His House Christian Fellowship offers free rides on St. Patrick’s Day
Volunteers from His House Christian Fellowship provided free taxi rides to students from 9 p.m. Saturday until 3 a.m. Sunday during the revelry of St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
After gathering at the church, 211 W. Broomfield St., five vans left the lot and began taking calls from those looking for rides.
“We have so much fun doing this,” said Midland resident Chris Bejcek, driver of Noah’s Ark, one of the five vans, and video production intern at His House. “We have so much fun serving and this is an awesome opportunity to just go where everyone is at and serve them in a way that they need. We do not want people to have to pay for rides or have to drive home tonight.”
Despite the advertisement for free rides, some people were still shocked there was no catch.
"I actually heard about this from my friend,” said Grand Rapids freshman Jeff Thigpen. “It was actually really nice, because I was kind of freaking out about how I was going to get around. I still thought there would be a catch or something, but there is not. This is really nice of them.”
Once riders realized there was no cost, they began asking why the transportation was free.
“We do this as a way to serve the campus and the community. That is the biggest way. One of the things we have found is through free vans rides or free hot dogs, that that opens the door for us to just chat with students about life; about what is going on in their lives, especially on St. Patrick’s Day,” said Campus Minister Scott Crary. “Students are searching for something and we want to give them the only hope that we know and that is through Jesus Christ. That is the only hope.”
His House is known throughout campus for handing out free hot dogs, known as “Jesus Dogs.” The group handed out hot dogs Saturday at their Men’s House on campus, on the corner of Bellows and Main streets. More than 3,000 hot dogs were bought to grill and pass out to passersby.
“Our vision, our mission at His House is to help people draw near to God and this is one of the best ways that we know how to do that; to serve in the community and invite people into that relationship,” Crary said.
