This coming Saturday evening (19th March) the Point Café will be open from 7pm until about 9pm. There will be live music from an in-house jazz trio, free refreshments - including freshly ground coffee supplied by Kingdom Coffee. And in the middle of the evening, at 8pm, a 20 minute interview with Mark Slessenger to hear about the difference he has seen Jesus make to people's lives to people caught up in the gang culture and prisons of South Africa.
It's a bit of a pilot run this week. But the hope is that we might be able to establish these Saturday nights on a monthly basis through April to September. The idea being that it's a place where we can bring our friends for an evening, to hear a regular member of CBC sharing something of their story about the difference Jesus has made in their lives. Photo by Fahmi Fakhrudin on Unsplash
It's striking how interested our culture still is in individual stories. On ITV, Kate Garraway has taken over from Piers Morgan as the host of "Life Stories" - interviews with celebrities digging into their life and experiences. Indeed, Kate's own story of her husband Derek's struggle with Long Covid has gripped many people over the last couple of years. And what an individual thinks and what their story is even dominates our news programmes. Think of the number of Ukrainian families who the BBC reporters have spoken to and included in their bulletins.
We are interested in stories and indeed shaped by stories. This Friday is "Red Nose Day" and the "entertainment" on TV will undoubtedly be punctuated by real life stories showing the difference our money has made or might make.
And so we ought to share our stories as Christians. Indeed, Jesus calls us to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). And as witnesses, we all have a story to tell of the difference he makes in our lives. That's the idea behind Saturday Night Life Café (which needs a better name!). In the context of an evening coffee shop with live music, it's an opportunity for people to hear stories of how knowing and trusting in Jesus does make a difference in real life. They won't be stories of becoming perfect people- because we believe in a gospel of ongoing grace; neither will they be "happy ever after" stories - because we know that struggles will continue in this life until Jesus returns or calls us home. But, they will witness to the difference he has made in our grief, or under the pressure of work, or in the face of long term illness or in our experience of covid etc. The difference born out of the fact that their story has become part of his story.
Maybe you have a friend who you could bring along?
Maybe in a future month, it might be your story that's shared.
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash