Coffee shop Mission Vacancy in Essex
Have you felt called to a coffee shop ministry? Then an exciting new post in Essex might be worth investigating.
Leigh Road Baptist Church is currently advertising for a 'Mission and Ministry Café Development Vacancy', a post relating to the church's Oasis Coffee House it set up around 15 years ago.
The advert explains that the church is currently 'exploring options and opportunities for the further development of mission through Oasis within the community of Leigh-on-Sea'.
It is looking for a committed Christian to lead the café team with 'a strong emphasis on bringing and developing new ideas, leading the café into a new season.'
Catering skills are 'non essential', it added.
'The emphasis is on mission, and the details are deliberately light - we hope to find someone who will bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the coffee shop,' explained the Revd Steve Tinning, associate minister at Leigh Road.
'We're not necessarily looking for the best coffee shop manager - the skills in these areas can be developed. It's effectively a mission/ministerial role.
'In evaluating Oasis, we realised we needed to appoint the right person: someone who is called to a missional agenda in coffee shop outreach, and the person God would have lead the mission of the coffee shop.'
Steve added that defining an over-arching vision for Oasis wasn't the highest priority at this time, more a commitment to model the church's five core values - Extravagant Generosity, Authentic Community, Godly Living, Prayerful Dependence & Genuine Engagement.
Any future changes will be worked through alongside the trustees of the café and the leadership of the church.
'We don't know what Oasis will look like in 10 years. It could be a quaint café for the elderly,' said Steve who helped pioneer a new Urban Expression plant in East London while training at Spurgeon's College.
'It could be something completely different. If you mention "Café Church", it means something different to everyone.
'What we know is that it does provide opportunities for outreach, and we have to find a way of helping people access the Christian message.'
For more information visit
www.lrbc.org.uk/jobs