Today is a very exciting day for my work in ministry. I’m returning from a great weekend at Group Publishing in Loveland, Colorado. I traveled out with my wife and another friend and fellow youth pastor for an intensive training session related to a new ministry venture we’re launching.
The project is called Lifetree Café, and will be first and foremost an outreach ministry opportunity to the campus of Pikeville College. But this ministry has the awesome potential to be so much more than just a college Bible study or another Christian “group” that meets each week. The Lifetree Café at Pikeville College will be part of a national network of church and ministry groups seeking to foster and drive fresh conversation about God.
As our team has worked to see this ministry dream become a reality, one of the biggest challenges has been simply to explain what Lifetree Café is. At first glance, the look is of a Starbucks Bible study. There is truth in that, but there is so much more.
Imagine a comfortable place — somewhere you can relax and feel safe just as you are. No pretense, no expectation other than everyone meeting everyone else just where they are. Think of a place that would feel familiar from the first moment you set foot inside; where you are greeted warmly and invited into the conversation even before you know everyone’s name. And if you came to that place unsure if you even had anything to say, that would be okay, too.
In this place, you would find topical conversation that would relate not only to faith and God (though those would certainly be elements), but also to your everyday life. Whether you were on top of the world, or feeling the pain of loss and hardship, you would find in this place a common ground with the other people in the room. You could express your doubts, concerns, fears and successes, and your words and feelings would be met not with judgment but understanding. Through discussion you would be able to explore questions that wouldn’t be ok anywhere else. You’ve asked the question, “Why, God?”. You’ve wondered, “Is there anyone really listening? Does anyone really care? And if they do, why doesn’t it seem to be getting any easier?”.
Until this day, the hardest part of all these thoughts has been that you felt them alone. No one could possibly understand. Maybe you’ve tried church, or faith, or praying, or giving up. Maybe nothing felt right.
The reason we wanted to bring Lifetree to our area is to create a place where we could all be in this together. From the time you enter, you can be sure that wherever you are, that’s where you’re expected to be. Whatever you have figured out — that’s great. Whatever you just aren’t sure about, that’s ok, too. The goal of Lifetree will be to create real conversation about God, about Jesus, and about life. We won’t replace church. Replacement of any ministry will never be the goal. Instead, we want to plant this Lifetree to fill an empty space in our world.
This journey will be long, but I couldn’t be more excited about the potential. We have the chance to be part of life changing conversation. And it is through conversation that lives will be changed. By sharing our struggles and our stories, we’re going to find out that we’re not that different after all. We’re all in this together. I hope you’ll join us as we explore this next chapter in the story God’s writing. Stay tuned, God’s getting ready to change our world.
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