Torch, Spring 1991

A Mechanic Fixing Cars And Lives I f your car ever breaks down near Brownsburg, Indiana, call Charlie Pyatte. Before you can quote the twenty-third Psalm, his blue Ford van with "Mobile Tune-A-Car" lettered on the side will arrive to rescue you. Stuffed full of every conceivable tool and a pretty sophisticated diagnostic unit, Pyatte 's van has everything it takes to deal with most car and light truck problems. More than that, you are likely to get a courteous presentation of the Gospel, too. Pyatte has fixed cars out of the back of his van for the past 17 years. Before that he was an office manager for Atlantic Richfield in Indianapolis. When they closed their midwest offices, he decided to stay in the area. "I love to see the end result of what I'm doing," says Pyatte. "You get that a lot in automotive repairs." God used the ministry of a TV evan– gelist to reach Pyatte's heart for Christ. "The Lord just brought to my attention that I needed forgiveness of sin, and the only way I could get that was through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. " That was 1962. His wife trusted Christ as her Savior the following year. Asked why he shares his faith so readily, Pyatte explains that although he was not called to be a pastor, he believes Christ's command in Matthew 28 :19,20 is for all Christians. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptiz– ing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com– manded you: and, lo, I am with you alway , even unto the end of the world." "I believe it is important for a man to share his faith because of the need of mankind," says Pyatte. "If one is not putting out the Gospel to others, they will not hear it and be saved from their sins." He explains that fear of rejection is why so many Christians are not soul win– ners. "When folks reject the Gospel they are not rejecting me, they are rejecting Jesus. This helps me to have more boldness to speak out when I get the chance." Another fear believers have is that they are imposing upon people some– thing they think they do not want. Pyatte responds, "If you believe that giving a drowning person a life pre– server is imposing, I guess it is impos– ing to share with sinners how to get cleansing and the gift of eternal life." Soon after he was saved, Pyatte joined the visitation program of his church. Members called on people who had visited the church to encourage them to return and to answer questions. Contacts were also made with new arrivals in town and through door-to– door surveys. Pyatte says he profited greatly from the calls he made with his pastor. He also took advantage of evangelism training when it was provided through the church. "You have to know some things. The basic thing is your own personal testimony of how you came to faith in Christ. Then you should be familiar with several verses of Scripture and know how to explain them." He says that memorizing the verses is good but not absolutely essential. He carries a New Testament in his pocket at all times and prefers to read the Scripture out of the Bible. "That way they know that the words are not my words but God ' s words." Pyatte begins his workday by asking the Lord to give him insight into whom he can tell about Jesus that day. "I want the leading of the Holy Spirit," he cautions. "Sometimes you can drive a person away if you are not sensitive to the right time to share the Gospel. On occasion, I have thought the person had a special need but was not ready to receive a full witness. So I just asked if I could pray for him." When he does feel the freedom to witness, he asks a customer about church attendance. Then he tells what church means in his life, and this can lead to sharing Christ. At other times a Gospel tract is all he is able to give. On visitation Pyatte likes to take his wife. He knows this can help in situ– ations where the man of the house may not be interested in spiritual things but the wife is. This also is best when only the woman is at home. He introduces himself with, "Hello, my name is Charlie Pyatte and this is my wife, Joy. We are from Bethesda Baptist Church and out calling in the neighborhood. We want to invite you to our church services if you are not attending another church regularly." The Lord has given the Pyattes opportunity to see folks receive Christ as personal Lord and Savior. He most appreciated the privilege of leading his own mother and father to the Lord in their senior years. According to Pyatte, the Matthew 28 verses and these two Scriptures motivate him to be a soul winner: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11 :30); "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6). Charlie Pyatte, above left, lives in Brownsburg, Indiana. Both his children attended Cedarville College.