In northeast Texas,
Community Life Church has shaken up the traditional church format.Also known as c|Life, it doesn’t have one lead pastor—it has three. And although members meet on Sundays, they say “church” really happens in small groups.c|Life wants these elements to foster relationships among members that, ultimately, point to God. That’s a
goal it shares with Kingdom Growers.“Church can easily turn into a bunch of events and programs,” Missions Pastor Kevin Kelley states. “Our co-pastors believe that people's best shot at a thriving relationship with Jesus happens when they connect with God and one another.”c|Life consciously shifts focus from programs to people and inspires its members get involved in God’s mission. c|Life’s ministries currently run the gamut from special needs ministry in Texas to supporting orphans in Africa. The church opens its doors to everyone and then quickly ushers them back out, encouraging them to bless the community and the world.
“The message c|Life shares is simple - the Gospel of Jesus' truth and love,” Kevin says. “Everyone is welcome because everyone needs Jesus. Once you're part of the c|Life family, we encourage folks to get connected in community and serve, serve, serve!”This missional drive convinced c|Life to shift from serving store-bought coffee on Sunday mornings to pouring cups of Kingdom Growers.“We want people in our congregation to know that everything we do as a church serves to advance the mission of Christ—even the coffee folks drink on Sunday mornings!” Kevin explains.So before services, people meander about the c|Life lobbies, sipping
Honduran Full-Flavor and munching on glazed donuts. They support ministry even while they prepare to worship.That’s just another way c|Life is different. It pares down its programming and activities to place focus on Christ—so that each action taken by members and leadership take helps spread the Gospel.Fortunately for c|Life members, mission-minded coffee is also the tastiest.
Learn how to start a Kingdom Growers Coffee ministry in your church!
