A late pastor who was born on Christmas Day in 1906 built 12 churches by mortgaging and re-mortgaging his own home and transformed the lives of hundreds and thousands of people. He would have never imagined that one day, long after he was gone, his good deeds would find his family in such a humbling way.
Gregory Earl Wigfield, 68, has lived with his wife and family in Leesburg, Virginia for almost 30 years. Gregory’s paternal grandfather, the late Hartley Lionel Wigfield Sr., was a first-generation follower of Christ who spent his lifetime building churches, and his 95-year-old father, Hartley Lionel Wigfield Jr., is a former U.S. Coast Guard and pastor who runs a food bank for his church.
They feed about 100 families per week in Winchester, Virginia. And one of the couples who came for food were the Kernses, who told Gregory’s father about the miracle car that is now inspiring goodness in many others.
“I’ve been around significant life events over my almost seven decades on this earth,” Gregory told The Epoch Times. “I’ve seen coincidences, but this was no coincidence. This was a miracle of sorts—a message. This car has become a huge reminder ... that we are not on earth for us.”
The Car That Found a Family
Daniel Kerns had a vintage car for sale. A hard worker and provider for his family for many years, he had bought the car for himself, but sadly suffered a stroke and could not drive it. It had been sitting in his barn for decades, and, struggling for money, he'd finally decided to sell.On a Saturday morning in May 2017, Gregory’s father called to suggest they go see the old car at the Kerns residence, up in the mountains of eastern West Virginia. In one of the barns on the property, they peeled back an old blanket to reveal a 1931 Ford Model A Coupe and fell in love.
“Other than the dirt and dust on the car, it was in beautiful shape,” Gregory said. “It was evident that someone had taken great care of it. It only had 5,300 original miles on the engine. We were expecting something rusty, possibly missing an engine ... to say that we were excited is an understatement.”
Father and son agreed to buy the car on the spot. Then Kerns handed over the title papers, and Gregory’s father, Hartley Jr., reeled in shock: Daniel Kerns’s middle name was Hartley. It was not a common name—and he had to know why.
Kerns’s wife explained that her husband’s parents had “named him after a preacher,” Gregory said. Kerns’s parents, divorced and struggling with alcohol addiction, had met a kind preacher who told them about the redeeming power of faith and encouraged them to pray. Owing to his guidance, they got sober, remarried, and gave their first-born son the preacher’s name.
“This preacher happened to be my paternal grandfather!” Gregory said. “When we heard the story, we were both shocked. We loaded the car up on the trailer without saying a word about the name. Then, before I drove away, we both sat on the trailer and tried to digest what had just happened.
“My grandfather never knew [Daniel] Kerns, and probably would not remember that broken couple whose life was redeemed by his ministry of the gospel.
“Needless to say, I will never sell the car. This car found our family.”
The Conscientious Family
Gregory’s grandfather studied up until grade eight and was a house painter and wallpaper hanger by trade. His grandmother had a third-grade education and learned how to read by studying the Bible and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It was their faith in God that allowed them to be what Gregory calls “world changers.”“[My grandfather] would find a town in West Virginia or western Maryland that did not have a church, and would then start one,” Gregory said. “Once he would get a small congregation together, he would mortgage his house, use the money to build a small church building, find a pastor, and return to his home in Cumberland to work and pay off the mortgage ... without exaggeration, multiple thousands of people have become Christians through the extended ministry of my grandfather.”
It was during a church build in Paw Paw, West Virginia that Hartley Sr. met Daniel Kerns’s parents. Kerns passed away in 2017, the same year he sold the Coupe. Gregory wishes his grandfather had lived to see the car and hear the incredible story.
“He was actually preaching a sermon in his mid-eighties when he collapsed on the lectern and left the scene for Heaven,” Gregory said.
Talking about his own transformation, Gregory shares that his faith played a big role in that.
He said: “I was not pastor material. I had pretty much broken all the rules of a good life, and those broken rules led to a very broken life. It took many years for me to realize that God is not afraid of brokenness and that He loves all of us. I learned about His grace and the fact that we all have purpose on this earth.”
Gregory then decided to start a church for “messed up people.” “The Hartley story continued through us, because it is not just the Hartley story. It’s the God story,” he said.
‘We Are Here to Serve and Love God and Others’
Since 2017, the Wigfields’ 1931 Ford Model A Coupe has featured in the annual Leesburg Christmas parade, and will soon be part of an attraction at a development property that Gregory is building for his local community.After three generations of pastors, Gregory’s greatest dream is for his four children, and their children, to carry the family mission forward for generations to come.
“We all know that we live for more than what we can collect on earth, including a 1931 Model A Ford,” he said. “I hope the Hartley will continue to be a physical reminder of why we are here. I don’t feel like I own the car; it feels more like I am a steward of the car and its message.
“Our nation is so messed up right now. The animosity is overwhelming at times, and the political divisiveness is destroying the fabric of our nation. Of course, we all have things that are important to us when it comes to our nation, but our nation is really people—many different types of people who God really loves.
“The Hartley is a constant personal reminder of what really matters.”
