Fuel Church in Kokomo, Indiana, is recognized throughout the community for its vibrant box truck featuring the “Neighborhood Hope Dealer” logo. Beyond its striking appearance, this vehicle serves as a mobile hub for the congregation’s mission to provide essential support and addiction recovery resources to those in need.
“We use the truck for diverse outreach efforts,” explains Senior Pastor Jacob Burgei. “Whether we are stocking local pantries with food, participating in parades, or delivering free ice cream and holiday presents to homeless and women’s shelters, our goal is consistent service.” Through these initiatives, Fuel Church maintains vital addiction recovery ministries in church settings.
Delivering hope through tangible action allows Fuel Church to identify and address specific local crises. Recognizing that substance abuse is a significant challenge in the region, the leadership has prioritized a comprehensive church-based addiction recovery outreach program to foster long-term healing and community stability.
“About 50 to 60% of the people in our congregation are in recovery,” he says. “As a church, we’ve gone after lost people. We want to take people from dope to hope.”
Fuel Church does this through a partnership with Valley of Grace, a faith-based addiction recovery organization that helps people locate and fund in-patient rehabilitation.
“We financially invest in people and offer scholarships to get them the necessary help,” Burgei explains. “We get them plugged in at our church and connect them to a sponsor. We’ve helped hundreds of people find freedom from addiction.”
He describes Fuel Church as a welcoming and diverse community. “The atmosphere just hits home with people who weren’t raised in church. People feel loved and accepted as they are. We are a beautiful mosaic of God’s people. We draw people from all ages and backgrounds.”
Before the coronavirus, Burgei preached at both of the church’s campuses each Sunday, but the pandemic pushed Fuel Church into livestreaming, with positive results.
“We’ve been able to reach more people,” he says. “It’s been challenging, but God has brought good things from it.”
As the church has grown, Burgei has learned the importance of narrowing his focus. “I’m the type of person who wants to be involved in everything,” he says. “But I have learned to delegate and zero in on three things: casting vision for the church, building leaders and my personal walk with God.”
Burgei knows it is easy to get caught up in busyness, but he has learned that his prayer life has to be nonnegotiable. “Without it, I’m just a public speaker,” he says. “I’ve got to stay connected to the vine if I want to act as a shepherd to others.”
One of those people that Burgei has shepherded is Nathan White, who had struggled with addiction for 20 years. In March 2015, he was arrested and served 47 days in jail.
“I got saved while I was incarcerated, and I knew I’d need a support system to stay clean after my release,” he says. “I posted a photo of my sons and myself on social media, and Pastor Jacob ‘liked’ the photo. I saw on his profile that he was the pastor at Fuel. I decided to attend services there the next week.”
White could hardly believe the welcome he received. “I’ve never walked into a place like Fuel,” he says. “There was no judgement. They just loved me.”
The next day, White met with Burgei. “I spent three hours in his office, just talking to him,” White says. “He just poured into me.”
The people at Fuel helped White get plugged into the recovery community. “I had wanted to stop using drugs for years, but I didn’t know how,” he says. “They helped me. They walked with me and showed me how to live a life without drugs.”
White recently celebrated 27 months clean. “I don’t think I could have done it without the people at Fuel,” he says. “I latched onto the message of grace and hope they share. I’m a completely different person today.”
—Diane Stark
Read More Church Profiles Here »
FUEL CHURCH
Kokomo, Indiana
Senior Pastor: Jacob Burgei
Twitter: @PJacobBurgei
Website: TheFuelChurch.com
Founded: 2015
Affiliation: Nondenominational
Locations: 2
Attendance: 1,347
Growth: +290 (27%)
Fastest-Growing: 39
