A ministry built on shared tools and shared time.
Pendleton Auto Repair Coop began with a simple idea: many of our neighbors can’t afford the kind of routine vehicle care that keeps a car safe, and many of our church family have the skills, tools, and willingness to help. Put those two together — on a Saturday, with coffee — and you have a coop.
Our story
The coop was founded by Brendon Griffin as a way for the Pendleton Seventh-day Adventist Church to live out its calling in a practical, hands-in-the-grease way. A safer car is a steadier paycheck, a kid who makes it to school, a parent who gets to a hospital visit on time. When working transportation is the bottleneck, fixing the car is the ministry.
We are not a shop. We do not invoice for our labor. We do not take walk-ins. We schedule a handful of service days a year and pair volunteer technicians with families that have signed up through this site. The work is done in the Pendleton SDA Church parking lot, with the church providing the venue, the coffee, and a roof over our parts table.
The church behind the coop
Pendleton Seventh-day Adventist Church is a 501(c)(3) non-profit serving Pendleton, Oregon, in the Upper Columbia Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The church meets at 1401 SW Goodwin Pl, Pendleton, OR 97801 — that’s the parking lot the coop runs out of. The Pendleton congregation has supported the coop since its founding, providing the meeting space, parts-cabinet inventory, and the volunteer base that makes free service possible.
If you’d like to learn more about the church itself, you can visit them in person at any of their weekly services or email us for an introduction.
Who runs it
The coop is volunteer-led. The two people listed below are the easiest to reach.
Brendon Griffin
Brendon coordinates service days, recruits volunteer technicians, and is the person on the ground at every event. If you need to reschedule, he’s your point of contact.
Mark Griffin
Mark maintains the website and the reservation system. If something on this site isn’t working, email mark and he’ll fix it.
How it’s funded
The labor is free. The parts and consumables are not. The coop runs on three sources of support:
1. Donations through Pendleton SDA Church. When you give to the church and designate “Auto Repair Coop,” 100% of that gift goes to the parts cabinet, oil, filters, and small tools we use up over a service day.
2. Volunteer time. Our technicians donate their Saturdays, their tools, and their patience. There is no payroll. If you have mechanical skills and a few Saturdays a year, you can sign up to help on our Volunteer page.
3. Service-day donations from those we serve. Donations from families who come through the coop are welcome but never expected. Anything you can give helps the next family in line. Nothing required.
Ready to schedule?
Pick a service day, tell us about your car, and we’ll handle the rest.
Reserve Your Spot