Meet the truck driving preacher: Bill Blackmon ministers to drivers across the nation

Drivers use a variety of methods to help them choose which road to take: Routing software is often built in, or added on, to fleet management programs used by carriers. Apps abound for smartphones, tablets and computers — and old-fashioned paper maps still exist for those who still value traditional ways of trip planning.

Most drivers don’t credit divine intervention for the road they’re on. Bill Blackmon does.

At the age of 26, Blackmon says, he had it all. He and his late wife, Marla, had a home, children and extended family nearby. He had a good trucking job that provided plenty of earning opportunities.

“I was just a trashy truck driver, riding down the road, popping pills so I could get to that next load. Gonna make a dollar, get ahead,” he told The Trucker. “I was a lot of like a lot of men. I worked, made the money, and I thought I did my part.”

All that started to change on Mother’s Day back in 1993.

“I had my wife, my mother, my grandmother, my wife’s grandmother, my wife’s great grandmother, all praying and nagging me to go to church,” he said. “And I DID go to church (that day). I heard the gospel preached, which radically changed my life.”

As is the tradition at some churches, Blackmon walked down the aisle to the altar during the invitation following the sermon.

“I hadn’t been to church since I was a kid, but I knew people went to the altar — and that’s where I went,” he said.

There were no consultations or classes, no acceptance ceremony. Even so, a major change had begun in his life.

“I went to church for whatever was going on, and I went to a lot of revival services,” he said. “So it really gave me time to get grounded.”

Eventually, he took a new driving job to provide for his family. It was then that the changes began to gain speed.

“I stopped at the Fifth Wheel Truck Stop in Lufkin, Texas, and picked up a cassette tape of Pastor Curtis Harrington,” Blackmon said, adding that he began to listen to the tape while on the road.

The wheels were turning — and not just on his tractor.

Bill Blackmon’s truck has a large, comfortable sleeper that he and his wife use as a mobile apartment. He also has a 57-foot dry van trailer that’s been converted into a mobile chapel, which he takes to various trucking events. (Courtesy: Bill and Nancy Blackmon)

At a family gathering, Blackmon mentioned the tape and the paster. He was surprised to discover that his wife’s aunt had been listening to Harrington for years, and he was pleased when she presented him with two large black trash bags full of sermon cassettes.

“I sat in that old truck and listened to those tapes,” he said. “I’d take one out and put another one in. He really was my pastor for a long time.”

As he listened, Blackmon began to feel a tug at his heart. By December of ’96, he says, he was sure he was being called into the ministry.

“You gotta remember that I’m a high school dropout,” he said. “I grew up in a broken home. I left at 15 and ended up in San Francisco, all by myself. I lived on the streets, and then with some people for a little while.”

As the weeks and months passed, Blackmon accumulated knowledge and grew in his faith. Soon people were asking him to speak at their churches.

“I didn’t think you could preach unless you went to seminary,” he said.

As his lifestyle changed, he discovered that weekends on the road could be lonely.

“For the first time when I was out on the road, I didn’t have anything to do for the weekend when I couldn’t reload until Monday,” he said. “I used to look for a bar, a place to socialize.”

But he was not the same person, and he felt the need for something different.

“At the TA in Franklin, Tennessee, I met my first chaplain,” he said. “We went to his church (on Sunday morning). Then he took me home and fed me, ministered to me all day and then took me back to the church that night.”

During that weekend, Blackmon says he learned a profound truth: “If you have a heart to serve the Lord, he will make a way for you to serve.”

In addition to operating his own trucking company, which had nine trucks, he started performing pastoral duties at several churches.

Then, in 2014, Blackmon met Chaplain Joe Hunter, the founder of Truckstop Ministries, at a Dallas truck show. He committed to working with the ministry and began selling his trucks.

His wife, Marla, passed away in 2017. After grieving her loss, Blackmon met and married Nancy, a retired high school math teacher.

“I tell you this: God has a sense of humor,” he said with a laugh. “Here I am — a high school dropout who majored in detention — marrying a math teacher who actually wrote curriculum for the state of Louisiana’s math textbooks.”

Today, Blackmon is pastor at the First Baptist Church in Florien, Louisiana — but his heart remains with the trucking community. He and Nancy are active in several ministries. In addition to serving as president of Truckstop Ministries, Blackmon works with Lonesome Road Ministries (the app is available in the App Store and Google Play) and Channel 21 Ministries, which is now a part of Lonesome Road.

And, of course, he still owns and operates his own truck, which is leased to Bennett Truck Transport out of Mcdonough, Georgia. The truck has a large, comfortable sleeper that Blackmon uses as a mobile apartment when he travels to the Truckstop Ministries headquarters in Jackson, Georgia. In addition, he has a 57-foot dry van trailer that’s been converted into a mobile chapel, which he takes to various trucking events.

While many of his duties are administrative these days, Blackmon’s heart is still with the drivers on the road.

“I’ve got five or six drivers that call me, sometimes every day, and my cell number (337-353-2746) is everywhere,” he said, adding that he is glad everyone has his phone number. “I encourage drivers — anyone really — to call me with their questions or problems.”

The rear doors of the Truckstop Ministries chapel trailer offer a message of hope for drivers, as well as the number for a toll-free prayer line. (Courtesy: Bill and Nancy Blackmon)

Truckstop Ministries also maintains a 24/7 toll-free prayer line (800-248-8662) that’s manned by volunteer chaplains.

“Sometimes I’ll answer the prayer line and sometimes it’s someone else,” Blackmon said. “But there will always be a person there to talk to.”

Recalling his days searching for answers and faith while on the road, he says his goal is to make as much information available as possible for drivers.

“It used to be tapes and CDs, but today it’s podcasts and streaming radio, videos and local radio stations,” he said, noting that he records weekly podcasts for Lonesome Road.

Even though much of the world is moving to digital communication, he believes nothing can replace old-fashioned human contact. Whether it’s a handshake, a hug or someone to listen to a driver’s troubles, Blackmon’s goal is to make sure someone is available to help.

“Drivers used to talk on the C.B. and visit with other drivers at the truck stop,” he said. “Now they grab some fast food and get back on the road. All of their contact is by phone.”

Whether drivers are looking for a church, want to know Jesus or simply need a few words from someone who cares, Bill Blackmon and the ministries he serves are there to help.

Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.

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