Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Funk.
Robert, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Godspeed is a car ministry helping people with Auto body repair, Auto Glass replacement and chip repairs and teaching Auto body. We repair and give cars away with people in need. We started by volunteering to Godspeed ministries of being a technician behind the scenes of helping them. Grew into being asked to take over Godspeed Ministries that was helping people fix cars and putting on car events at that time..(Taking it to the streets) slogan by taking God into car community witch we still do on first Friday each month from 6 pm till 8 pm May thru October at The Fountains of Gateway in Murfreesboro TN. with are partner Sloans motorcycle. We started helping people with auto body repairs given cars away through being partners with Mechanics On A Mission. Helping my son start Godspeed Auto Glass..God has blessed us from being once known by a different reputation of a wife passing away and me and God wrestling and me making all the wrong choices of doing drugs and alcohol and trying to turn my back on God and God bringing it full circle and delivering me from all of that and to having this amazing car ministry and my wife Wendy. From being a widow to having a stepdaughter at 4 year old passing away to having a backstory of being surrounded by evil with my choices of drinking and drugging and all the mess that come with that and in all of it God using it for good. All I can say is but God. I was disabled in a car wreck lost use of left arm. I’m still in need of a shoulder replacement. I gave up disability and went back to work feeling God wanted me to start a Auto body training center. So after 5 years of not doing auto body I started my journey of growing in God and my ability to do auto body again. At this point I have trained several people to be a auto body technician. Currently I’m teaching on weekends at Cross Threaded Garage. Godspeed current location.. Working on getting training center being full time. Praying on God Devine connections to being funded. To being in training center with car ministry full time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The struggles along the way. As a new Christian I believed that I had to love God above my wife Melanie and then Melanie passing away and me being a Christian that never read his word. Me telling God that I can’t love him above her before. Melanie passed shortly after me telling God this and in her passing drove a wedge between me and God and the story gets quite intense. The road back to God started with reading God’s word and all the struggles that I went through to getting back to God.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a 40-year auto body technician what I do is as my granddaughter says is I uncrashed cars for a living. And that I’ve been business owner to the guy that washed the car depending on what stage your career that I’ve been in. What sets me apart from others now is I use my skill as an auto body technician to give back to honor God. In Godspeed ministry we help people with their Auto body skills giving my Saturdays away helping non profits, churches and people do repairs, for cost of parts and materials with 50 % of labor or no labor charge. Insurance work is done for funding to do everything else in ministry. But I don’t get payed leave it in Godspeed to fund what God’s called me to do.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I have learned from God word to count all cost before I do something. I wasn’t afraid of risk at 24 year old I opened my first body shop. Just with desire to be a entrepreneur.
Pricing:
- Labor 52.00 hr
- Frame 150.00 hr
- Paint Materials 41 hr
- Mechanics 159 hr
- Teaching auto body with volunteering at no cost.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Godspeedmission.com
- Instagram: Https://www.instagram.com/godspeed_04
- Facebook: Https://facebook.com/godspdo7
- Yelp: Https://www.yelp.com/biz/godspeed-auto-glass-la-vergne-2
