April 8, 2008
Coffee with a Cause
Should the church be starting businesses to advance its mission?
I’m sitting at Ebenezer’s—a coffee shop in Washington DC. That may not seem particularly remarkable, but this trendy meeting place represents the convergence of three social pillars—government, business, and church.
Ebenezer’s is owned and operated by National Community Church. Often referred to as “The Theater Church,” NCC meets at theaters located at three Metro stops around Washington. But the coffee shop serves as the church’s headquarters. The upper floors are occupied by NCC’s staff offices, and the basement of Ebenezer’s is a multi-media venue where worship services are conducted as well as concerts.
The connection between the coffee shop and the church represents a growing trend of churches advancing their mission through for-profit businesses. Ebenezer’s has been very successful for National Community Church. The business is thriving; it was even ranked among the city’s best coffee shops. (Right now the place is quite busy.)
Mark Batterson, pastor of NCC, said the experiment with Ebenezer’s has been so positive that they’re considering expanding to other locations and even franchising the operation to help other churches launch coffee shops to function as “3rd places” and missional outposts.
I can tell you first hand—Ebenezer’s is a nice place. I can’t vouch for the coffee (I don’t drink the poison), but the tea is very good quality. But here’s the question—should churches be getting into business? What are the advantages and disadvantages of mixing Christian community with commerce? How would you feel if your church moved in this direction?
Some believe that spending $2 million on a coffee shop that is utilized all week and naturally attracts non-Christians, is far more missional than spending the same amount on a worship building that’s primarily used on Sunday for believers. Are they right? Am I sitting in the future of the American church?
Here’s the other fascinating thing about Ebenezer’s—it’s located four blocks from the Capital building. National Community Church is populated primarily by young government staffers from both sides of the aisle. And the coffee shop draws many political appointees. You can’t find a more politically charged environment than this. If I had any hair I’m sure it would be standing on end.
I spent the last few hours talking with Mark Batterson about leading a church in this environment. (You can expect to read about that conversation in the summer issue of Leadership.) For now I’ll just leave you with this question: how would you feel if a highly visible and polarizing politician started attending your church?
My short time in Washington has been very interesting, and I’ve come away with more questions about ministry and politics than I anticipated. So far I’ve only concluded one thing: whether Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, theocrat or secularist—everyone likes a good coffee shop. That may be NCC and Ebenezer’s winning strategy.
Skye Jethani is the managing editor of Leadership.
Posted by Skye Jethani on April 8, 2008
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Comments
While there are some missional reasons for starting businesses, one reason that many non-profits are starting businesses is because people aren't giving at levels sufficient to get the work done. So if you want to complain about the mix of church and business first look at the work of the church and see if it is helped or hindered by the business.
Posted by: Adam S at April 8, 2008
I think that Mark Batterson and National Community Church are using the non-confrontational setting of a coffee shop to engage people in conversations. This is a picture of being very intentional and missional in the midst of a city that has a far-reaching global influence. This is the church trying to not just build a church but to be the church in the mist of the culture and community. As we can see in Ebenezer's, business can be a tool for intentional ministry.
Posted by: ben Birdsong at April 9, 2008
How exactly does the church use the coffeeshop? What's missional about it? Is it just like a Starbucks, but happens to be owned by a church? Does it have environmentally sustainable and economically just business practices, to show the world business doesn't have to pursue only the bottom line? I'm intrigued by this idea, but the article doesn't tell me much, other than that the coffeeshop is popular and successful. Well good. But how is it spreading the kingdom?
Posted by: Travis at April 9, 2008
I recently heard Doug Pagitt explain how Solomon's Porch is venturing into some similar territory in Minneapolis. At first his ideas made me a little bit squeamish, but as he developed his explanation, I found myself buying into the concept. I think it can be a great thing if managed well, and can show the church as a much more vibrant active part of the community than it has ever been.
OTOH, Doug is targeting a community that desperately needs some active vibrant businesses. I think that probably matters.
Posted by: Kenton at April 9, 2008
Yes I think you should start businesses to fund ministries. I've just started a web publishing to help fund as many missions as possible. We've started with Drug Addiction because it's a very dark area that needs as much light as we can give it! We will use the profits to increace chaplaincy support at a drug addiction center. Please pray for us as we begin our journey and visit: http://Drug-Addiction-Support.org
and give us your feedback.
Posted by: Ned Wicker at April 10, 2008