Les Sherman started coming to House Blend Cafe in Ocoee, Fla., when he needed a quiet and comfortable location to study for work. However, the coffee shop and restaurant became more than an out-of-home office to Les when he lost his job.
“House Blend reached out to me, and it was like family,” he said. “Instead of just saying, ‘I’ll be praying for you,’ … they took action and have supported my family. It’s been an experience that’s hard to describe.”
Josh Taylor, pastor of families with children at Westpoint Church in Winter Garden, Fla., founded House Blend four years ago with such a purpose in mind—connect with people “to see community happen,” and love and serve others.
“A cafe provides unique opportunities to hang out with people and do life together,” he said. “In the process disciples are made. Unfortunately, people often find a better sense of community in their local bar than they do in church culture.”
While its focus is evangelical, House Blend stays away from advertising itself as a Christian-based business, to draw people who may be hesitant of anything to do with a church. It desires to reach people where they are–primarily in the workforce—where, according to Josh, a large percentage of the population spends 40-80 hours a week.
House Blend “exist(s) to be God’s church in the marketplace,” and hopes to be an influence in the business world while demonstrating how to manage its finances. Of the cafe’s net profit, 100 percent goes back to the community, as team members (employees) as well as guests (customers) regularly unite to serve the local area.
“We try to get involved in things where we’re not just writing a check, but creating a relational connection,” Josh said.
These outreach events have included helping with home renovations, landscape projects and public school endeavors, as well as bringing meals to low-income, inner-city residents. House Blend offered a Thanksgiving meal, set up a shower trailer and had hairdressers give free haircuts to homeless individuals last November. Josh said they try to participate in a ministry event several times a year, if not once a month. Often it involves partnering with service organizations.
House Blend also hosts one of Westpoint’s SENT (small/community) groups every-other week that invites attendees to dream about how they can serve together. The group members jointly volunteer in the community on the weeks they don’t meet at the cafe.
Josh’s most valued aspect of managing House Blend involves helping people live in community in a way that honors God and sees individuals choose Jesus.
“My heart and passion has always been to see people who at one point didn’t have life, now have life. Any time we get to see somebody give their life to Christ, no question, that’s my favorite part.”
The cafe hires both believers and non-believers, an intention God has blessed.
“We’ve definitely seen fruit from that,” Josh said. “The first person we saw choose to follow Christ because of this ministry was one of our own team members.”
Maria Sorrentino said working at House Blend “rejuvenated (her) relationship with God.” Others impacted by the cafe include Gary Oakley, a member of the Westpoint SENT group that bi-weekly meets at House Blend. Gary has cerebral palsy, which has limited his mobility. The cafe community was there when his physical health took a nosedive for two years.
“We were able to walk with him on a deep level through that time, praying and picking up and taking him to the doctor,” Josh said. “He’s at a place where he’s come a long way physically.” Gary is planning on running in the New York marathon for his third time in November.
House Blend’s two-block distance from a hospital allows its staff to minister to people who are hurting emotionally when they come through its doors. Josh said he has received e-mails from individuals thanking the cafe community for praying with them. He sees these everyday situations as key chances to serve others and glorify God. To him and the House Blend family, evangelizing is more than fundraisers or food drives.
“We (people in church culture) do a lot of dreaming and scheming and planning of how to serve … the least of these,” Josh said. “What I’ve learned is, it’s much more important to just take the time to simply walk across the street and do life with somebody than to plan a big outing or mission trip. Just do life with people…. That’s so much more valuable in my opinion.”
Josh personally learned this life lesson through a homeless man who regularly visited the cafe for about a year. He would come in wearing the same clothes and toting a laptop, looking to use House Blend’s wifi. Josh said no one really got to know him very well, as he usually came in during the cafe’s busiest hours. Then one day the House Blend crew spotted a police car and ambulance through their windows. The man had been living in a homeless community across the street, and was murdered.
“Here we are, we’re supposed to be about serving the community, and we don’t even know about a homeless camp right across the street from us,” Josh said. “That was a big conviction for me on the importance of walking across the street and saying, ‘We love you, you matter.’
“It’s not about us who have, providing for those who have not, it’s about looking into the face of God, and allowing the Holy Spirit, once the relationship is made, to prompt our hearts with, ‘This is what you need to do, this is what you need to give.’”
Josh said House Blend is interested in franchising or partnering, and has had interest not only from locals, but also from people as far away as Italy and Brazil. However, he said many people don’t realize how much work must go into maintaining such an operation, and recommends those interested have a familiarity with the restaurant business before diving in. Josh has 16 years of restaurant experience, and has worked in jobs as basic as washing dishes to as involved as bar tending.
Yet Josh also said he and his staff are more than willing to help train individuals who wish to do a residency at House Blend in order to learn the ropes of running the cafe. To him, the effort is well worth it.
“I don’t know of a better way to connect with people and create community than around coffee and great food and a great mission.”
Written by Natalie Bunch. Natalie is a freelance writer for The Upstream Collective and lives in North Carolina. She served as a missionary writer based out of Prague, Czech Republic, from 2007-2009, and plans to return to full-time international mission work with her husband in a few years.
