Coffee in church settings has changed greatly over the past decade. Over extracted coffee made in percolators is becoming a thing of the past. Today more and more churches invest in fresh roasted and fresh ground coffee of all types, from espresso bars serving up espresso based drinks to state of the art drip brewed coffee. People are slowing down and meeting over coffee. Churches are being started by opening coffee-houses in a targeted community, providing a fresh way of meeting people and an informal atmosphere for worship services. Others see a business opportunity to open a coffee bar in a large church enabling them to sell more drinks in a shorter period of time, as a part time business.
The advantages include:
- People slowing down to meet each other
- It is a statement about the make up of the church
- It creates an environment for the arts (music, poetry, art shows)
- It can create revenue
- For church planting it creates a place to engage a community
- For church plants it provides a worship space
- For church planting it creates revenue
The challenges include:
- Start up cost
- Much training for unskilled volunteers
- Spills