6/26/2023 0 Comments Overflow coffeeSo there you have it: My output as a church planter in Chicago has been…a neighbor starting two burger joints. He said, “I’ll tell you exactly what I’m going to write: ‘-– Burgers’ would not exist if it were not for Brandon and Amanda.” ![]() I called him a while ago to ask him how things are going and also to ask for a recommendation from him. Since then, he’s opened up two other burger joints. One of my staff even went to work for him at his request. Since then, we’ve been to his shop and have done some consulting for him. He said, “I want to open up a burger joint on the north side. ![]() She doesn’t remember what exactly she said, but the next day he came into the shop and said, “After our conversation on the bus, I’m ready to tell you what I want to do.” One random day, my wife was on a bus and ran into him and started up a conversation. What is the thing that you want? What inspires you?” He would never tell us. We would ask him, “So, what do you want to do with your life? You seem to be inspired by us and intrigued by what we’re doing. “How can you be Christian but have tattoos?” Lots of conversations like that with him.Ī few months had passed, and we kept talking and building a relationship. He came to me one day and said, “I have some questions.” He began to ask some really leading questions - stuff like, “So, is this like a Christian recruitment camp? What is this?” I said no. There’s a next-door neighbor of ours, a really great guy, who comes into the shop quite often. I feel like what’s been happening has been like John the Baptist, paving the way, building relationships, and now we are ready to go into some depth with more spiritual direction. We also have a discipleship group that we lead right now. ![]() We have a Sunday service starting this fall. That brings up tons and tons of faith conversations. And I get to share that I care about it because Jesus did first and still does. What happens then is that our customers, who may or may not be Christians, come into the shop and ask us why we even care about fair trade, human trafficking and other justice issues. It’s not just any coffee shop, but a coffee shop that is “changing the world one cup at a time.” The way we do that is by buying fair trade (direct trade coffee and products), and focusing on social justice. We felt God call us to open a coffee shop, and through that a church would form. We are planting a church in the South Loop of Chicago, but we’re doing it relatively differently.
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