‘Blessed’ traffic jam: Charlotte drivers got $10,000 in free gas gift cards
Rare is the day that drivers end up grateful and feeling blessed for getting caught in a traffic jam on a Charlotte highway — and thanking the man who caused the slowdown.
On Saturday morning, drivers in a bumper-to-bumper snarl were all smiles as they neared a Mobile gas station on Brookshire Boulevard, rolled their windows down and were handed a free gas card by Prophet Brian Carn, senior pastor of Kingdom City Church, which has campuses in Charlotte, Jacksonville, Florida, and Houston, Texas.
“We got all the traffic just backed up,” Carn said outside the gas station in a video posted by the church on Instagram. “$10,000 worth of gas.”
“More grace to you,” Carn told the drivers, as seen and heard on the video.
On Instagram Friday, the church invited the community to attend the Gas on God event to get free gas and drive-up prayer.
Carn and church members ended up blessing at least 300 people with free gas, prayer and encouragement, grocery vouchers and gift cards, the church posted on Instagram Sunday.
Drivers received $35 gas cards, with all $10,000 that paid for the cards coming from Carn’s pocket, the pastor told Spectrum News 1.
“I just want to give back to the community,” Carn told his 99,500 Instagram followers about Saturday morning’s two-hour event. Carn couldn’t immediately be reached by the Observer Tuesday.
“The pandemic isn’t over, because the pandemic isn’t sickness, it’s the spirit of fear,” Carn said as he turned from the lineup of cars and faced a camera in the Instagram video.
“Now people are fearful of whether they’re going to have gas or not have gas,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to make that choice. So here we are at KCC, making a difference, changing lives one at a time. I love you. Y’all pray for me.”
Carn drew praise on social media for the free gas cards giveaway.
“Hallelujah to GOD!” wrote a woman from London, England. “Keep Shining Prophet GOD Got You!”
A woman from Montgomery, Alabama, posted on Facebook how she considers Carn her hero.
“You make my heart glad, everytime I think and reflect on how loving, generous, and compassionate you are,” the woman wrote.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 3:01 PM.