A cafe to impact community

Our café project with the White and Pavlik families has been open for two months now and things really are in full swing. Music and art play a big role in the café's identity. Our facility is rather large in comparison to other music venues and art galleries in Berlin. We initially had thought we would have to recruit local artist and musicians to book shows and exhibits. However, in the first three days of being open we already had over twenty musicians walk in and request to perform.

Opening night was exciting! Over 600 people passed through our doors, we were at capacity for most of the night. A representative from the local government came to our opening and shared a few words. It is very encouraging and a huge blessing that we have the favor of the local government. They truly see our café project as a blessing to the community. This is a huge deal. Shortly after being open, we started to build up a regular cliental. The community has accepted the café and has made it their home and alternative hang out and work space. On any given day you'll see someone sitting and working at here for hours.

Ben has started helping host an open stage/open mic on Wednesday nights. We invite 10-15 local musicians and poets to perform for 7-10 minutes each. For many young musicians this is where they start and cut their teeth as performers. Often times this is where young musicians are made or broken. Some of that has to do with skill but often musicians will become discouraged by their lack of experience. We try our best to care for and value these young performers. We have a really nice back stage room, for example, that every performer gets to have access to and feel like a rock star for a night, which is unheard of at other open mics in Berlin. We are also open to every genre of music and don't show any favoritism which is encouraging for musicians who are trying to catch a break. The best part of the open mic is the conversations that we have with the artist and to be really able to bless them for a night. We now have a hand full of repeat performers and it is a privilege to have this kind of access to young developing performers.

The café project is getting a lot of positive exposure in the local media as well as through a local arts alliance, which through social networking and community events has given us exposure beyond our community. It is clear God has used this to give us access and exposure to the culture makers in Berlin. God is on the move, lives are being transformed, the Gospel is being proclaimed and Jesus is being made known in Berlin.