Well & Good

I wanted to give you some updated information and say a few things about the coffee shop.

First, we are opening this Monday, March 17th.
Second, the website is: www.wellandgoodcoffee.com - make sure to check out the menu!
Third, our Facebook page is rolling: www.facebook.com/wellandgoodcoffee

We are very excited about the opening.  We have had a few groups in to do "dry runs" of different things and those have gone great.  For instance, our community leaders came in a couple weeks ago, got free coffee and got to hang out.  That was a lot of fun.

Anyway, I also wanted to restate our purpose of the coffee shop and then share some ways you might be able to utilize Well & Good, personally.  We basically want to do 2 things, but before I get to that let me just share a little of my conviction from John 17.

In this chapter Jesus prays for his followers to remain "in" the world and he states that he is sending us into the world just as he was sent into the world (17:18).  The concept of this is that we live in relationship with non-believing people in a city.  And, if we really want to get down to it, like Jesus did, we would be intentional in ministering to the poor.

So, this leads us to basically wanting to do the following 2 things through this ministry "in" our city:

1. Bless our community.  100% of our proceeds will go back into our city.  We of course will pay employees and we have costs for cups, coffee, etc. but with having a $1yr. lease and having no debt for equipment and the buildout, we should be able to give back quite a bit away.  Our desire is to give to things like: school district needs, compassion clinics, church planting and any other ministry effort "in" our city we feel God would have us be a part of.  It's in this way we really believe we can be a blessing to our city.
2. Invest in relationship.  When we think of space "in" a city, there are a few common ground avenues we can get to know people, but when it comes to relational atmospheres in a city, we basically have restaurants and coffee shops. Being as relationally focused as we are, this makes sense for us.  One of the things we say on our website is we are "creating an atmosphere where the generosity of relationship dominates."  When I think about it, I think of this as an additional space for us to utilize as we seek relationship with people in the city.  Well & Good sits among a ton of business parks and we have been praying that our employees can build meaningful relationships with those working in these places.  Additionally, this can be a great place for us to invite people to hang out who are not ready to come to church or to a community gathering.  That to say, our hope is that we can use "the new coffee shop that opened" as a means of connection with people.  We can always share the vision of giving back "into" the community, they will love the coffee/food...and it's also likely that you could introduce them to someone else you know from Colossae.

Anyway, we are excited about this ministry in our city.  If you would like to join in this ministry effort here are a few things to consider:

1. Volunteer.  If you want to serve in some capacity, just pop into the coffee shop and talk with one of the managers!
2. Invite a friend to join you.  Bring your family or schedule an appointment...but regardless, bring someone you want to get to know better.
3. Like and share our Facebook page.  People often check out Facebook pages before they go to a new place.  The more likes something has the more credibility it tends to have.
4. Pray.  Pray that God uses this in amazing ways, both relationally and through our financial investment - which always go hand and hand for us.

I love living and serving alongside you.
Chuck