Praying for 10

A Coffee Break Director from West Michigan has been participating in a Coffee Break Coaching Cluster. The cluster of leaders participate in group coaching to address issues and move towards change. This leader, let's call her Marge, observed that their group was getting a little smaller and older. In the cluster she explored how they might promote Coffee Break and invite younger women. We asked her how many new faces she would like to see? Marge hesitated a bit and said 5. Then she said, “No, I feel led to pray for 10!”

Marge brainstormed a list of ideas on how their Coffee Break might invite more people, then settled on a few next steps. She asked the Coffee Break leadership team and church council members to pray for 10 new people. They created a very nice business card and invitational packets with a coffee sample. The cards and packets were passed out by leaders and at a community event. They connected with former attendees and they prayed.

At our next coaching cluster meeting, each leader reported back on what had happened. Marge did not offer to go first. I suspected she was disappointed. I wanted this group to be safe so I waited. When it was Marge’s turn to share she began with details about the first morning at Coffee Break. She told us about a fun group icebreaker (included below) then finally got to the best part. They had 10 new people at their first meeting! In addition, there were more children in Story Hour and new babies in the nursery.

How come we were amazed? We stopped and praised God together. Seeing God at work has encouraged everyone—the cluster, the leaders, the council and the congregation.

If you want to learn more about a Coffee Break Coaching Cluster, please email [email protected] or leave a comment below. Clusters meet over the phone. You can join from anywhere!

Feel free to adapt the icebreaker for your group.