MATS: Reliable Vehicles for Ministry
The trusted car-buying service for pastors, missionaries, and church staff since the 1990s.
Most pastors drive too many miles in cars they cannot afford to replace. The math is brutal: ministry salaries are modest, car dealerships are not, and the gap between what you need and what you can pay is real. MATS exists to close that gap.
MATS (Ministry Auto Transportation Service) has been helping people in ministry buy reliable used vehicles since the 1990s. They are not a dealership. They are a car-buying service built specifically for pastors, missionaries, church staff, and the people who support them. Their team searches thousands of vehicles per month, rejects 90% of what they find because the cost-to-condition ratio does not add up, and delivers the ones that do — reconditioned, inspected, and priced fairly.
What MATS Actually Does
Think of MATS the way you think of a realtor. When you buy a house, you do not walk into every house on the market alone and hope for the best. You hire someone who knows the market, knows what to look for, and negotiates on your behalf. MATS does that for cars.
Here is how it works:
- You tell them what you need — size, mileage range, budget, timeline
- Their specialists search their network for vehicles that match
- Every car goes through a thorough mechanical, safety, and cosmetic inspection at their reconditioning center in Richmond, Indiana
- They deliver the vehicle to you and handle the paperwork
- The consultation is free
In 2023, MATS delivered vehicles to 33 states. Their staff have over 300 years of combined experience in the car business. Five of their employees have worked in vocational ministry themselves. They understand the budget constraints, the family needs, and the specific pressures that come with ministry life.
Who Qualifies
MATS was built for people in full-time ministry — pastors, missionaries, church planters, campus ministers, para-church staff, humanitarian workers, and teachers. Ministry clients still make up 75% of their client base.
In 2017, they expanded to include friends, family, and supporters of ministry workers. So if your church member needs a car and you want to point them somewhere trustworthy, MATS is a legitimate option for them too.
Why This Matters for Small Church Pastors
The bi-vocational pastor driving 40,000 miles a year between a day job and a church that cannot pay full-time wages is exactly the person MATS was built for. So is the church planter who needs a reliable vehicle but cannot afford to get taken at a dealership. So is the missionary on furlough who needs short-term transportation without a long-term commitment.
Car buying is one of the most stressful financial decisions most families make. It is also one of the areas where people in ministry are most vulnerable — because they often cannot afford to make a mistake, and they often do not have the time or expertise to navigate the process well. MATS removes that vulnerability.
“I can’t recommend MATS highly enough. Their customer service is excellent, their inventory is attractive, their prices beat the competition, and most importantly, their mission is laudable — to bless those in ministry with reliable transportation.”
— Scott Dean, Pastor, Crossroads Community Church, Fishers, IN
“As a former missionary and now a missions pastor on a tight budget, being able to get such a good product for a fair and reasonable price was an added bonus. Our family has now purchased a total of 6 cars through MATS and has been pleased with the result each time.”
— Larry and Nancy, Michigan
How to Get Started
The consultation is free. You tell them what you need, they tell you what they can find. No pressure, no up-front fees, no obligation.
Visit mats.org to start a conversation with their team. You can also reach them at 1-888-776-7211 or by email at car@mats.org.
If you are in ministry and you need a vehicle — or you know someone who does — MATS is worth a call before you walk into a dealership.
MinistryPlace does not receive compensation for recommending MATS. We point to them because they have served the ministry community faithfully for decades and because small church pastors deserve to know this resource exists.