On the first day of school, our little church, located on the corner between three schools, hosted a Cold (and hot) Brew Drive-thru. The idea was to welcome staff, parents, and students back to school on that first day. After all, most of them used our parking lot for pick-up and drop-off anyway. On any given day, our lot is packed at both arrival and dismissal.
We put out our bright red picnic tables and hoisted the colorful coordinating flags. We set up a cold brew and a hot brew station. We made sure there were grab bags for the students who walked or rode bikes as well. We stationed our twenty-something-year-old volunteers with signs on the corners, waving and welcoming everyone to our makeshift drive-thru. Our more seasoned volunteers manned the coffee stations.
This radical type of hospitality allowed us to meet the parents, many of the students, some of the staff, and even the School Resource Officer. We used what we already had (our parking lot, our pretty picnic tables with umbrellas, and our love) along with some caffeine in the early morning. God was all over this!
We watched moms pray with their daughters before they entered the first day of middle school. Then we prayed for the moms as they stood and cried and got a simple cup of coffee and a few hugs. So incredibly simple.
Sometimes we overthink ministry. We develop elaborate plans and create working budgets. We think everything has to be perfect before we can move forward. What if God wants us to MOVE first? What if he wants us to look out of our windows and simply go there…simply be there…? What if he simply wants us to move?
Article and photos by Kim R. Smith