Georgia Pastor David Wheeler’s love for old cars is turning him into a YouTube celebrity.
Nearly 6 million people have tuned in to watch Wheeler and his family restore rusted clunkers on their YouTube program Revstoration.
Wheeler says, “We take old, forgotten, abandoned things left for dead and bring them back to life.”
Wheeler’s look on the program is in complete contrast to his typical Sunday morning attire at Porterdale Baptist Church, where he’s a well-heeled clergyman in a suit jacket, matching slacks, button-down shirt, tie and polished dress shoes.
In both roles, he is seeking to point people to the One who can give them new life.
From the pulpit, Wheeler proclaims the Gospel boldly. On the YouTube program, he’s more subtle, stealthily weaving Bible into conversations about brakes, batteries and ball joints, being careful not to be so preachy that he chases nonbelievers away.
Revstoration is affinity evangelism at its best, allowing Wheeler to forge relationships with people who share his love for old cars.
Wheeler himself came to faith as a 12-year-old while helping a Georgia preacher work on a car. Brady Blalock, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Griffin, had asked him to help change a tire. While they worked, Blalock shared the Gospel. That was 1992.
Since then, Wheeler has served in ministry roles in Georgia and Alaska.