Discipleship on the road

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 7th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: discipleship from the driver’s seat.

On highways that crisscross the country, a quiet revival is underway among America’s long-haul truckers.

WORLD’s Lauren Canterberry has one man’s story of loss, surrender, and the road that led him to Christ.

COLE: I don’t mind driving. I can drive, it’s easy. I pray a lot, I read books, I listen.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: Aaron Cole drives 18-wheelers for a living. He didn't always. He spent 16 years in the Air Force. After that, a lucrative career in IT.

COLE: After 15 years I got laid off.

That’s when his life took a dramatic turn.

COLE: My marriage was a mess, and I don’t know why, I just decided I’m going to do something completely different. I said, I’m going to try driving a truck.

Cole had joined a local church not long before he hit the road. He also started doing Bible studies over Zoom with his son and other men.

COLE: It was really good, but I still was not really saved, if you will.

While Cole drove his truck, he filled the long, quiet hours by praying and processing.

COLE: How did we go from where I was 10 years ago? With four kids, I had a wonderful wife, and everything was wonderful. I had a great job. And here I am, my divorce is in progress. From a success perspective of most people, I took a pay cut of two thirds to do what I’m doing.

He says one day while he was praying for a friend, he felt God answer a prayer he had for himself.

COLE: You know about God, but you don’t know God. You don’t truly have a relationship with God or Jesus.

He began asking God why he didn’t have that relationship. The answer came to him in the form of a live stream of his church one Sunday. He says he was convicted about not being all in.

COLE: I'll do what you want me to do, as long as it doesn't mean that I'm going to be in poverty or sick or injured or hurt or humiliated, embarrassed.

That was March 30th of this year. Cole says that’s the day his faith became real.

COLE: I remember just sitting there, driving down a road in my truck, and the tears were rolling, and I realized it's absolutely right. It's true. I'll follow as long as it means that I don't have to endure something that I am uncomfortable with too much. And that was when I said, you know what, I'm in for whatever that means and whatever consequences that brings, I'm absolutely in 100% and then everything changed.

Trucking is a huge mission field with more than 3.5 million truck drivers across the country. For many, the open road leads to a hunger for fellowship and a search for deeper meaning. Truckstop ministries say it is not uncommon for drivers to find Jesus on the road.

Ever since he chose to truly follow Christ, Cole’s conversations with the Lord are richer and deeper. And he says his renewed faith has even changed the way he drives.

COLE: I gotta tell you, when somebody pulls in front of you and you got an 80,000 pound truck. Sometimes you get frustrated, and that would come out. All of a sudden, I stopped getting angry. Rarely do I ever get angry when I'm driving anymore.

Not long after that, Cole’s son and a close friend suggested he encourage others in their faith journey and become a Christian coach.

Cole wasn’t sure what a Christian coach did but his son said his successes and failures could help him relate to people who don’t know the Lord. Cole eventually found an online program that trains coaches to help encourage their peers to develop a deeper walk with God through mentorship.

COLE: You're saying just, just come walk with me. We'll do this together.

He just finished the classes to earn his first certification, and he’s now mentoring three men online to complete his accreditation. He chose a virtual course so he could learn as he drives.

MAN: You want me to go ahead and pray us in?

COLE: Please do.

MAN: Alright, Lord Heavenly Father, we come to you Lord once again…

Now, Cole leads two of his own virtual Bible studies each week. The three men he is mentoring are part of the studies. And several of his fellow truck drivers have also joined the groups. They meet late enough for drivers to park at a truck stop, grab some dinner, and get settled for the night.

Cole said the stigma surrounding truck drivers is true in some cases.

COLE: I'm telling you that the military had nothing on them. I went to that truck driving school, and I was like, good night. Where did you find these people, they say words I don't even know what they mean.

But he has witnessed change. He said he knows one young woman who began driving a truck after she was trafficked as a teenager. She later became involved with prostitution and drugs. Despite her past, she is growing in her faith.

COLE: She's going to take a little longer to get all the way there, but I believe, with all, with all my heart, that the Lord is working on her.

As he’s followed God on this new journey, Cole has learned that we have to seek the Lord diligently to truly know Him.

COLE: I say, if you're waiting for somebody just to hand you time, that's just never going to happen.

Even in the truck where he has nothing but time, Cole says it is still easy to slip into complacency. But now that he has a strong faith, he does not want to waste the time he’s been given.

COLE: Someday, I'm going to be in heaven, and I want to hear the Lord say to me, my good and faithful servant. You know, with who I am pleased. That's my goal in life, right?

And he is dedicated to helping others see the importance of a real relationship with the Lord. As he navigates the nation’s highways, he is also following God’s directions and guidance.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lauren Canterberry.

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