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Shepherd's mountain trek provides Christmas blessings Friday, Dec 19, 2008 By Lee Warren |
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But the man who made his Sprint Cup debut some 39 years ago — accumulating four wins and 168 top 10s in that series and 15 wins and 67 top 10s in the Nationwide Series — isn’t racing for praise or even respect. All you have to do is take one look at his green No. 89 Dodge Charger to see the reason he is racing. Plastered on the back fender is a large decal that reads, “Racing for Souls.” And on the hood, the decal reads, “Racing with Jesus.” If that isn’t clear enough, his ministry is called “Victory in Jesus Racing Ministries.” Besides, he says, “I believe on the Word of Jesus Christ and I believe that Sarah had a baby at 90, and I believe Philippians 4:13 — that all things are possible through Christ, who I have faith in. There’s no telling how long he’s going to use me in this sport.” For the past 22 years God has been using Shepherd as he takes a team — including many NASCAR drivers — into the mountains of Virginia during the Christmas season to help those who are most in need. It was an idea that was born one day when Shepherd was talking to his good friend Ken Lanter. “We were talking about something we could do for someone at Christmas,” said Shepherd, a member of Gateway Baptist Church in Newton, N.C. “And Ken said, ‘Morgan, I know the perfect person. I was up at the fiddler’s convention in Galax, Va., and I was talking with this gentleman. He was all humped over. He was probably not more than 4 feet tall because he was all bent over.’” The man’s name was Billy Shough. Ken asked the man what he would do if he ever received $1,000 and Billy said he’d never had the kind of money, so he didn’t know, but he said he would probably fix his roof and paint his house trailer. Shepherd made it happen, and it was just the beginning. His team heard about a woman who was suffering with polio. They found her. She was living in what Shepherd referred to as a “little cracker box house.” They built her an 1,800-square-foot modular home and completely furnished it. Then they took care of her until she passed away a couple of years ago. On and on the stories go. “I found out in life that if you pay attention, God will give you a direction,” Shepherd said. Shepherd’s caravan travels from one city to the next during its annual trip, handing out gift bags with food, T-shirts, racing memorabilia and other things to more than a thousand low income and needy people. He works with a church in the area to pinpoint those who are most in need. As Shepherd and his people pass out the bags, Shepherd tells them the true meaning of Christmas — about the one true shepherd who came to earth and then died for their sins so they could have eternal life. On Dec. 15, the caravan traveled to Stuart, Va. While Shepherd was there, he donated $30,000 to an organization that helps provide educational opportunities for the mentally and physically challenged. Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards and former Sprint Cup driver and current ESPN NASCAR announcer Dale Jarrett donated a significant amount of money to make the trip a success this year. NASCAR drivers Dennis Setzer and Brett Rowe were part of the caravan. They stopped in Galax, Va., after their stop in Stuart, and donated another $5,000 to needy citizens through the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department near Galax. Before the day was over, 27 people responded to the gospel and were born into the kingdom of God. --30--
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