Phillip Scott prepares chai at Coffee With a Cause on State Route 20 in Orange County, a gathering place started by a Dumfries church. SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Coffee links communities

Church brews up help for Indonesian orphans at coffee shop in Locust Grove

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Date published: 11/21/2009

BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

In Indonesia, a widow struggles to care for 25 orphans.

In Locust Grove, a group of Christians struggle to share their faith in an area filled with gated communities and busy commuters.

Two distinct, far-spread problems. And one solution: a cup of joe.

When planting churches, the Rev. Clint Clifton finds coffee shops handy. Showing up on someone's doorstep seems intimidating. But meeting them where they hang out--less so, he said.

So when Clifton and his church started Coffee With a Cause, they included the soothing music, free wi-fi and comfortable chairs standard in modern coffee shops. And they threw in the chance to help orphans in Indonesia.

Church members also hope the coffee house in a strip shopping center on State Route 20 will provide a common ground for Orange County residents. The coffee house is tucked in among a gas station-convenience store, pizza parlor, tattoo shop and other small businesses.

"Organized religion isn't as popular as it once was, and you need to get creative to meet people in a non-threatening environment," said Clifton, who has planted churches in Virginia and in Iceland. "The people who really need to hang out with God and with Christ are not the people who are coming to church."

Five years ago, Clifton started Pillar Church in Dumfries. About 100 people attend weekly services in a Prince William County elementary school. Two years ago, Clifton and some Pillar worshippers set out to start a church in Locust Grove.

They first noticed the lack of coffee houses. In fact, there were few hangouts in the area at all. So the group created some temporary hangouts: an outdoor movie, a paintball competition and a banquet for community leaders.

They met with limited success.

Around the same time, the church also sent a mission team to Indonesia, a Southeast Asian nation of islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

One day, while walking in Nagara, a tourist town filled with both glitz and abject poverty, they came across a group of children. Clifton and the team learned they were orphans.

WHAT: Coffee With a Cause WHERE: 32345 Constitution Highway, State Route 20, in Locust Grove. WHEN: Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. DETAILS: Proceeds benefit local missions and an orphanage in Indonesia. A Bible study will be held Sunday evenings at 5 p.m. : coffee-cause.com Coffee With a Cause needs volunteers to help run the shop. Interested volunteers can stop by the coffee shop or find an application online at coffee-cause.com. The coffee shop also wants people to join its coffee club. For $15 a month, members get 1 pound of Indonesian coffee delivered.

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Date published: 11/21/2009