Articulating Post

Many people have asked us what we are doing. Why we left a “local church” position to open up a coffee shop. You want an answer, but you will not get a blip, the short version, or instant comprehension. What we have entered into is creative, messy, and hard to define - but it is with certainty and calling that we have entered into this story, let me explain.

In a changing landscape of culture, the church must explore creative means to embody Christ with incarnational integrity. The institution exists for a reason, but in a post-Christian culture, many do not understand the concept of church, and if they do, it typically carries a negative connotation with it. In a lifelong struggle of interpretation and tension, we chose not to leave the traditional church structure, but to be tethered to it as we venture into entrepreneurship. By starting a business, we will create a means to support ourselves while having the focus, intent and passion of pastoring. “So are you a coffee shop church?” No. We are pastors who have a started a business to give us the freedom to pastor within an entire neighborhood. We are connected as community members, rooted, invested, and committed to place, not individual church, but land. We are in Lee’s Summit for the sake of being Kingdom presence, as neighbors, business owners, and pastors. The division or compartmentalizing of those hats we wear is broken down to allow us the freedom and vulnerability to be with and among a people, because that is who we are too.

This venture has cost us everything: Stability, Comfort, Finances - and it is all worth it because we are motivated and believe in hope. In the fires of opposition and adversity, we choose to believe in what will be, and that can make us look foolish in the here and now. That’s OK. This is not a venture to be hip or cutting edge, this is a calling that allows us to be faithful to our beliefs, convictions, and livelihood. This is hard. This is messy. This is not easy to define, because it is always moving and evolving - because this is what God does, always on the move and often in places we are not looking. This will birth the possibility of bringing the church, the body of believers in presence to neighborhoods and a generation that will not venture into our church buildings. Living in a place, growing with neighbors. Interacting with hundreds of people everyday, become part of their pattern and routine, a part of their life, not their religion. All this, with a pastors vision and heart, to “be” and “exist” among everyday people, everyday.

So what is Post Coffee Company? A business, with owners who care about detail, who want to source and create an excellent product, and treat the industry, from farmer to customer with dignity and integrity. It is a place for stories, a platform for conversation, and a means to make a living. A business supporting pastors, supporting presence, and supporting place. This is our mission, our intention, and our passion. You are welcome to enter into it with us. Come see it. Experience it. Be a part of it.