Driving cross-country for weeks at a time isn't always conducive to an active church life.

For that reason, chapels and meditation rooms are popping up at truck stops across the country, where drivers can stop to pray, meditate, or take part in services officiated by full-time chaplains.

"Drivers experience loneliness, isolation, and boredom," says Scott Weidner, president and CEO of Transport for Christ International, a 52-year-old organization with 27 chapels throughout North America. And because of their driving duties, "those who want to go to church often can't."

Some chapels come about as the result of an individual's or church's desire to institute a special ministry for truckers that come through the region. Others are part of a chain of chapels instituted by spiritual-based organizations such as Transport for Christ.

In many cases, the chapels are as mobile as the people they are designed for, often converted into sanctuaries from tractor-trailers. Glenn Cope, founder of Truckers' Christian Chapel Ministries, says many of that organization's chapels are simply travel center TV lounge rooms that groups use to conduct church services.

Many drivers find that the roadside chapels are more appealing to them than regular churches because they can worship with people who are like them and therefore understand them.

"I've heard drivers say to me that because of the way they've been treated at certain churches, they'll never darken the door of a church again, but they'll drive out of their way to get to our chapels," says Weidner.

The lack of spiritual resources for truck drivers, in fact, led Pastor Rick Stoneking of Ocala, Fla., to learn how to drive a truck so he could run a ministry for truck drivers between 1995 and 2001. Today Stoneking runs Truckers Haven, an online ministry for truckers that's found at www.truckers-haven.org.

"A lot of preachers have no clue what truckers go through," Stoneking says. "[When you're] on the road away from family all the time, trying to maintain one's moral compass is often difficult. Dealing with all of the aspects of loneliness can be tough. You need to have people you can talk to who understand your focus in life."

His work is appreciated. Thanks to the chapels, "there is always a place a driver can go for a little wholesome conversation or encouragement after a particularly tiring day," says K.C. Brau, a truck driver for Lincoln, Neb.-based Crete Carrier. "And since very few churches provide truck parking, an obvious void in the life of a driver can be filled at the truck stop chapel."

Where to Pray
TravelCenters of America that house chapels:

Denver West TA
1-70, Exit 266
Wheat Ridge, Colo.

Boise TA
I-84, Exit 54
Boise, Idaho

Chicago North TA
I-94 & Russell, Ill./Wis. Line

Seymour TA
I-65 & S.R. 50, Exit 50
Seymour, Ind.

Iowa 80 TA Truckstop
I-80, Exit 284
Walcott, Iowa

Florence TA
I-75, Exit 181
Florence, Ky.

Albuquerque TA
I-25 North, Exit 225
Albuquerque, N.M.