Serving gas and serving God: North Minneapolis church purchases gas station

MINNEAPOLIS -- For almost 25 years, Bishop Larry Cook and his wife, Sharon, have been trying to make a positive impact on the North Minneapolis community from their church, Real Believers Faith Center.

"It's just been remarkable to be here and serve, to see lives changed. That's what we do," said Larry Cook.

But it hasn't been easy. The orange and yellow dots mark all the reports of shootings or shots fired in Minneapolis over the past year. The gas station next to their church is completely covered in colors.

"We just never would go over there. We wanted to but it was just too much going on over there. I didn't want to be solicited for drugs," said Sharon Cook.

It got to the point where the shootings started to impact the church, so Larry Cook confronted the drug dealers before a bible study.

"'If you want us to leave, you need to buy it. You don't own it,' It was just very, very contentious. So my husband just looked at them and said 'I will buy it,'" said Sharon Cook.

Since taking over, the Cooks say they've seen a difference and they plan on using the profits from the gas station to further invest in the community and its people.

"Those who we can touch, the impact that we can have -- that's exactly what we're going to do and we're going to do it to the max. We're going to win as many souls as we can until God take us out of here," said Larry Cook.

The Cooks say they are also interested in purchasing more "problem properties" -- including the nearby Winners Gas Station on West Broadway.

That store is under investigation by the Minnesota Attorney General's office for being a public nuisance.