In a corner of a Central European City, a Pioneer sits in a café engaging others in the global language of creativity. The café is located in a unique area of town where over 53% of the population is foreign-born. This special café is a gathering place for the typical attractions of coffee and snacks along with the many diverse languages of creativity!
The café is an intercultural community center established to build relationships through art, language, and other pathways. They offer cultural dance classes, homework help, a parent-child music group, language classes, and an open class for creative writing among other options. The café team’s goal and desire through these classes and services is to be a blessing to the community and display the love of God by helping people holistically.
A unique ingredient to the warmth of the café is that four large organizations partner in its management and operations. As we continue to see in this Ministry Pathways series, there are diverse people seeking to glorify God by planting churches across Europe. This diversity at the café could cause increasing miscommunication and disagreement but instead we get to see unity among brothers and sisters in Christ, coming together to create a safe and welcoming space for others.
The café team looks for outside ways to develop relationships started at the cafe, often engaging in hikes, bike rides, or coffees at one of the city’s beautiful cafes. They organize community meals to gather and have meaningful conversations. As they create a warm, creative atmosphere, people naturally share about all aspects of life, including their faith. Some have never met a Christian before or had the opportunity to ask questions about the Gospel.
““My desire is to build authentic relationships with individuals, displaying and sharing the gospel message, and connecting new believers to the local church. We recently celebrated our one-year anniversary of being open.” ”
The café also provides opportunities for people from the local community and churches to connect with people from an immigrant background. Many of these people initially came as refugees. As people receive the assistance they need to integrate and flourish in their new country, meaningful friendships blossom in this supportive community.
Can you see yourself bringing a new pathway of creativity to this café? Do you envision participating a similar ministry in a café near you? In Exodus, we also see the beauty of God’s people responding in creativity to God’s call:
He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer. “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded. Exodus 35:35 – 36:1
Let’s join the café team in praying that creativity would continue to be a language of God’s love to the people who come in their doors!