This week we are featuring the ministry of Praise and Coffee Nights,
founded by our very own Sue Cramer.
“How did Praise and Coffee Nights start?” I get this question all the time.
When women see a ministry that now reaches across the nation and even other parts of the world, they often assume that it must have been a calculated adventure with countless hours spent organizing teams of women.
But it’s nothing that exciting.
Basically, I started the blog, Praise and Coffee. And a few months later, I planned a night out with a bunch of girlfriends and teasingly said, “let’s call it a Praise and Coffee Night!”
Then I blogged about our night out laughing, sharing and renewing friendships. I shared how precious it was to see us all come together, despite differences in background, churches and stages of life yet still share our lives with one another. I expressed my love for girlfriends and the wonderful way we connect as women.
Almost immediately I received requests from other women that wanted to start a Praise and Coffee Night in their own community. They asked for guidelines and requirements for hosting one of these evenings.
I quickly realized that women are hungry for conversation and relationship with other women. I planned another night out by going to our local coffee shop, asking if they would open up for us one evening every-other month, and I invited women from across the community.
Then I shared that info on the blog and encouraged other women to do the same.
They did.
That was 3 years ago and now Praise and Coffee Nights meet across the country and the world. Women just like you and I gather in coffee shops, restaurants, churches and at kitchen tables to share life over a cup
of coffee or tea.
The majority of the groups are made up of 3-10 women sitting together encouraging each other in this beautiful but sometimes painful dance of life.
A few of the groups have grown to over 50 women and are working to bring women together across the community and beyond church walls.
My heart for this ministry is for each group to be different, taking on its own unique atmosphere. There is no agenda to grow huge groups. In fact, the smaller ones are very near and dear to my heart because I know that women are reaching each other on a personal level and there is nothing more beautiful than that.
This verse is the heart of this ministry:
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.”
Women meeting for coffee. Sharing life, laughter and the love of Jesus.
Women getting together outside the four walls of the church…rubbing elbows, hugging necks, telling our stories, laughing and crying together while sharing the love of Jesus with each other.
The mission of Praise and Coffee is: Connect, encourage, inspire!
Hopefully everything done through this ministry will fall into those three words.
We’ve also started an online magazine that shares testimonies and stories of women hosting and attending Praise and Coffee Nights. I hope you stop over and check it out. We have some amazing stories of women walking through life and storms while finding encouragement through their God and the women He places in their lives.
It has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. I feel as though I’m running to catch up with all that God is doing through Praise and Coffee Nights, but He has brought some amazing women alongside me locally and nationally as the ministry grows. Melissa Mashburn in South Florida was one of the first women to jump on board and now serves as the co-founder of Praise and Coffee Nights. Ronel Sidney in San Diego, CA will be introduced in our summer magazine as our first National Director and will serve and encourage the women hosting Praise and Coffee Nights.
Maybe Praise and Coffee Night sounds like something you’d be interested in bringing to your community. They are very easy to start!! Simply…
1. Choose a location.
Preferably a coffee shop or restaurant. Somewhere in your community that’s comfortable for women from all different churches/backgrounds. But, don’t rule out your home if you are a smaller group! Kitchen tables can be a great place for girlfriend time!
2. Set a date and time.
Meet as often as you like. Most groups meet once a month or once every other month.
3. Invite your girlfriends!
4. Let us know about it! (Go to “Schedule a P and C Night” on our website and submit the online form.)
We’d love for you to check out our website for more information about Praise and Coffee Nights and the online magazine.
Praise and Coffee
This is an excellant write up on our groups. Makes me feel proud to be a part of it ~ not just reading it and thinking ‘Oh that sounds nice . . .’
If this comment is reaching anyone who is not involved in a Praise and Coffee, my advise is to find one in your area or better yet, start one. It is one of the best decisions I have made.
If this is reaching other leaders, thanks for your dedication and support for me, and to our Lord Jesus Christ.
God Bless Your Day ~ Sheryl Anne
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Squealllll…I love when ministries work together to complement and showcase each other…it just shows how great big and awesome our God is! We each have our own race to run, but when we link arm and arm, like The Internet Cafe has just done with Praise & Coffee Nights, then He gets all the glory!
So blessed to be a part of both of these amazing ministries!!!
Big Hugs Girls!
<3 Melissa aka Mel's World
[Translate]
That’s how I found out about it. I used to do “Friendship Teas” to bring a sense of community to our church until it became too hard to get people out to my house. I stumbled upon (not the social networking site) Sue’s site and decided that I needed to rethink how I got other Christian women together, to make it easier on the ones with atrociously busy schedules. It’s brilliant!
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