Not everything called "Ministry" is Ministry... but a Coffee Ministry CAN Be!!! (I think)

[Cow Poke]

I'm a coffee nut.
I don't have any other vices, and I have joked that "Computer guys smoke a lot and drink lots of coffee, and since I don't smoke, I have to drink twice as much coffee". (OK, so maybe "computers" is another vice)
I even have a fancy Cuisinart combination coffee bean grinder coffee maker... into which you put your favorite coffee beans the night before, and at 5:45 AM it faithfully kicks on with a WHIIRRRRRING sound that fills the air with fresh ground coffee bean smell, and shortly thereafter, fresh brewed coffee.
I could go on and on, but ... back to Ministry.

I have always believed that the local Church should be involved in the community. I like "my" Church to be visible and recognized. We participate in city clean-ups, disaster relief, community events, etc. We frequently pass out free bottles of cold water (Mark 9:41) at community fairs and events.

I believe to some degree that you "bloom where you're planted". Our church was "planted" on a main highway (Texas 36) that stays pretty busy, particularly during "holiday travel". I remembered back when I was a kid that there used to be "coffee stops" along the highway operated by civic groups or CB Radio clubs during Holiday travel. Why couldn't our church do this?

I presented the idea one night in Church Council, and it was received well. We would buy one of those 10x20 awnings from Sams, we already had a really nice Bunn Coffee brewer, and the costs would be minimal. We agreed we'd try Memorial Day Holiday traffic, "coming and going". We made up some signs to place at 2 miles and 1 mile in each direction saying "Free Coffee - 1 Mile", etc.

We set up at about 6 PM, and guess what. People stopped! One of our guys, a trucker, decided to get his CB radio out and invite truckers. That worked! It was kinda funny though, because sometimes the CB radio was on, none of us talking, and we'd here a trucker say "ya got free coffee ahead - I wonder what they're selling" and somebody would anser "Ah, they probably got some gimmick going..." And one of our guys (mostly the men in our Church operated "the Coffee Tent") would get on the radio and say "no tricks, guys, just free coffee to keep you awake and safe".

We did have some Gospel Tracts available, and free Bibles, and other stuff, but we were careful not to push them.. we did, in fact, say "FREE COFFEE" and implied no strings attached. So, no strings. If somebody asked for a Bible, or looked interested, we'd politely engage if it seemed they were open to it.

But God always has His own ideas about how things work. One night, about 2 AM, we were sitting around a burn barrel (it was cold out) and a Ford Explorer pulled up. A woman got out of the passenger side and asked if she could have 2 cups of coffee. While somebody was pouring coffee, somebody else volunteered "your driver can get out and stretch a bit if you'd like, and we have restrooms...". The lady thanked us, but said that her husband was in the car and was pretty shaken up. He had received word that his father was in Temple Hospital up near Waco, and was not expected to live more than a day or so.

One of our men asked her, "Do you think he would mind if we prayed with him?" She said, "I don't know, let me ask", and she carried the coffee to the car. Next thing we knew, she was waving us to come over to the car. He opened his door, and we gathered around, and David put his hand on the guy's shoulder and prayed for him and his dad. Very touching moment. He thanked us, and they drove off into the night.

About 6 months later, I was headed to the platform ready for morning service to start, and was taking my place in my "short pew" at the front. One of my deacons knelt beside me (Church was just beginning) and told me there was a lady in the foyer who wanted to talke to me. (You just never know what these things can turn out to be, so I gave him "that look", and he said, "no, this sounds legit.) I walked to the foyer to see this nicely dressed lady, and she told me... "We met one night at your coffee tent, and your men prayed for my husband... " I interrupted her... "yes, I remember very well... did he make it time to see his dad?"

She sniffled a little, and said, "oh yes, and my husband told his dad that he stopped at a coffee tent and some total strangers prayed for him, and his dad smiled and said, I'm telling you, son, God is not giving up on you." The dad lived a couple more days, then passed on, apparently a long time servant of the Lord. The son, for whom we had prayed, had slipped away from the Lord, but God was dealing with his heart. The lady told me they would stop by some time when they had some time, but her husband was out in the car and didn't want to come in yet. I thanked her for stopping by, and then she handed me an envelope. She said, "my husband wants you to have this". She hurried out the door, and i "returned to our regularly scheduled service".

I got back into the service just in time to do my "welcome visitors" thing. Spontaneously, I told the congregation of my encounter with the lady, and mentoned that she handed me an envelope. I openend envelope and pulled out 10 100 dollar bills - $1,000 - and a note - "your coffee tent is a ministry - I want to help".

I could take many more paragraphs telling you of the minsitry opportunites we had, and the things God did out in front of the church near the edge of the highway in "Coffee Tent". One young man stopped by and just seemed to sit and drink coffee and sit and talk.... which was perfectly ok, because we were staying til at least 3 AM... and he finally said "I've run away from home, but I'm having second thoughts". I asked him if he had ever received Christ as his savior, and he looked down at the grass and said, "no sir, but I know i need to". We talked with him for a while, and prayed together, and he prayed to receive Christ. When he got up, he smiled and said, "Thanks everybody, I think i'll go home".

We did that for several years, every major holiday, "coming and going" traffic. Eventually, our guys lost interest, and it became difficult to staff. But some wonderful wonderful times were had.

One night, I was coming back from visiting somebody in the hospital, and i was going to drive by the Church. I stopped near the place we would set up the Coffee Tent, and just stood there in the middle of the night, thinking about all the things God had done, and all the people to whom we ministered. And the thought that came to my head was "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". And I did.

[LostSheep]

Praise God for the work your coffee ministry has done CP!

[ApologiaPhoenix]

Wow

[Manwë Súlimo]

CP, can you have a boring story at least once? I don't think it's possible.

[Cow Poke]

CP, can you have a boring story at least once? I don't think it's possible.

At least i kept lots of tears out of this one! There WERE tears, but i thought... gee, don't i have any stories where nobody cried?

Thanks BE

[FreezBee]

I'm a coffee nut.

Isn't it coffee bean?

[Cow Poke]

Isn't it coffee bean?

it is