Churches across America, including one in North Carolina, are helping alleviate the fuel crisis by providing discounted or free gas.
Kingdom City Church in Charlotte, North Carolina has stepped up to serve their community amidst the heightened gas prices that are putting a dent into American families' savings and income. The North Carolina church is just one of many across the U.S. that are coming together to partner with gas stations to help those in need.
"At the end of the day, it's a blessing to be a blessing to God's people," Pastor Brian Carn said in a conversation with CBN News' The PrayerLink. Carn explained that the church has been providing gas outreach for years but it is especially relevant today amidst the recent price hikes brought about by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"I believe that the life of a Christian should be a life that is overflowing with compassion," Carn explained. "We were just faithfully doing it over the last couple of years and it actually came in handy this year in a powerful way."
More than 300 people were helped by the North Carolina Church, which provided free gas, grocery vouchers, and gift cards. The church held an outreach event in late March, during which people who were running out of gas had to "push their cars to the gas station." Carn described the outreach effort as "a tool to get people saved, pray for people, get people healed and delivered."
Kingdom City Church members pumped gas for drivers as they sat in their cars and received ministry and prayer. One driver said he "drove about 25 minutes" to the location to get a full tank of gas. He commented how "everyone was pleasant" and how much he appreciated the North Carolina church's outreach efforts.
Another driver declared that upon visiting, "you feel the Holy Spirit around us...you can feel His Spirit just move you." He added that speaking to the community and praying with them was an "earth-shaking" experience. Carn personally paid for the event in which $10,000 worth of fuel was provided free of charge. The North Carolina church pastor said he just wanted to give back to the community and sow a seed.
Carn remarked that most of the time, churches "do a lot of receiving, but not much pouring back into the people." This time, he wanted to "sow a seed into the lives of people" in the city of Charlotte so that God could use him "as a conduit to let them know that God cares about your tank as much as he cares about your pocket and your heart."
On Wednesday, U.S. oil executives are set to inform Congress on how they are to boost energy output and ensure that no one company will set the price of gasoline as per a pre-released testimony, Reuters reported. This is amidst charges by lawmakers accusing them of price gouging. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations are set to hold a meeting to question oil companies on why gasoline prices remain high despite the decrease in prices of crude oil and more.
