Sunday mornings in the café? They’re kind of intense—and I mean that in the absolute best way.
I love the chaos of the café. Is it a little wild sometimes? Sure. But that chaos represents something deeper to me. It means people are showing up. It means we’re doing something that matters. It means there’s life here.
I’m a numbers girl, and when I look back over the last few years, I see growth—not just in orders or tips or hours logged, but in the people. Growth is never just one thing. It’s like a tree. Some branches bloom, some fade, and some keep stretching out even when you don’t see the fruit yet. That’s what the café feels like to me—one piece of a much bigger, living, growing thing.
And this church is growing, not just in size, but in depth. It’s not just more students filling the Student Ministry Centers (though there are a lot). It’s not just more families getting involved (which is happening). It’s not just a thriving “Young at Heart” community (which we’re also seeing). And let’s be honest… there are babies everywhere. You can’t walk through the lobby without passing at least one tiny human.
But the café? It’s amazing. It’s a little corner of the church that holds a lot. It’s where people show up early, stay late, and connect over coffee and a snack. It’s where community is formed and conversations are sparked that might not happen anywhere else. And that matters.
When you think about it, it’s kind of wild: almost every month, what happens in the café helps support a different missionary or ministry. Sometimes it’s extra Bibles. Sometimes it’s a summer event. Sometimes it’s a Christmas program or a local need. And all of that can be traced back to something as simple as a taquito, a latte, or a few extra dollars in the tip jar.
It reminds me of what 1 Peter 4:10 says: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
And sometimes grace looks like a hot burrito and a friendly face at the register.
The café isn’t the most important thing happening on a Sunday, but it’s a part that allows important things to happen. When someone sits down with a warm drink, walls come down. Conversations happen. Barriers break. Whether it’s two women talking about their week, two men sharing what they’re learning, or a family simply catching their breath—having coffee in your hand makes it all feel more possible.
It reminds me of the painting The Road to Emmaus by Robert Zünd. It’s quiet, calm. Two men walking with Jesus, not even realizing it’s Him yet. They’re talking, questioning, listening. And He’s with them the whole time.
That’s what I see in the café—people walking together. Sitting beside each other. Sometimes asking hard questions. Sometimes just laughing over a muffin. But always, whether we realize it or not, Jesus is with us in the middle of it.
Luke 24:15 says: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them.”
That line undoes me. Because I think it happens here too.
I know the café is just one part of the church. But it’s a faithful part. A steady, servant-hearted, Kingdom-minded part. It gives people a reason to pause, to connect, to feel at home.
There’s a phrase we use a lot:
“We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant.”
And it’s true. We’re building on years of faithful presence. And now, in our own way, we’re planting too. We don’t always get to see the fruit. But we keep brewing the coffee. We keep prepping the taquitos. We keep showing up.
Because as 1 Corinthians 3:6 reminds us: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
And He still is.
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