Coffee Connection at Lexington Rescue Mission
It’s around 8 a.m., and people are already gathered outside the doors of Lexington Rescue Mission, waiting for the day to begin. Some are waiting to get clothes and food, while others are looking for a safe place to sit. Inside, volunteers are preparing breakfast in the basement as folks smile and talk with one another. In the middle of it all, the Lane of Roses team begins setting up our coffee cart in the lobby, getting ready to serve lattes to the people walking through the doors.
There are hundreds of people in and out of the doors of Lexington Rescue Mission every day. What started in 2001 as a ministry serving the poor and homeless has grown to provide food and resources, housing assistance, ex-offender re-entry, spiritual care, employment assistance, daily meals, laundry and shower services, and street outreach across Lexington and Central Kentucky.
Lane of Roses has partnered with Lexington Rescue Mission in the past, and because of people who give generously and support our mission, we were able to bring our coffee cart completely for free to treat the people walking through those doors.
As we began unpacking, people came up to ask if they could help. I kept telling them that I wanted them to be served today and that soon they would be able to get some coffee. They smiled and said they couldn’t wait.
While I was still unpacking, a gentleman stopped by our van on his way inside to get breakfast. He asked about Lane of Roses and what we were doing there, so I told him about our coffee cart, how it allows us to love and serve people, and about our therapy programs.
Then, he stopped me mid-sentence.
“Coffee acts as an icebreaker, doesn’t it? You can really connect with a shared cup of coffee.”
For a second, I just stared at him. I was so shocked that he grasped the whole point and the big picture of our coffee cart ministry so clearly.
The vision for our coffee cart at Lane of Roses is simple: we desire for everyone to be seen, to feel loved, and to know that not only do we see and love them, but more importantly, the Creator of the universe sees and loves them, and knows them by name.
Our desire is for everyone to understand that their identity is not what the world titles them by, but the Lord. At every coffee cart, our mission is to create a space where people can see who God is, understand who He made them to be, and live out their God-given purpose.
And sometimes, that can start with a shared cup of coffee.
So good!