In Matthew 5:16 in the Bible we are instructed to “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” That calling is exactly what Phillip Couch is living out through his 1999 Freightliner, appropriately named, New Testament. Freshly baptized and still soaking in all the overwhelming goodness of God, I was walking through the Gulf Coast Truck Show in Biloxi, Mississippi, when this truck stopped me in my tracks. With a cowboy kneeling beside his horse at the foot of the cross and the words “New Testament” boldly displayed across the suicide doors, I was instantly drawn to it. It isn’t just a show truck – it’s a rolling testimony.
Phillip Couch has always had a passion for big trucks and the lifestyle that comes with them. He never set out to be a business owner, he simply knew he wanted to be a trucker. As soon as he earned his CDL, Phillip hit the open road. On April 21, 2001, he married his wife, Kerri. Together, they welcomed their son, Phillip Zachary, in February 2001, followed by their youngest, Joel Edrick, in September 2003.
Just months into their marriage, in September 2001, Phillip and Kerri took a leap of faith. What started as an idea quickly became reality as they launched Couch Trucking LLC, transforming it into a fully operating business in just 11 days. These days, Couch Trucking now operates a fleet of 23 trucks, including 15 of their own company units and eight owner operators. Based in Robbins, Tennessee, the company hauls a diverse range of freight, from oversized loads and flatbed shipments to scrap metal, throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia.
By 2010, Phillip found himself wrestling with the tension of being a young Christian while still carrying the weight of who he had been before God saved him. He questioned how he could truly be a light while reconciling his past with his faith. Well, that question was answered on Easter Sunday in 2010. As Phillip prepared his boys for church, his Bible fell open to John 8:12, the very verse now displayed on the back of his sleeper, which says, “Follow after me in light and never walk in darkness.” Phillip describes that moment as pivotal, and the instant when everything changed.
In September 2018, Phillip bought the truck seen here from an individual in Missouri, that would later be known as New Testament. Laughing as he tells the story, Phillip recalls, “It was in rough shape and needed a lot of work, but it ran and drove, so that was a plus.” The exhaust was rotted in two, oil leaks were plentiful, and the paint left much to be desired. Still, the truck went to work just six weeks later. Anyone familiar with truck building knows deadlines and the will to get them done. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Working alongside his sons and the team at Terry’s Hot Rods, Phillip completed the transformation in just 60 days, with 30 days dedicated to the exterior and 30 to the interior.
Originally, the plan was to paint the truck a pewter metallic gray, but once it arrived at the shop, Phillip felt compelled to paint it white, though he couldn’t explain why. That clarity came through a conversation with a church deacon who asked Phillip if he knew the story of Johnny Cash. When Cash was lost, he sang about the man in black. After he was saved, Johnny Cash spoke of the man in white. The truck had been black when Phillip purchased it, now it was white. “Now I get to talk about the man who saved my life,” said Phillip.
The truck’s name came during a moment at the table as Phillip sat there listening to others offer suggestions. With his head down it suddenly became clear there was no better name than New Testament. The very scripture that helped set Phillip back on the right path, John 8:12, became the foundation of the build and its message. His hope is simple: that when people see that verse they’ll take the time to look it up and maybe read the surrounding verses as well, because that Scripture is what saved him and led him exactly where he needed to be.
One of Phillip’s favorite details of the build is something most people never notice at first glance. In the cab, a Bible verse is placed on the floor, positioned so that on hard days, he can look over his shoulder and draw strength from it. Phillip believes darkness is constantly trying to tear the world down, and what people are facing today feels darker than ever. People need light, he says, and that is exactly what New Testament was built to provide.
The truck is a 1999 Freightliner Classic powered by a Detroit Series 60 engine, paired with an Eaton 13-speed transmission and Rockwell 3.42 gears. New Testament sits on a long 300-inch wheelbase and has Talladega Gangster double-hump rear fenders, a Talladega 18-inch drop visor, a Talladega 22-inch fiberglass bumper, Talladega frame and shock box covers, and Talladega light bars, positioned at the rear, between the fuel tanks, and on the front axles. The custom interior was done by Terry’s Hot Rods in Oneida, Tennessee, who also handled all the paint work.
Some of Phillip’s most meaningful moments behind the wheel have come from sharing the road with his family. In 2003, he was able to take his wife Kerri along in the truck for the first time. His sons have been riding the highways with him since they were young, and today both Zack and Joel work alongside him in the family business. Phillip’s brother is also part of the operation, making Couch Trucking a true family affair.
“There’s no way to show what God has done for me,” Phillip says. “I haven’t done a thing. Everything I’ve got belongs to God. The truck belongs to God – I just get the privilege of driving it. I’m just a sinner who falls short of grace, but He saw fit to save me. I almost served 30 years in the pen, but God changed that. I’m not ashamed of my story. I don’t have anything but the glory to give Him. I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody. This is my testimony.”
Phillip would like to extend special thanks to his wife for her unwavering support and for running the company, his sons, Zack and Joel, for their help with the build and daily operations, Terry’s Hot Rods, Talladega Fiberglass, and Jacob and Emily Bonham for all their encouragement, motivation, and push to keep moving forward. Everyone needs a good testimonial, and it is my hope (and Phillip’s) that “New Testament” sparks a desire in you to seek something better and more fulfilling. Amen!