Bringing God to Starbucks

[Cynthia Bezek]

I heard an inspiring "I-could-do-that" story this morning at an all-city prayer meeting for the marketplace in our community. The worship leader paused behind his guitar and told us about the three or so years he worked at Starbucks. At first it was just a job to pay the bills, he said. But gradually, God turned it into a powerful prayer ministry.

How? One morning the young man sensed God inviting him to pray a simple prayer: "Lord, is there anything You want to say to folks through me today?" Well, guess what--there was!

As he started praying that question as part of his morning going-to-work routine, each day new people would open up and share bits of their lives with this friendly baristo who served up their latte's. He'd offer to pray for them, and they'd often accept. Usually they were just simple, 30-second prayers. But God answered them and made paths to their hearts through these simple acts of love and prayer. He healed people and worked other miracles. He made Himself real to the ones that received prayer. Eventually, word traveled, and people made special trips to that Starbucks just so they could be prayed for. Over his three-year tenure, our worship leader estimated that he ministered to more that 1,100 people.

His workplace became a meeting place, where people who would never go to church could come and meet with God. And, the worship leader suggested, "Your workplace could become a meeting place, too. Perhaps God has things He wants to say to folks you encounter each day . . . through you."

Do you have prayer-and-workplace stories? If you do, please take a moment to share them with us!

—Cynthia Bezek

[Heather Henderson]

I have a friend who manages a Starbucks in my town. Every morning before the store opens, she prays over every seat in the store. She prays at the door and over the machines. She has a degree in Marketing, but was called to serve at Starbucks and make an impact through it. She has inspired and encouraged me to pray over the desks in my office, the doors to the building and even the copy machines. You really never know where you can be a witness and where your prayers will make a difference.

[Joan Hershberger]

This is so what I have been telling my son who has a master's degree in Bible, was working in ministry but now is at a department store. God has people there that he would NEVER meet up with as a pastor. He took it to heart and has even had his manager come to him and say, "Pray for me would you?"

[Naomi Fata]

I've worked in a convenience store for 9 years, first as a cashier now up to general manager. When I first started I thought of the job as kind of a low-life job. I was still in high school and had high expectations that I would go off to college and be a missionary - not just work regular job. As I got to know the people of the town that come into the store on a daily basis I began to see how lost they were and how much they needed the Lord. Some people will stop to tell me all their woes and I have the opportunity to say that I am praying for them. Now that I have worked there for so long I have some customers that seek me out when there is something they want prayer about. Also I realized this is a mission field and have prayed for people to speak to. In the course of my career I have worked with followers of Sun Yun Moon, Muslims, college drug addicts, Catholics and all sorts of people, many of these the Lord has given me a chance to share the Gospel with. Even with all that I have seen the Lord doing through my job He has also been challenging me that I don't pray enough about it. Our work is the main place that the unsaved world will see Christ in us!

[Bren Lindsey]

What a great story. Most of us think of our jobs as "just jobs" but God has put us at our jobs for a reason, and this story has just shown me that God uses us where ever we will allow Him too.