Sharing their faith through gas

By Jeff Hage (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, August 27, 2007

God works in mysterious ways.

Take Sunday, for example.

After an hour and a half of giving Fergus Falls residents a 20 cents per gallon discount on gasoline at four area filling stations, members of Hilltop Celebration Church were caught a bit off guard when it came time to write the check for their good deed.

The final amount owed to the gas stations: $666 — a number that some say is the identifying mark of the devil.

“That’s pretty strange,” said Pastor Dan Mueller, who spearheaded the community event at the church.

Hilltop Celebration Church was empty Sunday morning as the congregation turned to the streets from 10:30 a.m. to noon Sunday. Congregation members dressed in bright green shirts, held signs, and encouraged people to turn into Holiday, Stop & Go, BJs and Take 5 where they could save 20 cents per gallon on gasoline.

“We wanted to find a way we could serve the community, said Mueller, who has been speaking to his congregation for about six weeks on the merits of serving people.

On Sunday he sent the congregation out on the streets to put the teachings into practice.

“Teachings never change a thing if you don’t put in into practice,” Mueller said.

Mueller hoped the community service project would give people a different view of the church.

“Sometimes churches get a bad rap because some people think all we do is ask for money,” Mueller said.

On Sunday, Hilltop Celebration dipped into its general fund and gave money back to the community.

“And this way we got most of our people out into the community and giving back,” he said.

Jerry Fischer, manager of Holiday on Lincoln Avenue was surprised at how effective the campaign was on a morning that traditionally struggles with attracting patrons.

“It was just awesome and a very, very unique thing they were doing,” Fischer said.

The event brought in a lot of business.

“They did it for an hour and a half and we had lines at the pumps with people waiting,” Fischer said.

The church printed 100 coupons for each of the four gas stations. At Holiday, the coupons ran out and church personnel were hand writing coupons on scraps of paper, Mueller said.

Out at the pumps church members pumped gas, washed windows, and invited people to church if the spirit moved them. At Holiday, employees also got involved in the mission, opening doors for customers and wishing them a nice day.

“We put a little extra help on to make sure things ran smoothly. The church was showing the folks the good side of people and we wanted to do what we could,” Fischer said.

The church appeared to make an impression on people.

Mabel Jacobson of Wahpeton, N.D. was passing through Fergus Falls before returning home and could not pass on the deal she saw before her.

“I already have a half tank of gas, but I’m going to fill ‘er up.” Jacobson said.

Charlie Koening of Fergus Falls appreciated the act of kindness.

“This is really nice. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Koening said.

That’s the reaction Pastor Dan and his congregation were looking for.

“We just want to demonstrate God’s love in a practical way,” Mueller said.