In an effort to both give back and assist the Boerne area community, City Hills Church is using a “Serve Day” to help ease the burden in difficult financial times featuring record inflation.
For two hours on Saturday – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. – the church is sponsoring a free gas giveaway at the Exxon Service Station, 369 S. Esser Road, located at the intersection with Highway 46. The site is where Longhorn Café sits.
“We really want to love on our community,” City Hills Church Pastor Mitch Rose told The Star. “We know there are a ton of people struggling. Some people are having to choose between groceries and gas, and that’s a decision that’s unimaginable. We hope to bring a hint of hope in a tough season for many in our community.”
It was reported on Wednesday that U.S. inflation surged to a new four-decade high in June, fueled by rising prices for gas, food and rent. The government’s consumer price index soared 9.1 percent over the past year, the largest annual increase since 1981, with nearly half the increase due to higher energy costs.
The year-over-year increase in consumer prices last month followed an 8.6 percent annual jump in May. From May to June, prices rose 1.3 percent, the largest monthly increase since 2005.
Rose said the church set aside a portion of its missions budget to use for the giveaway. The gasoline will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with a limit to each vehicle that comes through.
“We want to make as much of an impact as we can and help as many people as we can,” Rose said. “It’s fairly straight forward. It will be for two hours or until we exhaust our funds. … There are no strings attached.”
The pastor said drivers also will be offered free water, a windshield wash and prayer.
“We want to serve people in the name of Jesus,” he said. “And we want to relieve a little bit of the pressure and offer a little bit of hope.”
Before falling in recent weeks, gasoline prices topped more than $5 per gallon on average in the United States and came close to $5 per gallon in the Boerne area. Currently, prices are closer to $4 per gallon.
City Hills Church has been in existence for about 5½ years, Rose said, and recently moved into a permanent facility at 176 Enterprise Parkway. Its vision is to “reach people with the life-giving message of Jesus.”
Rose said the church has a monthly “Serve Day” but once a year tries to expand it to a more community-based service project.
“This is the first time we’ve really done an event like this,” he said. “But, we’ve always wanted to do something like this.”
The church website states serve days provide churches like City Hills with opportunities to serve their local communities and share the love of God through practical acts of kindness. Its hope is that by serving others becomes the church’s focus throughout the year.
“Simple acts of selfless love can open hearts to Jesus, and together we can make a difference,” it reads.
Mark 10:45 then is quoted.
“For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
“We love our city. We’re happy to be able to give back,” Rose said. “We want to let people we know and understand that we’re going through a tough season.”
For more information on the church, visit cityhillstx.com.
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