Supper reminds of Christ's sacrifice, unity, you can celebrate reverently wherever believers gather, focus on remembrance, gratitude and grace. Do you do communion in your services?

Speaker 2:
Not every service? No, but I do it. You know there's portable communion kits you can buy at the Christian stores, and that kind of thing to have with you.

Speaker 1:
Is that welcomed? Do people like to do communion?

Speaker 2:
Okay, it's welcomed. Every time I've done it, it's been welcomed.

Speaker 1:
And I can imagine, for some their calling might be to have it every week.

Speaker 2:
And others, not so much. Others, not so much. It just depends.

Speaker 1:
Portable communion kits you just mentioned are sample elements we can share. Well. What matters is the heart of the remembrance, not the form. God honors sincere faith more than ritual precision. So you don't have to worry about doing it exactly so, right?

Speaker 2:
Truck Stop Ministries in the handbook has an order of service, I see, but I stick to the basics of what I do, like I told you about. But I kind of—it depends on who we have in the room. You know, again, it's not about performance. It's about who the Lord has brought together that particular morning.

Speaker 1:
That's beautiful. If possible, involve others, invite participation in prayer, reading, testimony we've already mentioned. How do you do that?

Speaker 2:
Share. Hey, tell us your story, a little bit. Community growth through shared voice of worship. Everyone can take part in glorifying God.

Speaker 1:
So really, in a sense, you're modeling presence. But then you want the presence of relationship too, because most times the services are not large numbers. So you can really, you know, bring that together.

Speaker 2:
When I started back in the late 90s, early 2000s, it was normal to have eight to twenty at a service. You know, sometimes now we're doing good if we get one to come in.

Speaker 1:
So, okay. I see—you really see the difference in our nation. How, you know, there is a shift, but hopefully that shift is going to shift the other way.

Speaker 2:
That's right.

Speaker 1:
We're not—

Speaker 2:
It's the thing about shifting—it can shift again.

Speaker 1:
Oh yes, exactly. Special services and seasons mark the seasons of faith: Christmas, Easter, memorials. Use these times to honor God, encourage reflection. Sacred times remind weary travelers of God's story. We just finished, interestingly enough, a Christmas Chaplain Parish class, and it has already been taken a lot already in the last couple months. And the response is incredible, but it's connecting that season for chaplaincy in a lot of ways. Those seasons are opportunities, right?

Speaker 2:
Sometimes they come in and they expect a seasonal message, okay? It reminds them of back home, or when they were a kid, you know, that kind of thing.

Speaker 1:
Right.

Speaker 2:
And you want to give that to them. It's a good opportunity to share the gospel—taking them back to the season, what's going on, what the holiday is, that kind of thing. Christmas—they want to hear a Christmas message.

Speaker 1:
Right, right. You mentioned that more and more you see a diversity of different religions. So respecting diversity, focus on the unity we have in Christ. On denominational differences, chaplains serve believers from many backgrounds. Center everything on Jesus' finished work. Have you noticed that the concept of denominations has gone down over the years?

Speaker 2:
With some denominations, it's big—because they'll ask, you know, “What denomination are you affiliated with?”

Speaker 1:
I see.

Speaker 2:
And we always say, “Well, we're Bible-based,” you know?

Speaker 1:
Yeah, there doesn't need to be that barrier.

Speaker 2:
That's like—personally, it's all lines where I keep ministry, meaning that, hey, our goal is to be in Christ together.

Speaker 1:
Right.

Speaker 2:
Yeah, we don't want to exclude anybody. There are some drivers that are of a denomination that, if they don't think you're that, they're not coming.

Speaker 1:
I gotcha. But yeah, I see—that's really interesting. Yeah, you mentioned earlier about testimonies during worship. Personal stories strengthen faith and inspire others. Encourage short testimonies of what God has been doing. Let worship include thanksgiving through storytelling. What would you say—how important is this feature, do you feel, in your—

Speaker 2:
It's very important because it gives us a chance. It gives everybody a chance to know everybody a little bit. But it also kind of gives me a chance to say, I believe this one's really saved, right? I'm not sure about this one. You know, maybe there's something I need to enhance in my talk, or my preaching, or whatever. And so it gives—it gives me an idea of, spiritually, who's in the room.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, that's really, really good. And basically, in the end, we're closing this presentation, but we really hear that—yeah, I know—we really hear the truck right now, the presence of Christ on the road. Christ is present wherever His people gather. Worship and communion sustain hearts on the journey. Every meal, every moment, can reflect His grace. Do you have this thing that when a service ends, do you have a little time for, “Hey, let's hang around?”

Speaker 2:
Yeah.

Speaker 1:
Okay, tell us about—like, so we talked about the service. We talked about before the service, you walk around and invite people. But after the service, just take us through the post-service.

Speaker 2:
Well, we tell them we'll sit and visit with them. Again, we're at a truck stop where they don't care if we go for three hours or whatever—it doesn't bother them. So we'll sit up there, and we'll visit if somebody needs to talk, that kind of thing. And then there will come a point where we say, “Well, we're gonna give them their TV room back,” you know. But you're not—you have to leave, you know? We're not kicking you out or whatever. Maybe we'll go down to Wendy's, which is downstairs, and, you know, have some fellowship over that. We've taken drivers off to Walmart or off to a different restaurant before and continued the fellowship that way. I don't ever want to make them think they were kicked out in any way, shape, or form.

Speaker 1:
Do you take an offering?

Speaker 2:
We do. I don't pass a plate, but we have envelopes.

Speaker 1:
Okay.

Speaker 2:
And we'll tell it—we'll just—I don't like to harp on it. I don't want it, you know? I don't want anybody to think, “Well, they're there for the money,” but I'll just say we are a 100% donation-funded ministry. So yeah, if God lays it on your heart to give, then here's your opportunity.

Speaker 1:
Right. Do people give okay?

Speaker 2:
They do.

Speaker 1:
Right. So—and there's no shame in talking about it. Nobody gets offended, especially—so how would you say that to someone? Like, or how do you ask people to participate in tithing or giving to the ministry? What do you say to people?

Speaker 2:
Just what I said. I just tell them, we're 100% donation-funded. So if the Lord lays it on your heart to give, then here's your opportunity to do that.

Speaker 1:
Okay.

Speaker 2:
Without making a big deal.

Speaker 1:
Not making a big deal, but you put it out there. Have you ever had people get allergic to the fact that you've asked for a donation?

Speaker 2:
Not that they've said. I don't think so.

Speaker 1:
And actually, it makes sense you wouldn't.

Speaker 2:
Yeah.

Speaker 1:
So in a confident way, you say, “This is a 100% donation-funded ministry. If the Lord lays it on your heart to give, here are envelopes.”

Speaker 2:
Sometimes, you know, depending on who your crowd is, sometimes I'll say, “And if you don't want to give, you know, that's fine. We'll still be friends. But Bubba is standing outside,” you know.

Speaker 1:
Yeah, banter. Banter, yes. Yeah, see—and I think that's like, I think in the end, when you're dealing with a relational ministry like Truck Stop Ministries and trucker ministry, a lot of it is in that—it's in a narrative of your call to minister to in these relationships, right? And having that ability to be in that moment without creating conflict, shame, judgment—there, the Holy Spirit works. So the service on Sunday—or whenever a service—it could be another day, right?

Speaker 2:
Saturday night.

Speaker 1:
Yup. So it could be a daily service if you had that kind of a ministry. Are there really open doors still in America for truck stop services? Would owners of truck stops still—the doors closing, unfortunately?

Speaker 2:
Because they're all corporate-owned now.

Speaker 1:
Okay. Do corporate owners not allow it?

Speaker 2:
They're not really favorable towards it. We're working with a couple of corporates now that don't answer, don't return emails, you know, that kind of thing. And you gotta be careful—you don't want to make them mad, necessarily. You want to keep asking. But if you make them mad, they might say, “Well, just take all your chapels out.”

Speaker 1:
I see. So there are corporates that already have existing chapels, and they're not necessarily going to move them out. But new ones, they're not necessarily allowing in, right?

Speaker 2:
Right.

Speaker 1:
So you're in the conversation. So like, well, we can talk about this later. I think that's a really good point. What would be alternatives? Like, could there be, like, a little chapel in a store near a whole bunch of truck stops, for instance? Or, you know what, you wonder where this could go.

Speaker 2:
Yeah.

Speaker 1:
What the future—well, we'll talk about that later. Okay. The bottom line that we're talking about here is, in the end, there is a wonderful opportunity in a worship service—but keep it, like, contextual for the context. You know, if you have an open door for a chapel, that's where it is. If there's an open door in the truck stop itself, like you do, that's where it is. If there's another possibility—or maybe in some truck stops, there's not going to be a service—you're just going to be the presence of Christ that's walking around.

Speaker 2:
Right.

Speaker 1:
So whatever it is, that's what God has called you to be.

Speaker 2:
Yes. Awesome.