Western North Carolina Kids Bus ministry destroyed by Fire

I am praying that God will lay it on your heart to help us purchase another bus as soon as possible to allow Kellie’s bus kids to see the power of Christ's love. To help overcome what was obviously Satan's work to destroy such an effective ministry. Years ago, there were dozens of churches across western North Carolina running buses; however, at this point, Shining Light may be the last church still running buses. I have seen firsthand by helping on the days that I am there that this ministry makes a difference like no other I have witnessed.

I became a member of Shining Light Baptist Church 5 years ago when COVID shut down my local church. Through my wife’s Facebook, she found the pastor who greatly influenced her life during youth camps 30 years before, whose services were beginning to be put on YouTube. What a blessing to mine and my family's lives when I began to know Brother Danny Castle and his ministry of serving the Lord by focusing on the forgotten children of disadvantaged families in the surrounding area to his church via a bus ministry.

Brother Danny has committed his 50 years of ministry to focusing on getting people exposed to Christ and leading them to be saved. His passion has always been to serve the Lord by offering Christ's love to those who may never be given the chance to come to church, rallies, or camp meetings. His bus ministry includes 4-5 committed volunteers who are bus captains of their own bus. These captains spend most of the day every Saturday visiting homes across the county by door-knocking and inviting kids and their families to come to church. They follow up by coming back on Sunday morning to pick them up and take them to Sunday School and church. These volunteers often spend their own money for gas and treats for the kids. Each and every Sunday, there will be over 100 bus kids arriving to attend and participate in our church.

One of the current bus captains is now a young preacher who started out 10 years ago as a bus kid himself. Kellie Castle, who is Brother Danny’s wife, is a longtime committed bus captain who has affected hundreds of children through her ever-consistent effort to grow her bus ministry. All of the buses used in this effort are older with lots of miles, but with the blessings of volunteer mechanics, they are able to stay running. Unfortunately, Kellie’s bus was in for transmission repair recently and was caught up in a fire at the salvage yard that was helping out. It is pictured above and was completely destroyed, and the church only had liability insurance for it.