Brevard Uber Driver Finds Ministry in the Driver's Seat
BREVARD — Need a ride? Need a prayer? One former pastor turned Uber driver is offering both, turning a retirement career into an unexpected ministry on the streets of Brevard.
For the past several years, Steve Hewitt has started his days driving Uber with a simple prayer: "Lord, use me." Now, a small sign in his car is helping make those opportunities easier to find.
"I like to talk. I like to meet people," Hewitt said. When he started driving Uber nearly four years ago, he prayed that opportunities would open up for him to share Christ with the passengers God put in his car. But it wasn't until recently that he had the idea to put up a sign inviting riders to ask for prayer. Since then, the opportunities for conversation have exploded.
The first passenger to respond to the sign couldn't speak or understand spoken English, Hewitt shared, but she could read it. Noticing the sign, she pulled out her phone and used a translation app to explain that she was a Christian and wanted prayer for her family.
When they reached her destination, Hewitt reached his hand toward the back seat and she placed hers in it.
"I realized this is the first time in my life I've ever prayed and the person has no clue what I'm saying," Hewitt recalled. "They just want to be prayed for. They have no clue what I'm saying. But God knows."
About half of the passengers who respond to the sign ask for prayer, Hewitt said. Others use it as an invitation to talk about faith, ask questions or simply let him know they're Christians themselves.
"I've been very impressed with the young people," Hewitt said. "Every young man, everyone so far... when they get out of the car, I say, 'You have a good day.' And they say, 'You too, and may God bless you.' ... I'm so blessed by that. That just totally amazed me."
Uber is really Hewitt's third career, as much as it can be called a career. Hewitt has always viewed his work through the lens of ministry and spent 15 years serving as a pastor before moving into Christian publishing, founding Christian Computing Magazine and later The American Church Magazine. In 2016, he sold the magazines and retired to Brevard, where he now occasionally teaches at Fresh Start Church in Melbourne alongside his Uber ministry.
His experiences behind the wheel have already given him enough material for a book. In Focus Christianity, Hewitt shares chance encounters and conversations from his Uber ministry over the years, including the remarkable story of his very first passenger.
The young woman, whose gender was changed in the book at the publisher's request to protect her privacy, climbed into his Uber just after a group of Christians had knocked on her door and asked if they could talk to her about Jesus. They shared the gospel, and she prayed to accept Christ as her Savior. Moments later, her Uber arrived and she had to leave for work.
"I don't think it's an accident you're in my car," Hewitt remembered telling her. "I'm a retired minister, and I just prayed this morning, 'Lord, use me in some way.'"
"Oh, my gosh, tell me everything I need to know now," she said.
Hewitt laughed retelling the story. As a pastor, he would sometimes spend two weeks preparing a sermon. Now he had about seven minutes to tell a brand-new Christian everything she needed to know.
He encouraged her to pray, find a church that teaches the Bible and begin growing in her new faith. When they reached her destination, he asked if he could pray with her. She agreed.
"When I got done, she was crying, I was crying," Hewitt recalled. "I said, 'I don't know where to go.' She goes, 'I gotta go to work.'"
He never saw her again. But for Hewitt, the encounter was an early confirmation of the ministry waiting for him in the driver's seat.
Steve Hewitt
Drawing from real-life encounters in his vehicle, Hewitt's book, Focused Christianity, presents biblical principles for allowing God to work through everyday Christians to share His love with people who are hurting or in need. The book is available on Amazon and other book retailers.
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