The Anatomy of a Gas Buy-Down

Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia

Imagine for a moment you're driving to the grocery store on a Saturday morning and suddenly you see something you can't believe. No . . . it's not Krispy Kreme offering three-cent donuts (Yummmmmm!) or Starbucks introducing GMAC financing for a venti cappuccino. 

On the contrary, it's something much better. Believe it or not, the local gas station is cutting their gas prices for a two-hour period and you just happen to be there to take advantage.

This type of thing is happening all over our nation on a regular basis, but not because the oil companies feel sorry for us and decide to drop prices. These opportunities are occurring because local churches are using Gas-Buy-Downs as an effective outreach tool.
So . . . what exactly is a Gas-Buy-Down and how does it work? In short, it's an intentional servanthood evangelism outreach done in conjunction with a local gas station to provide community saturation and build a climate and visibility for evangelism. 

How to do it:
The concept is simple. Approach a local gas station owner and offer to provide volunteers to pump gas and clean windshields, as well as enough finances to buy-down every gallon of gas sold during a designated period of time.

Set a limit. Our church sets a 20-gallon limit per vehicle and buys-down each gallon of gas at a 25-cent discount. For instance, if the average price is $2.00 per gallon, then it will be listed on the sign as $1.75 during the pre-designated time period. The sign is adjusted for each grade of gas.

How much does it cost? On average, according to the flow of traffic, the time period of the event (usually done in one or two hour increments), and the number of pumps a station possesses, it will cost the congregation between $400 and $700. 
If you have a funding limit, simply adjust the time frame or cut it off when your dollar amount is exhausted. Most likely, the station owner won't adjust the price at the pump, but he'll know how to apply the discount and give you a running total from inside the station. By the way, we suggest you purchase a one-day additional insurance policy-a minimal cost-to cover any incidents.

Enlist volunteers. You'll need enough volunteers to direct traffic, pump gas, clean windshields, check the air in tires and advertise the event.

Get the word out. We saturate the community the morning of the event to raise awareness. We also have people standing on the street with signs advertising the buy-down.

Make a connection. Thomas Road gives every customer a small connection card with a note on the front that says, "We just want to brighten your day to show Christ's love in a practical way." On the back of the card put a map to your church along with your Web address. Be sure to provide your church's contact information and service times.

The responses are amazing as people are served by volunteers pumping their gas, washing their windshields and, most important, providing a personal touch and a smile!