Photo courtesy of Todd Eagle.
Eddie Burchfield uses his sign language ministry to encourage drivers along U.S. 280.
On any given day, drivers on U.S. 280 can catch a glimpse of Eddie Burchfield spreading encouragement along the highway. Since April 1, he has spent several hours each day doing his part to bring cheer to others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Burchfield, an evangelist and chaplain, parks his truck at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Shelby County 51 and holds up signs as people drive by.
“When all this shut down the prisons, hospitals and churches, I was sitting here in my office praying about what I could do,” Burchfield said. “During this time, it was like the Lord gave me this mission.”
An ordained minister, and an evangelist by calling, Burchfield lives off Shelby County 51 in Chelsea. He said at the intersection of U.S. 280, there is a large area with a perfect space to pull off and get people’s attention.
He gets lots of horn honks, waves, thumbs up and flashing lights from passersby, saying this is how drivers show an acknowledgment they are in agreement. Many people have stopped to talk to him, and he has been able to pray with several. Some give him water or Gatorade.
“I want to be an encouragement and use this as another way to outreach,” Burchfield said.
Burchfield made the signs himself, using experience from working at a sign shop when he was 18. He holds one, has two on the back of his truck and usually has a friend holding another in the front. The four signs read: “Faith Over Fear,” “God is Bigger,” “Jesus Is Our Hope” and “Jesus Is Alive.”
He began his own ministry, Fresh Fire Evangelism, in 2006. He retired in 2015 from his job with ALDOT, where he worked for 32 years.
He spends his time serving in five to six ministries weekly. He is a chaplain with the Church of God’s chaplain commission, hosts a radio ministry, does a chaplain ministry with the Shelby County Jail and the Alabama Therapeutic Education Facility in Columbiana, is a hospital chaplain at Shelby Baptist and chaplain with the Chelsea Fire and Rescue Department. He is also chaplain for the Chelsea Historical Society and serves as president with the Central Alabama Writers Group in Sylacauga.
“If I can point their attention from their situation of the heavy load they bear and give it to God, God gets the praise,” he said. “The focus is to turn away from the bad and turn it to the good. It might stir up somebody’s faith.”
Burchfield said his sign language ministry is like a breath of fresh air and encourages him to keep encouraging. He doesn’t plan to stop the ministry after the COVID-19 crisis ends and said he will do as the Lord leads him.
“I don’t see an end to this,” he said. “It’s another ministry, and it is bigger than just this time. I say all praise goes to God,” he said. “The Bible talks about witty inventions. This is just a witty invention and another way of outreach.”
