WINTERVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A church in the east gave away gas to hundreds of cars and spread positivity early Saturday morning.

Cars lined up for miles and miles and around the block at the Winterville Walmart gas station.

The Koinonia church organized a gas giveaway, with the first 300 cars getting $30 worth of gas each.

Rosa Cooper was one of the first 300 and said this was a special way to start her day,

“Blessed to get a chance to talk to people, and you just feel loved. you feel the love of God and I am excited too. this to me is a blessing,” Cooper shared.

In times when the cost of living is rising, Cooper says this simple gesture of kindness makes a big difference.

“30 dollars, to me, I look at it as a blessing. to me. It’s like a hundred dollars and it’s a blessing from the Lord,” Cooper added.

It is the impact on community members like Cooper that fuels the Koinonia church members’ hearts and mission of outreach.

“Oftentimes, those among us are suffering and what we want to do is just help lift that burden to remind them that god has not forgotten and we have not forgotten,” Trev Evans, the Koinonia staff pastor explained.

Evans says an event like this takes a whole year of planning and the help of donations from the partners and members of the Koinonia church. the response was overwhelming with already 200 cars lined up an hour before it opened at 8 a.m. Evans says it is all worth it.

“It doesn’t change the world, but it changes some people’s world,” Evans said.

According to Evans, the gas giveaway is an annual event that is planned every October. He says that they will continue to work for community outreach through food giveaways and food banks on second Tuesdays and fourth Wednesdays at the church.