Creative Ministry—From the Pulpit to the Gas Station
The Rev. Ron LeMaster of Ceredo (W.Va.) United Methodist Church noticed that “people aren’t coming to church as they used to” and so decided to persuade C-K Mart gas station to sell 2,000 gallons at a discounted price.
When the regular dropped to $1.64, which was $.25 cents less than the usual price, cars started lining up, UMNS reports. The difference was paid by donations to the church.
LeMaster said, "There are a million things out there competing for people’s time, from the television, entertainment, all these things out there in the modern world. We need to do something different to get their attention.” “Everybody uses gas,” he adds.
At a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, the people of W. VA really appreciated the Christian heart.
Full service was also provided by the members of Ceredo United Methodist Church as they half pumped gas and half passed out cards with service times written on them.
The members are confident that this creative ministry would get more people to come to their church. "We’ve had several ladies that have already told me they were looking for a church," said one member.
“If we just get one new face in the church, it’s worth everything we’ve done," said another church member.
