In celebration of its 10th anniversary, a megachurch in Ohio has decided to give back to the community by fueling up more than 100 motorists with free gas.
The Victory Christian Center in Liberty paid for 10 gallons worth of gas per car at a local station last Saturday, May 12. Instead of just a hundred motorists, however, 112 people, regardless of their religion, actually benefitted from the free offer.
The church covered a total of $3,200 in gas expenses under its Operation Impact initiative. Pastor Lock P. Beachum explained why his church chose to distribute free gas.
"Our church is in a distressed area," he said. "So [for] a number of folk just being in the situation of life that they are in, that [meant a lot]. It equated to 30 dollars."
At least 30 members of the church who wore "I love my church" shirts volunteered to pump the gas. They also handed out free snacks and drinks to the passengers and drivers.
Conja Pearce was on her way to visit her grandmother when she pulled over at the gas station. She was grateful not to pay a single cent for the gas and later decided to visit Victory Christian Center to express her gratitude.
Abdel Yusef took out his mom that weekend to celebrate Mother's Day and since the church paid for his gas, he had the extra cash to give his mom whatever she wanted.
Beachum said that many people who benefitted from the free gas quickly returned the favor by giving a donation to the ministry.
"We took that money that they gave us to the ministry and we put it towards more gas," the pastor explained. "So we ended up servicing 112 cars rather than 100 cars that was planned."
