Coffee Cart
Posted by: Kevin M. Stone in Resources, Outreach on
Aug 20, 2008
When we first moved into our new building in July of 2006 we had an immediate problem with trying to run a Hospitality ministry. Due to budget cuts and having to radically reduce the size of our building to get the project done for the money available, we couldn't build any space to even support Hospitality outside of the building. The single "kitchen type" sink in the building is located in a children's classroom and is only for use during the week. It doesn't help much, though, on Sunday morning.
For the first year (spring through fall) we made coffee in a couple of locations around the building (storage rooms, etc.) that were out of site and waited until after our 3 services to clean everything up. We even used a water hose on the curb in front of the building to rinse out coffee pump pots and other utensils. Needless to say, our volunteers weren’t very happy with us. We lost a number of team members during that period.
A way had to be found to provide something for the team to brew coffee and otherwise support a Hospitality area on Sunday mornings. Again, due to lack of space Hospitality has to be outside the building. Thankfully we have a large patio area in front of our building that can be used (weather permitting).
Enter the coffee cart. Terri, the leader of our First Impressions ministry, suggested we find some kind of mobile or portable way to get the job done. Along the way, we found Carts of Colorado. They manufacture carts or kiosks that businesses such as Starbucks use in malls and other public spaces for coffee and snack service.
I’m happy to say that we have had our cart for this entire season and it has been a HUGE success. If you have a similar need, I would suggest you contact them. Check out their website by clicking here.
For the first year (spring through fall) we made coffee in a couple of locations around the building (storage rooms, etc.) that were out of site and waited until after our 3 services to clean everything up. We even used a water hose on the curb in front of the building to rinse out coffee pump pots and other utensils. Needless to say, our volunteers weren’t very happy with us. We lost a number of team members during that period.
A way had to be found to provide something for the team to brew coffee and otherwise support a Hospitality area on Sunday mornings. Again, due to lack of space Hospitality has to be outside the building. Thankfully we have a large patio area in front of our building that can be used (weather permitting).
Enter the coffee cart. Terri, the leader of our First Impressions ministry, suggested we find some kind of mobile or portable way to get the job done. Along the way, we found Carts of Colorado. They manufacture carts or kiosks that businesses such as Starbucks use in malls and other public spaces for coffee and snack service.
I’m happy to say that we have had our cart for this entire season and it has been a HUGE success. If you have a similar need, I would suggest you contact them. Check out their website by clicking here.
