As Christians, one of our life goals should be to be constantly spreading the good news of the Gospel. How does that relate to coffee? Well, most people find coffee shops to be a great meeting place, a "common ground", as it were, and thus provide a perfect location to strike up conversations with strangers. Dave Marriot lives in Delafield, WI, and is the pastor of Lakewood Baptist Church, a relatively new church plant. Pastor Dave graciously agreed to guest post for my blog and has answered a few questions I had regarding coffee shop evangelism. Pastor Dave regularly participates in this method of evangelism and has learned the ins and outs of coffee shop evangelism. Take a few minutes and read his answers to my questions below. Define "Coffee Shop Evangelism", what does it mean?
As you observe the pattern of Paul and his associates in the book of Acts, you see him reasoning with lost Jews in the synagogue, while engaging lost Gentiles in the "marketplace" (i.e. the agora, the seat of commerce and trade in a Greco-Roman city, cf. Acts 17:17). In trying to emulate Paul's example, in my community, I have identified the coffee shops as my "marketplace" and seek to have a regular presence in many of them for the purposes of developing friendships that culminate in gospel communication as well as simply positioning myself where God will orchestrate a "divine appointment."
How do you go about practicing it?
In my morning prayer time, I try to include Paul's prayer request from Colossians 4:3-4. So I usually pray something like this, "Lord, today would you go ahead of me with great power and compassion for the lost, and give me an unusual opportunity to speak the gospel today. And Lord when you grant me that opportunity, would you then fill my fearful heart with boldness and help me to speak the gospel faithfully? Use me today for your kingdom and your glory." I then choose a coffee shop to set up for my day of sermon study or church administration. While I am there, I am mindful of the people around me and often try to engage them in conversation, always looking for a natural opportunity to turn the conversation to the gospel. I will ask questions like, "What do you do for a living?" or "Do you come here a lot?" or "What are you reading?" (my favorite question to ask). These questions often lead to much longer conversations and quite often right into the gospel.
Why coffee shops? What kind of coffee do you like? How many different coffee shops have you been to and which is your favorite?
I choose coffee shops for many reasons. (1) Most coffee shops have a regular customer base that come with some level of frequency. This is an advantage to the evangelist, as most people do not respond to the gospel the first time they hear it. (2) Most coffee shops serve hundreds of people a day, which is great news for a fisherman, who desires to catch fish. (3) Many people sit in coffee shops because they have an hour to kill or because they are lonely people in general and just looking to talk to someone. In our world of "Facebook friends," coffee shops actually provide an atmosphere where real friends are more likely to be made. People crave real relationships –– friends that do more than "like" their statuses.
I love Alterra, Milwaukee's own coffee roaster. Sadly, only one coffee shop in my community brews Alterra. Besides regular brewed coffee, my favorite drinks are the cafe au lait (from any Paris cafe), the latte (from anywhere), the dark chocolate mocha (from Caribou), the regular mocha (Stone Creek), the pumpkin spice latte (from Starbucks), and the Bullfrog (a mint mocha from Alterra –– my clear #1). I have been to many, many coffee shops in Milwaukee and the suburbs, but rotate between 4-5 different local coffee shops on a regular basis. My favorite coffee shop of all time is Alterra on the Lake in Milwaukee. It's an old converted water treatment plant with a view of Lake Michigan. It was one of the first places I went with my wife Emiley, so I have great memories there!
How effective is Coffee Shop Evangelism? Any success stories you can tell?
Over the last few years, evangelism in the coffee shop has been fruitful. We've had many Christians visitors in church, some of which have become permanent parts of our congregation. I think of two conversions to Christ, though, in particular. One man, an agnostic at the time, approached me to inquire about my Mac notebook. In God's providence, he had written several books about the anabaptists, as had my grandfather. So we talked about the anabaptists (probably the only two people in the county interested in that subject!), the Bible, the gospel, etc. for over an hour. After a year and a half of his attending our church and of our regular lunch talks, he trusted Christ as Savior. Just this past September, he was baptized publicly! I think of another man that I met in the coffee shop about three years ago. I asked him, "If you were to die, are you confident that you would spend eternity with Christ?" I did not realize that his uncle, a Roman Catholic priest, had asked him the same question at a family funeral the previous day. The priest's answer was basically, "Go back to the RCC, ditch your non-Catholic girlfriend, go to confession, give money to the church, and maybe you'll have a chance for heaven one day." He told me, "Dave, the contrast between your two answers about eternity haunted me for over a year." Over those three years, he only attended church or church events a few times but maintained regular contact with me. Just a couple months ago, he found me in the coffee shop and gave me a big hug and said, "I'm free" and explained that he had trusted Christ! The gospel is powerful. God will get His work done. Will we get to participate and be a part of the blessing?
Thanks so much for your time Pastor Dave. This was such a fascinating and informing read. I really enjoyed reading your responses and you've made me want to go out and try this around my town. I hope others will benefit as much from this post as I have.
