Recently my friend, Ed Stetzer, wrote a blog about Matthew’s Table and third places. Since then I have received many phone calls and emails (I hear Ed is kind of a big deal) from missional practitioners who are exploring the possibility of creating a space in which to engage people with the Gospel in creative ways much like Java Joe’s. So, I thought I would write a couple of posts regarding the thought behind Matthew’s Table owning a coffee shop.

The problem we began with is that for most Christians their church has become their third place.  Church programs soak up every bit of a Christian’s spare time causing all of their social networks to revolve around church causing disciple-making to be extractional rather than incarnational.  In fact, the most committed Christians find themselves out several times a week involved in church activities.

For us, this begged the question, How can the church essentially be a “third place” without cutting people off from their social networks and disconnecting them from the very people they have been called to reach?  To answer this question, we wanted Matthew’s Table to be in effect, a missional space.

Alan Hirsch says that a missional space involves the creation of a place and/or events where Christians and not-yet Christians can interact meaningfully with each other.[1] To do this, we purchased Java Joe’s, a coffee and sandwich shop.  Java Joe’s is a natural space for people to interact with each other. All societies already have informal meeting places, but third places are a hub of community life and facilitate a broader, more creative interaction.  What is new in our day is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to our current societal and spiritual needs. In this way, Matthew’s Table is becoming a genuine missional approach to church in that its aim is to ultimately create communities (yes, that is plural for a reason) of faith centered in Jesus Christ.

[1] Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2006) 37-38.

to be continued . . .