Friday Coffee Gatherings
Women gather weekly for a cup of coffee and conversations about Jesus.
Women leaders who are a part of Ecclesia Ministries (formerly Community Transformation Ministries) share stories about how they have taken a weekly cultural custom of gathering for coffee and used these gatherings as a time to share their faith in Jesus.
Cammia* is the women’s leader in her church. Recently, they have started a coffee ministry for women and girls. Every Friday, at the start of the weekend, women gather for a time of community and weekly Bible study.
Recently, she shared that they were all having conversations over coffee. The women began to gossip about others. Cammia felt that it was the perfect time to present the gospel to the group.
She said, “My sisters, all of you are busy talking about other people who are not here now and not saying kind things about them. Let me tell you what the Bible says about this.”
“All the gathering got silent” she recalls. “They were all listening.”
She continued, “The Bible tells us that all of us are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Now, therefore, we all need a Savior who can save us since there is no one who is perfect in God’s sight. Instead of talking about other people we better think of how we ourselves can draw near to God.”
The women then began to ask, “What do you think? What is your Bible telling you about this?”
She answered to them, “Jesus Christ has come to pay for this because he loves all of us. So anyone who accepts Him as Lord and Savior will be saved.”
Five women in that simple gathering accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that Friday. These coffee groups are simple to organize and are a part of the regular social framework of the community. Each group consists of about 25-30 women and girls. For the cost of coffee, sugar, and some small cakes, (about $30) these women are challenging one another with the truth of the gospel and reaching others who would never come into the church building.
At a recent Friday Coffee Gathering, there were about 11 women present. After they took coffee, it was their custom to cover their cups and let the grounds dry. When the cups had dried, they uncovered them to read the drawing in the cups left by the dried coffee grounds.
This is when some of our disciples entered the conversation and shared the gospel with them. In that simple gathering, four women accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
They said, “What we thought about Christians is that they were infidels, but from what we hear now we are proved wrong. This is different from all the information we were told. Now we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!”
Sal* is a 24-year-old mother with one daughter. Her aunt works at the church. Sal heard that her aunt had become a Christian. She decided to visit her aunt but was warned that she should avoid where her aunt was working. After arriving, she decided to go to the church and came straight to me (Paul*) and said,
“Tell me what is the Christianity?”
I took her through the Bible and showed how much we are in need of someone to save us from our sin and restore our relationship with God. Taking a Bible with her, she began reading it the whole day. At the end of the day, she asked me,
“What can I do to become Christian?!”
She asked me to help her understand the Bible, go back to her village, and share the gospel with her people. She said that she is going to be organizing a coffee team and visiting friends and aged people in their homes - telling them that they need Jesus!
I have seen God’s calling upon Sal’s life. We love to develop such people who value the Word of God and have a zeal to share it with others.
*Names altered to protect the identity of those working in areas of increased persecution.