Rather than retype the announcement we put out to the public, we're running it below. If you are local and think you, or someone you know would like to participate, be sure and give us a call.
We are in the preliminary stages of launching a Christian Coffee Shop ministry to minister to unchurched people. Though we do not yet have the coffee shop facility, we've decided it's time to launch the community aspect.
First gathering is this Sunday evening, April 13 in our home at 6191 Mountainside Drive off of Grace Chapel Road.
Format will be small group, interactive, relaxed environment. Starts at 6:30 pm and goes until 8 pm. First half hour is for drinks, snacks and fellowship followed by brief teaching and discussion and prayer. Even if you can't make the full time, come when you can.
Everyone is welcome but we ask that you call in advance to let us know if you plan to attend. It will help us gauge how many to plan for. For more info, call (828) 431-7937.
Monday, April 7, 2008
So. What's the Latest?
If you wonder why the delay in posting, we assure you we've been very busy. We've been doing a lot of plate spinning, still getting settled in our new home, managing the storage rental facility for part-time income, Jeff doing games, Teena working on new book manuscripts and reseaching all of the coffee shop ins and outs. Here's the Reader's Digest Condensed version of everything that's happened.
We had what we feel was a pivitol meeting with Rusty Shields of the Shields Foundation, a local Christian business entity dedicated to helping launch and fund charitable businesses. We are not sure how this will turn out but good things have come from it already. One of the most important, is the decision to move from the non-profit model we were trying to make work (and which wasn't for a variety of reasons) to the Charitable Business model. This gives us much more freedom to do what we want to do and stay out of trouble with the IRS. With the Charitable Business model there is a governing Board that oversee operations and how charitable funds are spent. And we determine to give a percentage of what we earn through coffee shop sales to charities. How much and to whom is up to us.
We've been doing lots of networking, meeting with a variety of pastors who lean more toward out-of-the-box ministry, plus a variety of other people connected with out type of ministry in some way. They seem to be seeking us out more than us seeking them. We are still wondering how God will put all of these pieces together and are waiting on His timing and guidance.
We've also worked hard at looking at prospective locations. Lots to choose from but we want to be sure to select the right place in order to ensure our survival. In addition, we've been locating suppliers and think we've found a couple of good ones for coffee. Each week moves us closer to pulling it all together. The business plan is still being hammered out. Once we finish that, we feel we can move ahead with a loan.
In the mean time, we've felt God urging us to start our community, though we don't yet have a retail location. First week will start this coming Sunday. The post above tells more about that venture.
We had what we feel was a pivitol meeting with Rusty Shields of the Shields Foundation, a local Christian business entity dedicated to helping launch and fund charitable businesses. We are not sure how this will turn out but good things have come from it already. One of the most important, is the decision to move from the non-profit model we were trying to make work (and which wasn't for a variety of reasons) to the Charitable Business model. This gives us much more freedom to do what we want to do and stay out of trouble with the IRS. With the Charitable Business model there is a governing Board that oversee operations and how charitable funds are spent. And we determine to give a percentage of what we earn through coffee shop sales to charities. How much and to whom is up to us.
We've been doing lots of networking, meeting with a variety of pastors who lean more toward out-of-the-box ministry, plus a variety of other people connected with out type of ministry in some way. They seem to be seeking us out more than us seeking them. We are still wondering how God will put all of these pieces together and are waiting on His timing and guidance.
We've also worked hard at looking at prospective locations. Lots to choose from but we want to be sure to select the right place in order to ensure our survival. In addition, we've been locating suppliers and think we've found a couple of good ones for coffee. Each week moves us closer to pulling it all together. The business plan is still being hammered out. Once we finish that, we feel we can move ahead with a loan.
In the mean time, we've felt God urging us to start our community, though we don't yet have a retail location. First week will start this coming Sunday. The post above tells more about that venture.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
"Oh Auntie Em..."
One month and we can echo that cornball line that preceeds "The End" of the 1939 Garland classic.We're at about 85% of having things in place. Once it's all clean and then it gets messy again is really when we officially live here. Notice Jeff's truck in the driveway. It's very handy for moving furniture (it's a mecca out here with warehouses), but has been a challenge as far as transporting humanoids.
God is good. We'd love to pass on his favor with an open invitation to stay with us in your travels to the Atlantic area of the US. We are one hour from Winston-Salem, Asheville and Charlotte - all places with cool stuff to see. We're also less than one hour from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Give us a call and let us know when you'll be here.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bean Busy
Ba-dump, cheee! (or) "Another Miracle in the Works?"
We closed on the house on 2/29 and promptly started moving in. It took all of Saturday and Sunday (3/1&2) to transport our temporal goods from the storage facility to our house (about 12 miles apart). We had friends and family help us on both days. A huge thanks to Jeff Hines who logged several hours of moving and truck-packing only to reap the reward of Dominos Pizza (we did buy meat special and extra cheese).
Over the past 3+ weeks we've been emptying boxes and putting things in place. Between working at Newton-Conover Self Storage and Jeff beginning umpiring High School baseball out here (quite different than in CA) the creation of "home" is progressing slower than we hoped.
Last week we posted on Freecycle.com (Hickory) the fact that we had free moving boxes available. One person merely came and took about a third. A day later, another woman was sent by God to come and take more. Why such a distinction? - I heard Teena in the garage (as I worked inside on stuff) engaged in conversation. About 5 minutes later she came dashing in with this caffeinated look of joy and immediate mission on her face: "I can't believe this; I can't believe this" she kept saying, as she grabbed a pen, paper and business cards and left a jet-trail going back out to the garage. Jaw-dropped, I sensed the need for patience to learn about what was developing. I'll let her tell the rest.
Teena's take...
First, let me explain what came before. I had kicked into high gear last week checking on several vacant retail stores for a potential location. Though several looked feasible, I walked away feeling overwhelmed by the cost." I had also spent time on the phone with the small business development center and the IRS trying to figure out the ins and outs of setting up a church (non-profit) that charges for coffee. How would all of this work with the existing church status for Living Hope Covenant Church, the church we are working with? At times it felt like a dog chasing its tail trying to get firm answers.
When it came to the retail space, here is some of what we experienced. One ideal looking former bank building with second story was $4,000 a month. (Gag.) Other strip mall store fronts were in the $2,400 range. " We need more than just coffee shop space. We need extra space for meetings and worship. How could we be sure we could afford these places? The estimate needs to be based on how much coffee we think we will sell. We really needed expert advice.
Between the figuring out the non-profit ins and outs and the cost of what we could afford for rent, I felt that the only way it was going to happen was if God sent another miracle. So I started praying. "God we need a mentor, someone who can guide us regarding setting up the non-profit so we do it correctly. And I just can't see how we will afford this retail space."I began praying one of those Abba Father kinds of prayers and I kept at it. "Lord, we need a miracle, work something out. Give us a place. Send us the people we need." Jeff joined in the prayers. He says his were more like "God. We're clueless. We need some insight and direction soon!"
At the end of the week is when God decided He couldn't take any more and sent an answer in a big way.
I had posted the info on Ecycle.com and had gotten several email responses. After giving some boxes away to one lady, I still had a bunch more boxes left and the email responses kept coming. I skipped over several people who emailed about boxes, for some reason feeling led to respond to Brenda Barnes. We set up a time for her to come and get boxes. When Brenda arrived, she and I chit chatted and she asked me where I had moved from. I said "California." Brenda got this incredulous look on her face and said, "Are you the people who are with Java Journey?"
It was my turn to have my jaw drop. Brenda went on to explain that just that morning she'd been searching on-line and ran accross our javajourney.org website. (I never did find out why she was searching on-line.) She was intrigued by our story and wondered how she and her partners could help out. She went on to explain that they are connected with a local multi-level ministry in Hickory owned by a trio of Christian business partners whose mission in a nutshell is to provide Christian outreach through acts of compassion to a hurting world. This includes having their own business center with storefronts which sends contributions to poor children in Africa and other local missions. One of these store fronts is cafe called Hungry Planet...more on that later in another post.
Brenda filled me in and my mind raced to process it all. "We have our own coffee roasting company and a coffee bar in our office complex, which I think we might be able to let you use. We also have additional space at the complex. It's warehouses we haven't developed yet and, oh yeah, we offer financial funding. I really think my boss is going to want to meet with you. Let me see what I can arrange."
The long and the short of it is that this Friday, at 2 pm we have a God-ordained meeting with Rusty Shields, the boss of this 3S operation and we can hardly wait to see where this leads.
In addition, God also set up a meeting with pastor David Henson of Crossfire Church, a connection we made while living in Lewisville with Teena's mom. This small group of out of about 50 attendees found an immediate connection with us. And they want to talk more about how they can help us. We meet with him next week.
So... I am sure there will be plenty more to post after these meetings. Stay tuned for, "As the Coffee Roaster Turns..."
We closed on the house on 2/29 and promptly started moving in. It took all of Saturday and Sunday (3/1&2) to transport our temporal goods from the storage facility to our house (about 12 miles apart). We had friends and family help us on both days. A huge thanks to Jeff Hines who logged several hours of moving and truck-packing only to reap the reward of Dominos Pizza (we did buy meat special and extra cheese).
Over the past 3+ weeks we've been emptying boxes and putting things in place. Between working at Newton-Conover Self Storage and Jeff beginning umpiring High School baseball out here (quite different than in CA) the creation of "home" is progressing slower than we hoped.
Last week we posted on Freecycle.com (Hickory) the fact that we had free moving boxes available. One person merely came and took about a third. A day later, another woman was sent by God to come and take more. Why such a distinction? - I heard Teena in the garage (as I worked inside on stuff) engaged in conversation. About 5 minutes later she came dashing in with this caffeinated look of joy and immediate mission on her face: "I can't believe this; I can't believe this" she kept saying, as she grabbed a pen, paper and business cards and left a jet-trail going back out to the garage. Jaw-dropped, I sensed the need for patience to learn about what was developing. I'll let her tell the rest.
Teena's take...
First, let me explain what came before. I had kicked into high gear last week checking on several vacant retail stores for a potential location. Though several looked feasible, I walked away feeling overwhelmed by the cost." I had also spent time on the phone with the small business development center and the IRS trying to figure out the ins and outs of setting up a church (non-profit) that charges for coffee. How would all of this work with the existing church status for Living Hope Covenant Church, the church we are working with? At times it felt like a dog chasing its tail trying to get firm answers.
When it came to the retail space, here is some of what we experienced. One ideal looking former bank building with second story was $4,000 a month. (Gag.) Other strip mall store fronts were in the $2,400 range. " We need more than just coffee shop space. We need extra space for meetings and worship. How could we be sure we could afford these places? The estimate needs to be based on how much coffee we think we will sell. We really needed expert advice.
Between the figuring out the non-profit ins and outs and the cost of what we could afford for rent, I felt that the only way it was going to happen was if God sent another miracle. So I started praying. "God we need a mentor, someone who can guide us regarding setting up the non-profit so we do it correctly. And I just can't see how we will afford this retail space."I began praying one of those Abba Father kinds of prayers and I kept at it. "Lord, we need a miracle, work something out. Give us a place. Send us the people we need." Jeff joined in the prayers. He says his were more like "God. We're clueless. We need some insight and direction soon!"
At the end of the week is when God decided He couldn't take any more and sent an answer in a big way.
I had posted the info on Ecycle.com and had gotten several email responses. After giving some boxes away to one lady, I still had a bunch more boxes left and the email responses kept coming. I skipped over several people who emailed about boxes, for some reason feeling led to respond to Brenda Barnes. We set up a time for her to come and get boxes. When Brenda arrived, she and I chit chatted and she asked me where I had moved from. I said "California." Brenda got this incredulous look on her face and said, "Are you the people who are with Java Journey?"
It was my turn to have my jaw drop. Brenda went on to explain that just that morning she'd been searching on-line and ran accross our javajourney.org website. (I never did find out why she was searching on-line.) She was intrigued by our story and wondered how she and her partners could help out. She went on to explain that they are connected with a local multi-level ministry in Hickory owned by a trio of Christian business partners whose mission in a nutshell is to provide Christian outreach through acts of compassion to a hurting world. This includes having their own business center with storefronts which sends contributions to poor children in Africa and other local missions. One of these store fronts is cafe called Hungry Planet...more on that later in another post.
Brenda filled me in and my mind raced to process it all. "We have our own coffee roasting company and a coffee bar in our office complex, which I think we might be able to let you use. We also have additional space at the complex. It's warehouses we haven't developed yet and, oh yeah, we offer financial funding. I really think my boss is going to want to meet with you. Let me see what I can arrange."
The long and the short of it is that this Friday, at 2 pm we have a God-ordained meeting with Rusty Shields, the boss of this 3S operation and we can hardly wait to see where this leads.
In addition, God also set up a meeting with pastor David Henson of Crossfire Church, a connection we made while living in Lewisville with Teena's mom. This small group of out of about 50 attendees found an immediate connection with us. And they want to talk more about how they can help us. We meet with him next week.
So... I am sure there will be plenty more to post after these meetings. Stay tuned for, "As the Coffee Roaster Turns..."
Sunday, February 24, 2008
God is Faithful--Even in the Small Stuff Too
We've got lots of things to share today. God is in the big and small stuff.
- House Update. First, our house closes on Friday, Feb. 29. Looks like it's a go. The only concern was a higher radon reading during the inspection with a rather odd reading that started at around 14 and then plummeted and bottomed out. Radon is fairly common around these parts, especially in finished basements and the safe level is between 1-4. We asked the seller to take care of the problem. He agreed to pay for a second test, since no one is sure what the problem was. If it fails this second time, he will put in a venting system to take care of the problem.
- Movin in Date. Our move in date to move into our house is March 1. So if you're in the area and want to help well be starting at around 8:30. We are still a bit short on strong-armed help. If you'd like to pitch in, drop us an email at Jeff at Javajourney.org (replace the at with the @ sign). Our new address will be 6191 Mountainside Drive, Hickory, 28601.
- Coffee Shop Locations. We've called on several potential locations and have peered in the windows of a few more. The one that looks most interesting is a closed Chinese Restaurant on Hwy 321 which is not far from our new house. The building is on an end unit in a small strip mall and would even allow room for a drive through window. We learned that someone is already interested in that side of the building and the owner is willing to divide up the space. So we are not out of the running yet. We were told to check back with them in a few weeks to see what the latest is. This seems like an ideal location as it is on a route with plenty of traffic, no coffee shops, quite a few business including offices and has nearby neighborhoods--just the mix we are hoping for.
- Coffee Shop Stuff. We continue to work on the business plan and are down to the nitty gritty of figuring out cost of supplies and potential suppliers. Think we may have found a nearby coffee roaster which we definitely need since our coffee supplier in CA has decided to close up shop. For furniture, we like the look of the school house style chairs. These are sturdy, slat-backed chairs. Teena stumbed on to one set of dining chairs that were very close to this style at Goodwill. They just need a little touching up with stain but she was thrilled to find 5 chairs that might serve our purposes. They just need some of her famous refinishing tlc.
- Fundraising. As you probably already know, this coffee start up will not be cheap so the more we can whittle down the amount we need to take out in loans, the happier we will be. Teena put into a call to an organization through the Escript site. (Escript is one of the ways we are asking our supporters to help us at no cost to themselves). The auto auction folks take car donations and then give the bulk of the income raised back to the charitiy. Many schools and other non-profits use this organization to raise funds. Looks like it might bear some good financial fruit. More on that in a later post. But if you know anyone with a car, boat or even airplane they might want to donote on our behalf, tell them to contact us. We haven't yet set up our account with them but hope to very soon.
- Networking. God is doing some amazing things in the realm of networking. We have been invited to share the Java Journey vision with First Baptist Church in Taylorsville (just outside of Hickory). We have also been attending a young church in Clemmons, NC called Crossfire while we waited to settle on a house. Today pastor David asked us to share a bit about Java Journey with their congregation. What a nice surprise. He wants us to have lunch with him soon to discuss possible ways the church can support the coffee shop ministry.
It has been such a delight so far to see how diverse and loving the body of Christ is. We hope Java Journey will be a ministry that allows many different Christians from many different churches to pull together to reach people for Christ. It is exciting to see the possibilities.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly...
We're feeling positive about this one. Inspection revealed no major problems. We only have one inspection left and that has to do with the septic system. We're away from the city, but not far. We'll tell you more when we proceed on this.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Your Mind on Caffeine
A good friend of ours (Tom Lindholtz) passed this along from a good friend of his (John Fischer). He describes very well what we've been conveying to others about the passion we have in our vision.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have released a recent study showing that caffeine makes people more open to logical argument, even when it runs counter to their previously held opinions. The caffeine group, across the board, tested out as being consistently more open-minded than the decaf group. This would definitely lend new credibility to the belief that conversations over coffee are a good thing. An open mind is necessary for any relationship to grow. You have to be open to another way of thinking to relate to someone, because we are all different – we have different backgrounds, different gifts, and we see things from different points of view. Lasting relationships grow out of accepting one another's differences. We appreciate each other more through consensus than through conformity. This kind of open-mindedness in relationships is important for more reasons than just our differences. It is important because we are always changing, and since we are all in process, we have to remain open to that process in each other. My road will not be yours; yours will not be mine, even if we walk together. God has different plans for each of us. Jesus Christ did not die to create clones. He died so He could fill each one of our unique natures with Himself. And finally, part of who we are becoming involves those closest to us. We are not who we are in a vacuum. We are a product of the people we know and how we have grown together. We shape each other. When this aspect is strong, there is a healthy push and pull at work. "As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend." (Proverbs 27:17 NLT) Belief has commonly been associated with a closed mind. This is unfortunate because nothing could be further from the truth. Belief opens you up to God and gives you his Spirit to help reinterpret the world around you. Belief is all about discovery, and just as our relationships with each other are not static, neither is our relationship with God. We are constantly discovering more about God and his world, and we are constantly discovering more about ourselves and those around us. So pour another cup of brew for you and that friend. Open your hearts and minds to each other, and get ready for a surprise.
Wow! Very profound that "We appreciate each other more through consensus than through conformity." And all these years we've been working with the premise that inviting them to come to a place we like to gather for one hour a week will cause them to reconsider whether God cares and actually lives or not.
This is why we are rethinking "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
Jeff and Teena
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have released a recent study showing that caffeine makes people more open to logical argument, even when it runs counter to their previously held opinions. The caffeine group, across the board, tested out as being consistently more open-minded than the decaf group. This would definitely lend new credibility to the belief that conversations over coffee are a good thing. An open mind is necessary for any relationship to grow. You have to be open to another way of thinking to relate to someone, because we are all different – we have different backgrounds, different gifts, and we see things from different points of view. Lasting relationships grow out of accepting one another's differences. We appreciate each other more through consensus than through conformity. This kind of open-mindedness in relationships is important for more reasons than just our differences. It is important because we are always changing, and since we are all in process, we have to remain open to that process in each other. My road will not be yours; yours will not be mine, even if we walk together. God has different plans for each of us. Jesus Christ did not die to create clones. He died so He could fill each one of our unique natures with Himself. And finally, part of who we are becoming involves those closest to us. We are not who we are in a vacuum. We are a product of the people we know and how we have grown together. We shape each other. When this aspect is strong, there is a healthy push and pull at work. "As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend." (Proverbs 27:17 NLT) Belief has commonly been associated with a closed mind. This is unfortunate because nothing could be further from the truth. Belief opens you up to God and gives you his Spirit to help reinterpret the world around you. Belief is all about discovery, and just as our relationships with each other are not static, neither is our relationship with God. We are constantly discovering more about God and his world, and we are constantly discovering more about ourselves and those around us. So pour another cup of brew for you and that friend. Open your hearts and minds to each other, and get ready for a surprise.
Wow! Very profound that "We appreciate each other more through consensus than through conformity." And all these years we've been working with the premise that inviting them to come to a place we like to gather for one hour a week will cause them to reconsider whether God cares and actually lives or not.
This is why we are rethinking "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
Jeff and Teena
Bulk Coffee Alert
NOTE: OUR COFFEE SUPPLIER'S ROASTER IS OUT OF COMMISSION AND HE INFORMED US HE CANNOT PROCESS COFFEE ORDERS CURRENTLY. WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A NEW SUPPLIER. WE DO HAVE A LIMITED SUPPLY OF ROASTED COFFEE ON HAND THAT WE CAN SHIP. IF YOU NEED A CERTAIN TYPE EMAIL US. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
...Michael Finnigin...
Mercy! You probably remember the old song well, we've gotta "beginigin." Thank God for revealing mercy.
Much has happened since our last post. NO GO on that house. We have been so busy with all the hoops of financing and having the house inspected, that we didn't take time to journal all the steps involved. Long story short - the inspection revealed some much need major repairs - we asked for them to be done, the seller did very little to correct what was asked or to even offer some type of reasonable and agreeable solution. All the goings on dissipated our trust and so we decided to bite the bullet (2 inspection fees and the essence of time) and walk away.
We were both upset about this for a very short time. It amazed us how quickly we recovered sensing a very powerful potion of inner peace (the one that boggles the mind passing all understanding- - -). In unison we've assessed that "God is watching our butts."
We were able to go on a blitz tour of homes with our persevering realtor (Theresa Harrison of Property Shop) over a few days and made an offer today on a Williamsburg-style house northwest of Hickory ("Northlakes" in Caldwell County). It's a lovely home near Lake Hickory in a very pretty part of the area. I will not post a picture until we know that we're clear of all obstacles.
We'll let you know when we're "in" probably after the first load gets shuttled inside.
As for coffee shop progress, we've started working on a business plan and have called on a few possible locations. We've decided the ideal footage would be about the size of a Burger King or Arby's, a bit bigger than some of the small coffee shops you see. This would give us enough room for worship and possible separate space for small meetings.
Much has happened since our last post. NO GO on that house. We have been so busy with all the hoops of financing and having the house inspected, that we didn't take time to journal all the steps involved. Long story short - the inspection revealed some much need major repairs - we asked for them to be done, the seller did very little to correct what was asked or to even offer some type of reasonable and agreeable solution. All the goings on dissipated our trust and so we decided to bite the bullet (2 inspection fees and the essence of time) and walk away.
We were both upset about this for a very short time. It amazed us how quickly we recovered sensing a very powerful potion of inner peace (the one that boggles the mind passing all understanding- - -). In unison we've assessed that "God is watching our butts."
We were able to go on a blitz tour of homes with our persevering realtor (Theresa Harrison of Property Shop) over a few days and made an offer today on a Williamsburg-style house northwest of Hickory ("Northlakes" in Caldwell County). It's a lovely home near Lake Hickory in a very pretty part of the area. I will not post a picture until we know that we're clear of all obstacles.
We'll let you know when we're "in" probably after the first load gets shuttled inside.
As for coffee shop progress, we've started working on a business plan and have called on a few possible locations. We've decided the ideal footage would be about the size of a Burger King or Arby's, a bit bigger than some of the small coffee shops you see. This would give us enough room for worship and possible separate space for small meetings.
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