Vintage - Better When Authentic

This story is from Andrew Ogea, worship and discipleship pastor of Vintage Church in Uptown. This recent church plant has been on a mission to impact culture with the truth of Jesus Christ and see the spiritual transformation of their community and beyond. Read how God is working through their efforts:

"The greatest compliment our church has received lately came from a local coffee shop owner in Uptown. He said, "You guys are changing the culture around here!" Unfortunately, he did not say this out of his love for the church or for Jesus Christ, but rather out of his disdain for the mission groups that have been coming down to join our church in servant evangelism work. This month, one particular group was handing out free water in front of his shop to individuals driving by or walking down the sidewalk. As a result, the "compliment giver" came out of his shop and began to chastise the group for stealing his business. Apparently, handing out free water to people in the summer heat negatively affects the economics of local coffee shops.
Following the outburst, the compassionate leader of the mission group instructed all fifty of his students to go into the coffee shop and buy coffee on his ticket. The owner, shocked and embarrassed, did not know whether to thank the group or go into the back of the business and hide in shame. Throughout this entire ordeal, the mission group had no idea that I had been building a friendship with this man for the past month. The next day, I went to the coffee shop, and for the first time we spoke about Jesus and the work of the church in the community. "

Three things:

1. a willingness to serve (even in something as simple as passing out water)

2. a willingness to show compassion (even in the face of hostility)

3. a willingness to not give up (even with the possibility of a broken relationship)

Simple - not easy - always effective

To learn more about Vintage Church visit them at www.vintagenola.org