CoffeeHouse Conversion
Outreach Magazine Editors

Forget Starbucks! Does your church have a foyer or other large, easy-to-find area? Turn it into a coffeehouse a couple mornings a week. Nearly everyone, from students and stay-at-home moms to businessmen and retirees, loves a steaming cup of “joe” to jump-start the A.M. and a place to socialize. If your church is in a highly trafficked area or right off a main road, attract passersby with a sign. If your building is more of a destination location, make sure you advertise well. Once people learn about your coffeehouse, the soothing aroma wafting from the doors will do the rest! The cost is surprisingly reasonable, and you’ll recoup most of it in sales.

Advertise. Post signs. Deliver fliers to local businesses, grocery stores, hair salons and community centers with a few home-baked  offerings. You can also anchor small invitation cards in driver’s side windows of cars in business parking lots. The invitation cards could double as coupons for a free cup of coffee or baked good.

Staff it. Recruit friendly volunteers from your congregation who love chatting while they pour. Create a schedule and make sure volunteers know when they’re scheduled to work or bring baked goods.

Offer Variety. Provide several kinds of coffees and tea and some home-baked goodies from members. Buy coffee and creamers in bulk at a local food warehouse, but make sure the beverages are tasty enough to keep the coffee connoisseurs coming back for more.

Connect. Use cup sleeves imprinted with the name of your church and service times, and hand out connection cards with each drink.

Set up. Situate tables with a daily newspaper, magazine-type daily devotional guides, and plenty of fliers and posters for your church’s upcoming events.

The above article, “CoffeeHouse Conversion,” was retrieved from pg 9 of “Keep the Change, Outreach on a Shoestring,” which is featured in the Outreach magazine. The material was written by the Outreach magazine editors in 2006.

The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study and research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”