HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A local nonprofit operating out of a church parking lot in Henrico County will need to relocate from its current space by the end of the month due to zoning issues.
‘Mechanics of Faith’ currently operates out of the back parking lot of New Life Baptist Church in Henrico. Jason Wells, the nonprofit’s founder, is often seen with his head under the hood of a car.
The nonprofit fixes cars for those in need for lower costs than other auto repair shops — a feat that’s possible through grants and funding from the community.
“We helped over 186 people in 2023,” Wells said.
For the last year, they’ve been working out of the parking lot of the church, but their time there is running out.
“We were just told, like, ‘Hey, look, you need to be in a shop, you need to be in a commercial facility,’” Wells said.
Eric Leabough, director of the Henrico County Department of Community Revitalization, said the county received a complaint from a resident that an auto repair shop was being run at the church. Their full statement reads as follows: