WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Driving is practically a religion for many Americans. Now the connection between the pump and the pulpit is getting stronger. While not a new idea, gasoline giveaways or discounts sponsored by churches or charity groups have been popping up recently with greater frequency.
About 200 drivers filled up their tanks for free last weekend at the Wal-Mart gas station in the Monkey Junction area of Wilmington, N.C., reported WECT-TV. The free gasoline was sponsored by the Lifepoint Churcha new congregation trying to spread its message by [image-nocss] giving a free gift to drivers.
The church allocated $3,000 for the free fuel, according to the report. Volunteers had planned to give out the gasoline for several hours, but it ran out in just an hour. More than 50 members of the church helped at the station, pumping gasoline while it lasted for anyone who pulled up.
Motorists in the Fredericksburg, Va., area last Sunday got a break on the price of gasoline at a station where Lighthouse Church, a nondenominational Christian church based in Spotsylvania, Va., took 25 cents off each gallon, reported the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. At 11:00 a.m., the advertised price of a gallon of regular gasoline at the 7-Eleven store dropped from $2.43 to $2.18.
"I think churches are beginning to see that it's not just enough to offer programs, but there's a real need, and I think a call from the life of Jesus, to go out and love people," Daniel Floyd, Lighthouse's lead pastor, told the newspaper.
At each pump, two Lighthouse volunteers stood clad in red shirts and jeans, ready with an offer to pump fuel, wash windshields and direct motorists to the free doughnuts available inside the store.
Before the $2.18 price had been up for an hour, more than a dozen cars snaked out of the 7-Eleven parking lot, the report said, lining up for what they saw advertised on the signs held by young Lighthouse congregants flagging down drivers on the bypass. "Cheap Gas," their neon yellow posters read.
In Highwoods Preserve, Fla., Cypress Point Community Church just added a new offering for its first-time guests: free gasoline.
"We figured that's an area where there's a lot of pain there," said Dean Reule, lead pastor of the church, told The St. Petersburg Times. "This is our church's special way of helping and reaching out to the community."
Beginning September 10, any newcomer who attends either of the church's two Sunday services will receive a one-time $5 gasoline card, good at any Marathon station. The church advertised the giveaway in local newspapers and plans to give new visitors the cards through October 1, said the report. Worshippers must print out a coupon (pictured) on the church's website, to be redeemed for the gasoline card at the church service.
Gas prices at a Cranberry, Pa., station were reduced by 25 cents a gallon last Saturday thanks to a community outreach program by a local church, said The Oil City Derrick. Venango Woods Church provided money for an hour at the Brewz Kwik Fill to facilitate the "buydown" as a charitable act for the community.
During the hour, pastor Dan Sardinas and several volunteers from the congregation provided full-service functions such as window washing and pumping gasoline, the report said.
"We are always looking for these types of things to reach people. It's one of the things that drive us as a church. We are here to serve the community and reach out like Jesus did," Sardinas told the paper.
There was no limit per car, but the church set a $600 limit. Management at the Kwik Fill will be kicking in another $100 as a cushion for overages.
Acknowledging the limited funds of his church, Sardinas said he hopes other community-minded organizations may be motivated to provide additional help by organizing similar events.
And earlier this month, God Chasers International Church, near Richmond, Va., began distributing free gasoline cards weekly to members and visitors on a first-come, first-served basis, said Style Weekly. The cards range in value from $5 to $10.
Pastor Douglas Ross said he got the idea for a gasoline card ministry because the church was looking for an outreach project and the high cost of fuel kept coming up. Plus, it sounded different. We didn't want to mimic what others in the outreach field were doing, he told the paper.
God Chasers will pass out the gasoline cards while supplies last, said Ross.
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