A unique mission effort is taking place in Warren County and reaching people from around the globe.Mark Reighard and his lifelong friend Brett Bias started Righteous Rides to provide transportation to missionaries while they were back in the United States. What began 10 years ago as a small operation has transformed into a fleet of 110 vans.“We knew that missionaries face two big headaches when they come home — where am I going to live and what am I going to drive,” said Reighard. “It’s hard to a buy a car for six months and sell it, and it’s hugely expensive to rent.”Reighard and Bias bought a van and loaned it to a missionary in January of 2007. Although the two met in Sunday school in Warrenton, their operation was originally located in Moscow Mills. Recently they moved the headquarters for Righteous Rides to their hometown on the property that used to be Zeiser Auto Sales.“We started as a car ministry, and we’ve been a care ministry,” said Reighard. “Since beginning, we’ve done 12 million miles of missionary donation. We’re a non-for-profit used car lot and a mission fleet management.”Typically, missionaries will request vans and provide a timeline during which they will need the vehicle. Righteous Rides tries to plan 10 days between missionaries for cleanup and repair. When the missionaries arrive to town, often from states across the country, they are put in a motel and cared for during their wait.“We have a store in the facility where they can get some new clothes for free, and we have backpacks with stuff for the kids to do on the car rides,” said Reighard. “We’re trying to show them we care about what they are doing and appreciate them.”The van rentals typically cost around $300 per month, which includes use of van, oil changes and insurance.“If the transmission blows up in Wyoming, they don’t have to bear the cost of it,” said Reighard.Despite the rapid growth of the fleet, the demand still outweighs the supply.“We have one or two calls per day we turn down because we’re overbooked,” said Reighard. “We’re completely booked out for two years.”The vision is for Righteous Rides to span across the country and serve missionaries in places like New York, Atlanta and Miami.“Our goal is to grow this to be more of a national organization,” said Reighard. “We’ve been building up some volunteers in other parts of the country. Our goal over the next 10 years is to build a network of these operations, because right now people will come here to get the van even though they are based out of California.”

A volunteer from Righteous Rides details a car in preparation for use by missionaries. Record photo/ Derrick Forsythe.

Volunteers who drive from all over the region pose for a picture in the repair shop at Righteous Rides. Record photo/ Derrick Forsythe.