My professor for Theology & Culture, Dr. John Drane, posted something very interesting today about an out-of-the-box ministry opportunity.
“Two major UK coffee shop chains (Costa, a UK brand. and Gloria Jean’s, an Australian company) are in partnership with Christians to facilitate what are being called cafe churches. Every local manager now has instructions from head office about how to go about it, and there is an official training program to help church people understand how to do it without offending either staff or clients in the shops.
If you want to do it, you first of all have to register, then go on a training course, and the cafe church office will then liaise with your local store to introduce you. After that, it’s up to you. This way, the stores know that the people they are introduced to have been approved and trained, and won’t cause problems, while the agreed protocols keep everyone happy.
I was speaking with folks at a recent training event, and they all confirmed that there should be no cost to Christians for doing this. All the coffee shops ask is for a minimum spend on drinks etc., which varies with the size of the store, but which is generally low enough that if you have a reasonable crowd you’re not going to miss the target. Go to www.cafechurch.net for all the details.
The chain that owns Costa Coffee also owns lots of pubs and restaurants, so you might expect to see it rolled out there as well.”
What a great opportunity! Go get it!