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"Fill ’er Up" Sunday at Triad Baptist Church of Greensboro could refer to your faith and your gas tank.

And this visit to the pump won’t cost you a dime.

The person who shows up to the church May 18 with the most visitors in tow for the 10 a.m. sermon will get a free fill-up after the service. The church is at 4515 Summit Ave.

The winner doesn’t have to be a member — just the person claiming the most people in the pews. Another $50 gas card is up for grabs during a random drawing.

"It just hit us that with gas prices the way they are," said the Rev. James Tester, the church’s pastor, "that everyone can appreciate a tank of gas."

It might not be manna from heaven, but with fill-ups nearing $100 for some vehicles, it could be an answer to somebody’s prayers.

If you’ve got a bus — literally — you could get that filled, too.

"It’s something we joke about, but it’s a serious matter," Tester said of rising gas prices. "It’s especially hitting working-class people hard. They’re redoing their budget. They’re not eating out. They’re not driving as much. They’re even making choices at the grocery store."

Of course, you get the gas, and Tester gets the opportunity to introduce you to a church that started four years ago with a handful of people in a living room.

The church has grown to nearly 350 members and has found a home — the congregation once met in an old bar — in an older church renovated by the hands of its members.

The church is an independent, fundamental Baptist church.

"Basically it means we believe the Bible literally," Tester said.

The multicultural congregation includes 10 nationalities, with members from Thailand and Africa, and "a friendly, family-oriented atmosphere," Tester said.

"A lot of folks don’t know we’re out there, so we’re doing things like this to get them to visit us," Tester said. "We don’t have a numerical goal. Hopefully we’ll hit about 100 extra people that Sunday.

"But every 'body’ really will count."

For information, call Tester at 601-0513.

Understanding Revelation

In his first book, the Rev. Harold Cox of Eden tackles what some consider the most mystifying book of the Bible: Revelation.

Revelation 17:6, for example, reads, "And I saw a woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."

Cox, who will signs copies of "Revelation for the Layman" ($27.99, Tate Publishing) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Friendly Center Barnes and Noble, goes on to detail how this verse speaks of the Antichrist and "how the world will worship him in confusion."

Cox, who throughout the book tackles the words as well as the use of particular symbols, is the pastor of First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Eden.

He has at least one clergyman’s stamp of approval.

"Many people know about the great tribulation that is to come upon all the earth, but many have never heard about the love and the mercy of the Lord during this time," the Rev. Bill O’Neal, pastor of the Calvary Family Worship Center in Lexington, wrote for the book’s back cover.

"Harold Cox reveals how wonderful the love from the Lord is for lost souls searching for answers."

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

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