Rev. Mick Whistler, the lead pastor of the church in Celina, challenged church members to set aside $1 each week of Advent, with each family bringing five $1 bills to the Christmas Eve service.
At the end of the service, Whistler took off his minister’s robes and revealed he was wearing a red server’s apron. He announced the church raised more than $3,500 and that they were going to take it to the Waffle House in Wapakoneta, where servers were unable to be home with their families.
Despite the snow and poor road conditions, church member Barb Vorhees said between 60 and 70 church members joined the caravan to the restaurant.
The five workers were amazed by the large envelope stuffed with $1 bills.
“They were all very touched by it,” Vorhees said. “The cool thing about it was none of us knew about it. It was a surprise to us, too.”
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