Delaware Raceway Ministry Ready to Roll
By Sharon Mager
Dover Downs International Speedway is hosting the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 NASCAR Cup Series on July 18–20, and the Delaware Raceway Ministry is ready to roll. For 31 years, the ministry, founded by the Delaware Baptist Association (DBA) and Greensboro Baptist Church, has been serving at these races, providing a strong Christian witness to fans at the
A raceway volunteer shares a bag of homemade cookies with a race fan and invites them to the ministry events. (Photo Submitted)
track and in the adjacent campgrounds. And with just days to go, ministry leaders are putting the pedal to the metal to recruit more volunteers — and cookies!
Each year, volunteers give out homemade cookies (made by BCM/D churches) along with New Testaments and Bible tracts. They host cookouts and give away burgers and hot dogs, and have chapel services. They’re also partnering with nationally known Southern Baptists.& Bluegrass group Chip & Nikki Headley to host a gospel concert. Recently, they began working with the raceway leadership to provide golf cart rides to those who need a lift.
The homemade cookies are conversation-starters, says Raceway Director Jim McBride Jr., and they’ve been doing it so long that folks look forward to their annual treats, and baking cookies has been a tradition for many Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware churches. They can always use more. And it’s not too late if you want to contribute! McBride said, “The fresher the better!”
Jim McBride Sr., a former DBA director of missions who started the ministry over three decades ago at the urging of his son Jim McBride, Jr., said, “We have seen many people come to Christ, have their faith renewed, and be encouraged through prayer. God has truly blessed our ministry over the years. The new owners of the track have opened more opportunities for us to serve in the name of the Lord.”
BCM/D Executive Director Tom Stolle (front row, third from left) visited volunteers with Delaware Raceway Ministry at Dover Motor Speedway in 2024. (Photo submitted)
BCM/D Executive Director Tom Stolle (front row, third from left) visited volunteers with Delaware Raceway Ministry at Dover Motor Speedway in 2024. (Photo submitted)
Please keep this ministry and the volunteers in prayer. If you can lend a hand at the racetrack or want to make cookies, contact Jim McBride Jr. at 443-988-8444.