Ministry

organic church
music ministry
coffee house
short term teams

Ok, so I might have borrowed this name from a popular book by Neil Cole, however, this would explain our vision for a church plant really well. Our springboard ministries of music and a future coffee house combined with relationship building--going to where the people are at (cafes, pubs, etc) instead of primarily trying to get them to come to us would be a good description of this vision. This ministry is specifically aimed at foreigners/ English speakers, but with time and more people on our team could be more inclusive. Of course every day and every friendship is an opportunity for an organic church.

Church plant: We have recently taken a building previously used as a hostel and will be using it for our church plant among other things. This building affectionately called the "San Blas House" is located right in the Plaza de San Blas a short 5-7 minute walk from the main Plaza de Armas in Cusco. Because of the dynamics of this city, this location is great! We've started a weekly Bible study which we’d like to see as the beginning of a church plant. We are thinking of officially starting a church as soon as October 2008! The idea is to primarily meet one evening a week--probably Sundays--in the enclosed courtyard which has an inviting ambience, and where we will have some cool music, and a concise message with an added bonus of free (non specialty) coffee. We are still developing our idea of how this will look. We also need a team to fill in many aspects of this ministry. We have plans of opening a coffee house here in 2009 (Lord willing), which will share the same space as our church. Although this ministry is outreach focused, we will be focusing on deep truths and issues, with the Bible as our base and not simply scratching the surface.

***We are actively recruiting people to join our team and we could use people THIS YEAR! Check out our ministry team page as we are looking for dynamic individuals to join us in leadership, music, and our future café.

Recommended reading: Organic Church - Neil Cole

One of our first plans of action is music. We would like to see a consistent group of quality musicians who frequent different cafes and pubs in the center of Cusco playing rock, jazz and other music. This will be our first point of contact. This really is an excellent way just to get to know people and get positive attention. As most of our ministries really flow into one another, we'd really like to see solid relationships and trust develop from this springboard ministry. One on one hang out time and friendships will be the real opportunity to see God do positive and powerful things in people's lives.

A coffee house is in the plans for 2009 and we can add an aspect that few or no cafes or pubs have in Cusco by having music during the day. Most music in Cusco is only available after 9:30pm in a smoky pub. Having our own musicians will not only help our ministry and be an obvious draw to our cafe, but will cut costs significantly by not having to hire a band. This will also be our worship band for our church plant.

Playing at other outreach/community events in cooperation with other churches and ministries will also be a part of our music ministry. This is a great way to break down barriers between the evangelical churches as well as good exposure for Christianity in a non-threatening atmosphere. Are you a musician? Check out our ministry team page for opportunities.

***We are immediately looking for a singer or singer-guitarist/keyboardist/bassist (see our ministry team page) to come down and use their gifts for the Lord!

***We are also potentially looking for existing quality bands or solo artists as soon as June 2009 to play in our coffee house and around town in other cafes and pubs. This would be a great opportunity as a missions' trip for a band wanting to serve God with their music! Check out our ministry team page for more details...

Mmmmmmm coffee..... One of our long term goals (we're looking at 2009) is to open a high quality café/ coffee house which will also be used as a ministry tool. Great tasting fresh roasted coffee, quality food, great music...you get the picture. We'd like to add an aspect that no other cafe or pub has in Cusco by having live music during the day. Most music in Cusco is only available after 9:30pm in a smoky pub. Having our own musicians will not only help our ministry and be an obvious draw to our cafe, but will cut costs significantly by not having to hire a band. (Check out our music ministry).

We already have our café location which is located in San Blas! We will be sharing this facility with our church plant because what better place to hang out and worship God than in a café? This dream requires some money, but we believe if God is behind this, it will happen. This coffee house will be run like a business with live music during the week and be a great place to just hang out with people living in and passing through Cusco. Our goal is to have a presence in Cusco and make a difference for Christ in a non-traditional way.

Although at this point we can't say exactly when we will open, we can use team members NOW to help with our guest house ministry and start prepping for the café. We are looking for people to help make and serve coffee drinks, fruit drinks, food and hang out and talk with people both in our guest house and in the coffee shop. Our café could be open as soon as March/April 2009.)

Check out our ministry team page for more details...

***If you have experience managing/ running a cafe (Starbucks, etc.) and have at least 3 months (preferably more) to give down here in helping us in the beginning stages of our coffee house (especially in opening and training), shoot us an e-mail!

Short term missions are the best way to be exposed to missions. You can read books or listen to someone talk about some cool experience they've had, but until you do it, you really don't know. Most people working as full time missionaries (like us) started off on a few short term trips. It's also an excellent way to gain world perspective and see that not everyone has the privileges we grew up with.

We host short term teams coming to and through Cusco and partner them with other ministries as well to help in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19,20). Whether it's an adventure missions trip including white water rafting and hiking to Machu Picchu or helping build a church or working in an orphanage, there are tons of possibilities here in Cusco and surrounding areas. Part of our vision is to see young people and first timers check out missions first hand! We also now have a guest house to host teams as large as 20. Please contact us for availability and pricing.

As we establish the different focuses of our ministry in the future, these teams will specifically be an asset to us in our ministry through evangelism, our church plant, in the coffee shop, with music, and building relationships here in Cusco. Interested in short term missions? Write us here and/or check out our ministry team page.