Heavenly Hot Rods was initiated as a ministry of Crossroads Church in 2002. During 2001, our church had completed the 40 Days of Purpose study series. As a result of the study, Bob Miller, a member of the church, who was a Gladstone policeman at the time and long-time car builder, was searching for how God might use him in ministry. With the help of his wife, Terrie, Bob came to realize that he could use his car building skills to bring men together in Christian fellowship and learning about car design and building.

Bob was also inspired to reach youth for Christ in the community and thought it could be done through a car ministry. As Crossroads Church also operated a Christian school, it was a natural connection to co-sponsor this ministry. Thus, Heavenly Hot Rods was begun.

The ministry began offering Saturday classes on chassis design, suspension dynamics, and engine building. During this time the ministry began looking for a place to actually build cars that was close to the church. Over a three-month period, several options were pursued, but none worked out.

At that time, one of the church elders saw the ministry being stalled, because of no place to build cars. So, Dave and Jan Aho offered the outbuilding at their home to Heavenly Hot Rods as a site to begin building cars. At the time, this was only a temporary move, and it was thought that only 5-6 months would be needed before the ministry would be able to find a permanent building close to the church that would fill the need. In June 2003, a caravan of 4 vehicles carried equipment and material to the site.

In January 2011, Heavenly Hot Rod (HHR) began its tenth year of existence and its seventh year of residence at Dave's and Jan's home site. Other options have just not turned up. Finding a no rent or very low rent facility will have to be a miracle that we haven't found yet. The Aho's gracious generosity has been a Godsend, and the ministry has been very active since its inception. The first year, 6 basic car frames were produced.

In 2004, the first HHR car was finished. It was a striking 1923 Bucket T hot rod. It was sold and the realized profits shared between Crossroads Christian School and further investment in HHR tools and machinery. It was also the year of Crossroads Church Cruise-In. It attracted about 85 contestant cars and about a 1000 people. An article about Heavenly Hot Rods appeared in the inaugural issue of Purpose magazine in 2009.

Currently, there are a core group of about 6-7 men on any given Saturday. They come from 5 different churches and are drawn together in their affection for building hot rods and the great fellowship. Through the years, there have been many others come through the ministry, including both boy and girl teenagers. Jed Stultz, a 12-year-old, was part of the ministry early on and stayed for 2 years before moving out of town. He still keeps in touch.

Currently, the group is working on 5 different car projects, belonging to ministry members. Each one is a learning and teaching experience. A new HHR project car, a 1936 Ford 2-door sedan, is waiting in pieces, to be recreated.

HHR meets for the day, generally 3 Saturday's a month. During the summer months the ministry also shows its projects at selected Cruise-Ins, local parades, men's ministry activities and church functions. Most of the time we meet to enjoy great Christian fellowship and expand our knowledge and skills in creating original hot rods. We welcome drop in or small group tours. Anyone who is interested in building cars is welcome to join us. You will be amazed at what is being created. Many of us could hardly spell C-A-R when we started, so it is not your knowledge level but you desire to learn automobile fabrication in a uplifting and fun environment that defines the ministry.