Flavors of Coffee Break

The new ice cream flavor was called “Coffee Break.” Small Group Regional Rep Ruth Kelder got a chuckle out of that—Coffee Break ice cream served at a Coffee Break function she attended last fall. Like ice cream, women (and men) sample Coffee Break in a variety of flavors.

I’m thinking about the Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) that chose to use Discover Your Bible materials one summer. In the Idea Share section of this newsletter, we’ve noted how Coffee Break could be an easy next step for mothers of now Kindergartners! Alpha and Coffee Break naturally partner. Can you think of a better place for a new believer to continue the journey toward God? Coffee Break even comes in a tea flavor! Rachelle and Erin, serving in the military in Japan, don’t let an ocean stop them.

Talking of international flavors, with just a few clicks I can track the visitors who checked out coffeebreakministries.org. This quarter, hits came from 22 countries including Australia, South Africa, Mexico, United Kingdom, Singapore, Netherlands, Indonesia, Chile and Egypt. Let’s not forget our current international flavors. Korean Coffee Break and our Spanish counterpart, Sobremesa, are vital pieces of our overall small group strategy.

Then there’s the venison flavor of a Coffee Break in a Kelloggsville, Michigan church, home of a ten-year-old sportspersons club ministry under Rev. Maury DeYoung, www.kcrc.org/sportspersonsclub/). These women returned from the 2002 Small Group Evangelism Conference for Women with a renewed commitment for outreach. Focusing on November 15, opening day for firearm deer hunting, they sponsored an evening for the hunters’ widows. Of the 33 women who attended this alternative event, 22 were not from their church. One unchurched woman said it was the best night of her life!

In July, 2003, Calvary Church in Holland, Michigan, expects as many as 700 children for Vacation Bible School. What do you suppose they plan to offer all those mothers? That’s right, a VBS flavor of Coffee Break. Think about how God is working in your corner of the world. How is your church different than the one down the block? How could Coffee Break or Story Hour follow an event in your church or community?

I wonder…what will be the next flavor?