Photo courtesy of the Black Wall Street Times
A pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina, gifted the community with free gas last weekend as gas prices continue to rise.
Brian Carn Jr. provided drivers with $10,000 worth of gas cards from his giveaway entitled “Gas on God,” Spectrum News 1 reported.
“Whenever people have to make a choice between gas and children going to school or eating, it’s a real tragedy,” he said.
Carn and the Kingdom City Church came up with the giveaway to relieve the community’s financial burden with high gas prices. The two-hour event ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a local Mobil gas station west of Charlotte.
While the $10,000 donation came directly from his pockets, Carn said he’s following in the purpose God created for him.
“At the end of the day, it’s a blessing to be a blessing to God’s people,” he said.
In addition to free gas, Kingdom City Church offered drivers prayer, shopping gift cards, and encouragement to those struggling during this difficult time.
“Jesus did not just minister to people spiritually, but he fed them naturally. Right now, the food is gas. So we’re doing everything we can to be a blessing to the community,” said Carn.
Volunteers were at the event to provide a positive environment for drivers as they waited for hours to fill up their tanks.
“All this stuff going on in the world so, we’re trying to make sure everybody got gas and everything, food, whatever. There’s a shortage of everything, so we’re trying to be a blessing to the people,” said Angela Ashley, one of the volunteers.
Carn explained that it’s essential for the church to give back to the community in times of need, especially for things that many people may take for granted.
“We got to get out here. People are hurting. People have situations. One man literally pushed his car up here, was out of gas. Another lady came and said I don’t need gas, but I need prayer,” said Carn.
Since gas prices have skyrocketed across the country, North and South Carolina natives have scrambled to develop solutions to save their gas. According to AAA, the average price for gasoline in North Carolina is $4.18 and $4.07 in South Carolina. The report confirmed that this is the first time the Carolinas have witnessed extreme gas prices since 2008. As a result, lawmakers have considered creating “gas tax holidays” to eliminate added tax with higher pump prices.