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The 1970's Christian Coffee Shop




I remember as a new Christian being invited into a Christian Coffee shop in the town where I grew up. It was clean and tidy, the table tops were all brightly painted in different colours,  but mainly yellow and scattered on top were a random selection of Christian tracts. Fish symbols and Christian posters proclaiming that there was but 'One Way' to heaven were everywhere. The music playing out of the stereo was The Bill Gather Trio or Dolly Parton singing Gospel.

The crockery, was a mixed assortment of coffee mugs, donated by keen supporters of this outreach to the unsaved sinners and ungodly people living in the city. The coffee was a local brand heavily mixed with chicory.

In all the years the Coffee Shop operated, I never saw a non-Christian go in and I never heard of a person coming to faith through having coffee there. I never really understood its purpose.

Fast forward to today, when I was asked recently, to advise on helping a local community church open a coffee shop in their town centre. They told me it would be a place that served great coffee, a place of outreach and also a place of fellowship for local Christians. Ever get that feeling of de-ja-vu this was it, I was in 1976 again.

There are 10 coffee shops, 3 pubs and 5 restaurants scattered around, the not so large, town centre, four of the coffee shops being international franchises. If they want to reach the lost for Christ why don't they go have coffee in one of these establishments. Why not start an early evening bible study at their local Starbucks or a Wednesday morning ladies fellowship group in the Costa's coffee. As for great coffee, that has to be made by a great barista and does not come out of a jar.

Christian Churches wanting to go into commercial ventures need to think a bit deeper than just outreach, fellowship and instant coffee. I certainly know that this particular community church are thinking long and hard about their idea.

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