Chris walked into Caf? Connections on Main Street in Pickens and sat down at the table with Steve and Ann Corbin, the missionaries running the coffeehouse.
Ann and Steve Corbin take a break in the kitchen of Caf? Connections on Main Street in Pickens.“I just stopped by to see what you were doing,” said Chris. Ann Corbin poured him a glass of iced tea. He visited and talked with others and then left, promising to come again soon. The Corbins said Chris had been there only once before, even though he seemed like one of the regulars.
At the billiard table is Gary, a regular, just playing pool and spending time in a positive environment. In another part of the caf? are puzzles, some of them worked on but unfinished. Other people are free to work on them, or it is likely the person who started the puzzle will be back.
Most of the drinks and snacks are free, and there is free wireless Internet for people to surf the Web. There are even opportunities for groups to use the caf? for baby showers, Bible studies and group meetings.
“Old and young can come together here,” said Steve. “It is not like it was years ago when everyone in a community knew each other.”
Lou O’Donald, a member of East Pickens Baptist Church, is a regular volunteer at the caf?. She is known to most people there as “Miss Lou” or “Mama Lou.”
“I enjoy coming here and helping,” she said. “It is a great way to pass the time for me, and I love the people.”
The Corbins are meeting neighbors and making friends. More importantly, they are building an atmosphere where they believe many will come to know Jesus Christ.
“We want to create an environment where people will want to know why we are doing this,” Ann said about the coffeehouse, which opened in February. “That is when we will get the invitation to share our faith, and the people will be more receptive.”
Most everything offered at Caf? Connections is free, and there is a donation box for people who want to help the work continue.The Corbins are missionaries through the Missions on Short Term (formerly Mission Service Corps) program of the North American Mission Board. They are part of a group of Southern Baptist Convention missionaries who raise their own support.
The couple previously worked in a missionary assignment in a seafarer’s outreach ministry in New Orleans. After the term for that position ended, they returned home to Pickens in January 2011. Ann said the coffeehouse had been “a long-time dream of ours,” but they did not know at the time what God wanted them to do.
“We earnestly sought God for what we were to do,” said Ann. “He said, ‘Go with your dream.’ We knew he wanted us to do this, but we didn’t know how or what the purpose would be.”
Steve said the call to follow their dream was surprising at first. “My first thought was, ‘Why would people need us here?’?” he said. “But there are a lot of people here who have been used or abused, and they need our help.”
The Corbins approached the owner of the building on Main Street, and the landlord agreed to give them the first 18 months rent-free in exchange for renovations to improve the downtown building. The renovations came about through cash contributions as well as in-kind gifts and labor from individuals and local churches. The Corbins said the total value of the renovations was about $27,000.
“This has been a complete walk of faith,” said Ann. “We got the key to the building and then said, ‘Now what, Lord?’ It has been a step-by-step process. We couldn’t have known how God was going to use this ministry.”
One of the surprising opportunities in the first few months of the ministry has been a connection with the caf?’s next-door neighbors, Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County, a program that helps people with issues including alcoholism and other addictions. The program encourages clients to spend time at Caf? Connections because of the welcoming and positive environment to be found there. In addition, employees often take clients there for a meeting.
“It gives our people somewhere to go that is a positive and encouraging environment,” said Bob Hiott, executive director of Behavioral Health Services in Pickens. “Some of our staff go over there. They have a pool table, and when I need to get away, I will sometimes go over there and crack a ball or two to release a little pressure.”
The ministry has received support from many area churches, which have helped with renovations, made baked goods, supplied volunteers, and donated needed items. As the Corbins’ home church, East Pickens Baptist has also been involved in the ministry.
Jamie Duncan, pastor of East Pickens, said church members were “naturally drawn to the ministry because they knew Steve and Ann.” He said the ministry offers a “gathering place” that did not exist in Pickens previously. “The people come in and see what the gospel is. It is a lifestyle,” said Duncan. “They have people from all walks of life.”
Caf? Connections also gives people an opportunity to experience Christianity in a setting outside the traditional church. “They are reaching people who would not come into a church because of some preconceived notion or a previous bad experience,” said Greg Edens, a local physician and director of missions for East Pickens Church. “People come in, and they get loved with the love of Christ, and the coffeehouse setting is less threatening.”
Missionaries Steve and Ann Corbin hope a coffeehouse they opened in Pickens will build an atmosphere where many will come to know Jesus Christ.Duncan and Edens said other churches and ministries have helped, and the goal is for more churches to be involved. “This is a multi-church ministry,” said Duncan. “The location on Main Street gives access to people from many walks of life.”
Other connections with the community have also been part of the success of the first months of the coffeehouse. Caf? Connections hosts private parties and special group activities designed to bring the community together. There are also seven Bible studies going on each week, sponsored by local churches and other ministries. The Corbins say they often notice people eavesdropping on what is being said in the Bible studies, and the leaders invite those in the caf? to join in the studies.
The purpose of all the activities, the Corbins say, is to build relationships that will open the opportunity to share the love of Jesus. “We share and chat and build a personal relationship,” said Ann. “This is the part where the rubber meets the road.”
She said this type of personal evangelism is easier for many who are afraid of more traditional avenues of sharing faith. “I used to be scared to share my faith,” she said. “I thought if I left one Bible verse out, I would mess it up. This has set me free to be real and and to share my faith.”
While the ministry is only a few months old, the Corbins are already looking toward the future. There is a space owned by the same landlord, and the Corbins say they would like to get that property and turn it into a place where meals would be served by churches in the community. They would also like to use the ministry as an employment training center to offer jobs to people who have difficulty getting work.
And the Corbins say serving and loving people with an eye on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ will be a focus of all their efforts.
“Anyone who does ministry has to have a servant’s heart,” Ann said. “[Others] will know if it’s just a job.”