There seems to be a growing trend among missional churches of creating church in a fully-operating coffeehouse. The coffeehouses are open during the week, furnish free-trade joe, and the proceeds go to fund community outreach.Most notably, Chris Seay is doing this with Ecclesia in the Gay and Arts district in Houston. Mark Batterson has also been successful with the largest coffeehouse in DC: Ebenezer's. And a CATALYST group leader is making plans to do this in Guatemala with ESH.
With so many church buildings sitting empty during the week, could this be a more effective model for engaging culture, building community and generating revenue for outreach?
What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? Should we have more churches in commercial areas? Tell us your thoughts . . . (or read what Chris Freeland says in a semi-related topic)
i have a friend in Germany who is planting a church and has always been against owning a ‘traditional’ church building…so now they are looking at opening a coffehouse and meeting out of that. i think it’s a great idea and another tangible way to interact with the community…viva la espresso!
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Comment by bobby - Dec 04, 2007 @ 03:13 PM
We are also in the process of opening two fully functional coffeehouses. I took our youth ministry to costa rica this summer on a missions trip and while we were there we met a bean farmer who supplies some of Starbucks most expensive beans. We are giving him a better price, and we are getting great free-trade coffee. Our Youth Ministry is opening up both coffeehouses in our area, the Quad Cities, thats on the Iowa and Illinois border. We were inspired by Mark Batterson’s book, “In a pit, with a lion on a snowy day.”
Pastor Justin Dean
Comment by Pastor Justin Dean - Dec 04, 2007 @ 04:22 PM
I think this is a great idea! Perfect way to interact with the culture (since practically everyone loves coffee and coffee houses), and a great way to save money for outreach.
I’m assuming you all meant to say “FAIR-trade”, not free trade. I also met some bean growers in Costa Rica who are part of Pura Vida Coffee company (a fair trade group) along with some not so fortunate growers who supply for the likes of Starbucks. I love my fair trade coffee - makes me warm inside and creates more “fair” relations with people in “third world” countries.
Comment by Kendra Joy - Dec 04, 2007 @ 07:10 PM