HISTORY of RACERS FOR CHRIST®

 

“Cars are our Passion, People are our Purpose.”

Team RFC was established in 1971 and incorporated as a non-profit in 1978.  What started out as a fellowship for Christians in the sport of auto racing has developed into a growing organization with broad impact across North America and beyond. We realize that racing is more than just a mechanized existence.  It is our desire to bring a more balanced perspective by helping providing inspiration and encouragement to motorsports.

We provide chaplains to serve the racers, crew members, track employees, sponsors, officials and spectators from the sportsman racers at local tracks to the professional drivers at large national events.   As chaplains, our staff are often asked to give the invocation at opening ceremonies, pray with the safety crew before the day begins and with many of the drivers before they compete.  We also have opportunities at many events to conducts non-denominational chapel services and Bible studies.   We are blessed to be able to serve at so many different types of motorsports events, including:  drag racing, open wheel racing, motorcycle racing, boat racing, stock car racing, off-road racing, rock crawling, tractor pulling, BMX, and street rodding events. 

For many people involved in motorsports, either as a profession or as a hobby, consistent participation in a local church body is difficult.  For some, Team RFC provides the pastoral support not unlike that which they would find from a home church, including: communion, weddings, vow renewals, baptisms, baby dedications, hospital visits, sick calls, memorial services, and funerals.  But for many we are their only connection to God.  We encounter more and more people that do not have an understanding of who Jesus is or what He has done for us.  Our goal is to share that love of Christ through both our actions and our words.

Purpose & Message

The overall purpose of Team RFC is to service the emotional and spiritual needs of the world of motorsports. Realizing that life, racing, and rodding involve more than just a mechanized existence, we strive to bring a balance of perspective in providing inspiration and encouragement to people as a whole.

The means by which we strive to fulfill our calling is to communicate the power and message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to individuals participating in the world of motorsports … using motor racing as the “platform” from which we express our message of love and inspiration.

The key to our successful involvement with motorsports is in clearly defining the focus and magnitude of that purpose. Our four-fold purpose and major reasons for being are as follows.

 

Fellowship

We want to serve as an encouragement for Christian fellowship among those within the world of motorsports. We intend to become instrumental in bringing believers together and building a far greater sense of “oneness” and Christian unity.

 

Pastoral Care

We serve in a pastoral role to Christians who are actively participating in motorsports and racing. Many racing participants are away from their home church much of the year, and through the implementation of track-side chapel services and other creative means, we serve to meet this vital need normally met through a local church.  This includes, but is not limited to, pastoral guidance, performing weddings, conducting funerals and memorial services, hospital calls, sick calls, jail visits, and offering the sacraments of baptism and communion.

 

Evangelism

Whenever possible and practical, we shall serve as a missionary outreach, striving to find effective expressions of God’s love which will be relevant to the cultural climate of the sport of motor racing. Motorsports is the ideal platform from which we are able to share the love of Jesus Christ and our genuine concern for others.

 

Service

We also wish to function as an active service organization to the world of motorsports, helping to meet practical needs by expressing the true servanthood of Jesus Christ and the unselfish attitude of the Christian faith.
Team RFC is a spiritual ministry concerned with the soul of man, and as such we endeavor to bring help and healing to the total man. Our message for mankind is that through faith and trust in Christ one can be forgiven and cleansed from the power of sin through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We strongly believe and affirm that … only a relationship with Jesus Christ and the application of the Word of God truly and completely changes lives.

The ministry of Team RFC is committed to and developed around this vital principle. The knowledge that we have been forgiven and that we no longer need to be controlled by sin, becomes the motivation to change our values and lifestyle. Christ within gives us the power to overcome the loneliness and nothingness that once filled our life. When we invite Him into our life, His fullness replaces the emptiness that one existed, and life becomes truly rich and full.

 

Vision Statement

The vision of Team RFC is to see the world of motorsports impacted for Jesus Christ by individuals entering into a personal relationship with Him and growing in those relationships.

 

Mission Statement

The mission of Team RFC is to serve people in the world of motorsports in the name of Jesus Christ through providing fellowship, pastoral care, evangelism, and service.

 

Motto

“Bringing Inspiration to the World of Motorsports”

 

What is Required to Serve with Team RFC®?

Perhaps you have a desire to serve in some capacity with Team RFC. All events are covered by a staff of volunteer ministers, a few are credentialed ministers, and yet the vast majority of them are laymen.. These staff members serve as pastors and chaplains on various sportsman and racing circuits. To learn more, go to HOW TO VOLUNTEER.

 

God’s Faithfulness

God’s faithful blessing has enabled us to envision and fulfill a number of 1st’s in our exciting ministry to motorsports, having developed over the years…
The first-ever ongoing Protestant chapel service for the Indianapolis 500.
The first-ever Prayer Breakfast for the Specialty Equipment Market Association.(SEMA) and SCORE Off-Road shows.
The first “official chaplain” appointed by a national race-sanctioning organization.
The first network of official track chaplains at racing facilities coast-to-coast.
30,000 … and counting!

Team RFC® Today

The ministry is comprised of seven North American regions and one international region. Each is lead by a Region Director, consisting of a team of dedicated volunteers. We also have directors that oversee specific series or types of racing.  Supporting our staff in the field is our dedicated team in the office. And overseeing the ministry is our Board of Directors.

We also have an amazing group of ministry partners across the country and around the world, that support the work of Team RFC® through their prayers, words of encouragement, and financial gifts.

We are a TEAM. Everyone working together to fulfill the mission to which we have been called:

2019 Impact Report:

  • Total of 344 Chaplains, 43 Field Staff, 6 Jr. Chaplains, 4 Office Staff and 10 Board Members
  • 2,171 Events Served
  • 609 Chapel Services with 22,000+ in attendance
  • 8 Baptisms
  • Officiated at 30 Weddings
  • Made 91 Hospital Visits or Sick Calls
  • Conducted 80 Funerals or Memorial Services

Two prominent lessons have been reinforced in our understanding … God is always faithful in His vision, and it takes a team of dedicated people to bring that vision into fulfillment. Those who deserve recognition for the success of Team RFC are our faithful ministry partners and volunteer staff. We could not fulfill the vision and challenge God has set before us without their support.

As a non-profit ministry, we have no other source of income than the donations we receive from our wonderful ministry partners who believe in us and wish to become part of our challenging vision.