A cargo van donated to the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio has taken on a new purpose by becoming a mobile outreach ministry delivering food, resources and gospel messages to communities in need.
In late 2025, the diocese received the vehicle from Cody Coughlin, a drag racing and stock car driver from Delaware, Ohio. The race car driver “come back” to the Catholic faith and entered into full communion with the church at St. Paul the Apostle in Westerville, Ohio, a few years ago, and is eager to give back to the community.
The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio’s new mobile outreach ministry van, which was donated by drag racing and stock car driver Cody Coughlin. | Credit: Ken Snow, Courtesy of the Diocese of Columbus
“I am very grateful and inspired to be able to donate a vehicle to help those in need in the Catholic Diocese of Columbus,” Coughlin said. Catholic Times. “This is a small way to support a mission that truly changes lives, and I’m grateful to be a part of something that helps bring food and hope to the families who need it most.”
From there, the diocese worked on creating a plan for how the vans could be used appropriately.
Deacon Dave Bezzucco, director of Catholic Charities in the area and permanent deacon of Our Lady of Lourdes in Marysville, Ohio, told EWTN News in an interview that they wanted it to be “something that would be useful to parishes because… we didn’t want to step on the toes of any of our established diocesan charities and our goal here was two-fold: No. 1. Let’s equip the parishes with something that “They can use that for existing support.” Ministry, and (No. 2) Take the Ministry off the premises.
Bezzucco shared that it was important that the van also be covered with Catholic imagery so that it would be “like a rolling billboard of Catholicism and a sign of the Church’s presence in the community, a sign of the presence of Jesus Christ in the community, a sign of hope.”
The van now contains an image of Jesus feeding 5,000 people, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an image of the Divine Mercy, a portrait of Mother Teresa and the words of Matthew 25:40: “Truly, I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me also.”
The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio’s new mobile outreach ministry van. | Credit: Ken Snow, Courtesy of the Diocese of Columbus
The mobile outreach van was blessed by Bishop Earl Fernandes outside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster, Ohio, on March 8.
In its first few months of service, the van has been used for a trip to support Mary’s Mission, which serves the needs of the homeless population, and has transported approximately 6,000 food items collected by Fisher Catholic High School and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster. The van was also used to transport furniture donated through a furniture ministry run by a deacon at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Logan, Ohio.
Students from Fisher Catholic High School in Lancaster, Ohio stand outside a mobile outreach ministry van. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Deacon Matt Shaw
The diocese also hopes to use the van as a promotional tool by taking it to local Fourth of July parades, high school football games, nursing home tours, the annual county fair and other venues.
“There are so many different opportunities to be an evangelization tool,” Bezucco said.
As far as his hope there will be an impact on the community, Bezucco said: “The hope again on community impact is No. 1, to share that Jesus Christ is present in our communities, not just where our churches and our schools and our properties are.”
He added: “One of the things that happens at the end of Mass, the deacon says ‘Go ahead, the Mass is over.’ We are sent into the community to be the hands and feet of Christ and to be His presence in the world and to take Him elsewhere. So, this is a literal opportunity to take Christ, take our church, take that love, that compassion out onto the street and express it.
Deacon said he hopes this mobile outreach ministry will continue to grow and that one day they will have “a whole fleet of these running around here very soon.”
