Well, this is a curious promotion. A church in Alsip, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, is offering churchgoers a cash prize depending on where they choose to sit each Sunday.

The Chicago Tribune had the story this morning:

At each of the three Sunday services [at Lighthouse Church of All Nations], the Rev. Dan Willis pulls a number of one seat from a bag and the worshiper in that seat wins a cash prize. Two of the churchgoers win $250 and the third gets $500. The church gives away $1,000 each Sunday, Willis said.

…

Willis concedes the cash prize is a gimmick to fill the pews. But he's unapologetic about the plan, because it's working. On a typical Sunday, his church draws about 1,600 people to its three Sunday services. But since the money giveaway started, about five weeks ago, the congregation has grown to about 2,500 each week, he said. The money for the giveaway comes from the church offering. Lighthouse is a non-denominational church.

"If I can get someone in here and teach them and give them money, that's what I'm going to do," he said.

Does this remind anyone else of …