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The youth members of Grace Church consider their mission work FUEL — “faith used in everyday life” — and on Saturday, it even overcame a bad economy.

By the end of the night, the young people, under the direction of youth leader Christina McCord, had raised more than $10,000 — and possibly saved a life.

“That’s right, in this horrible economy, they raised $10,500,” Morris Brown, the United Methodist church’s pastor, said of a fundraising dinner for research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare and fatal disease. “It was an incredible display of God’s ability to use the youth of our community to make a positive impact on the world.”

Those research dollars will attempt to improve the future of 3-year-old Matthew Greiner, the son of church members Bobby and Allison Greiner, and other children with the disease. Over time, a child with the disease will lose use of skeletal muscles. By age 10, he will be confined to a wheelchair. Most patients do not live to the age of 30.

FUEL members organized the fundraising dinner and silent auction. Items donated by area businesses included a week at a beach house, use of a weekend nanny and private meditation, qigong or tai chi sessions.

“It was such a big production, and we just felt very loved,” said Allison Greiner of the FUEL dinner.

McCord is still collecting money for the cause.

“It really just warmed my heart how people came together and responded to our young people,” McCord said. “One company said they needed more time to participate, so some of the workers put their money together and made a basket of things we could auction off.”

The youth project ended up being the single highest fundraiser associated with the Greiners.

“I’m hoping that $10,000 could be the difference in finding the cure, and in helping many kids,” said Logan Hiers, 15.

“I know it’s going for good research. I want it to be for the one solution that does work.”

At the end of the night, Carrabba’s on New Garden Road, which supplied the food for 180 people, donated its $1,200 tab.

“You could look in the room and you could see everybody having fun and just sense the generosity,” said attendee Erin Butler, 14.

Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com