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MANTECA -- A Manteca pastor is starting the new year missing his most precious possession.

On Tuesday, Brian Hunt didn't mind getting his hands dirty searching for a book that he considers gold.

“I think there’s always a little part of you that’s angry when you lose something," Hunt told FOX40.

His Bible was stolen out of his truck Monday afternoon while he was shopping at Target in Manteca.

"What they took was my work backpack and inside was a laptop and my (AirPods) and things like that. But the most important thing was my Bible that I’ve had for about 15 years or so now," Hunt said.

It's the same Bible he uses every Sunday as a pastor at Crossroads Grace Community Church.

"My daughter was in the NICU when she first was born. I read that Bible over her when she was in the NICU," Hunt said. "I took that Bible into nursing homes and prayed with people on their last breaths with that. Was able to do counseling with that. And I know it’s a book, I can buy another one, but all those memories that are within there makes it what it is special."

He began searching through dumpsters in hopes the thief may have taken the things they could sell for a profit and ditched the Bible.

"If you think about what Jesus did for us, I think the least I could do is go in a dumpster for him," Hunt said.

Hunt thinks someone used a tool to pop the lock out of his truck in order to get inside. Police are investigating.

He prays he has his Bible back before his next sermon. After all, he’s never led a service without it.

"I think the coolest thing would be is that if that person, whoever has it, would realize that there's a Bible in there and then open it," Hunt said. "They might read it and then maybe their life would be changed as a part of it. But the perfect, perfect world is they would open it, read it, have their life changed and then give it back."