SNELLVILLE, Ga. -- Praise the Lord and pass the petrol.
The First Baptist Church in Snellville, Ga., is fuelling its membership drive with a sign in front of its sprawling campus proclaiming "Free gasoline."
There's a catch, of course -- the offer is a not a giveaway.
Instead, each time newcomers or members attend a church event during a Sunday-to-Wednesday revival they get a pink raffle ticket for a chance to win one of two $500 gas cards.
The church has a congregation of about 9,000, but church officials say only about 2,500 regularly attend services.
"We don't know how far it will go with these soaring (gasoline) prices," said Rusty Newman, the church's senior pastor.
The church, like others, has long relied on special dinners and giveaways to draw in members, but elders wanted something a little more timely.
They set up a sign advertising the offer outside the church's parking lot on a busy road near downtown Snellville, a suburb northeast of Atlanta.
Soon the calls came flooding in. Church staffers have handled dozens of them each day, some from as far as Seattle.
"Some pastors have questioned our motives," Newman said. "If it was just to get people in the building, it would be wrong. But we want to meet someone's physical need and eternal spiritual needs."
-- The Associated Press
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