1. Starbucks isn’t coffee, Starbucks is lifestyle.
If Starbucks were only about coffee, then you wouldn’t be queuing up in the long line in front of the cash register. It’s about an attitude to life. “I was at Starbucks getting coffee!” The children‘s and youth ministry in church is much more than just a little program beside the church service. It‘s a way of life. Here the kids and youth should have fun, find fellowship, live in God’s freedom. It’s about the big picture. If we have that in mind, we’ll do our best.
2. Starbucks knows you by name.
There’s a reason why they want to know your name when you order at Starbucks. And that reason is not primarily that you get the right coffee. They ask your name, and you say your name. There is a feeling of someone is interested in you. And someone calls you by your name when your coffee’s ready. In children’s and youth ministry we should realise how important it is for a young person to be called by name. When you address a child by its name, it feels loved. And if it feels loved by you, then it also feels loved by Jesus. When you call a young person by name, he or she feels respected. And if you are paying attention to me, then Jesus does that, too.
3. Starbucks wants to be the third home.
In fact, Starbucks wants to be the 3rd place you feel at home next to your home and work. This is exactly what we should be as a church, a place where I am at home. For our children and youth, this has always been the motto that has been most important to them: “A church to call home”.
4. Starbucks is excellence
Starbucks not only has very good coffee, they also have a cool interior, mostly very friendly staff and the most modern drinks a café can offer. And it’s just coffee, isn’t it? The church is about Jesus, we should also transport the best message, in the coolest location, with the friendliest volunteers and the most modern program!
5. Starbucks is the first address in town for rich and poor.
Everybody knows Starbucks and everybody goes to Starbucks. The program for the young generation should be the same: Everyone knows the children and youth program and everyone goes there!
