Why Do I Drive Past Two Perfectly Good Starbucks In Order to Get to "My" Starbucks? And What Can Our Church Learn from That?

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I come from the land of Starbucks. There's a Starbucks pretty much everywhere you go in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

When I do a quick Google search for Starbucks around my house there's eight to chose from within ten minutes drive from my house.

The thing is, I drive by a couple of Starbucks in order to go to "my" Starbucks. So I've been wondering why I drive past two perfectly fine Starbucks stores to go to my Starbucks. And what makes my Starbucks, my Starbucks?

First of all, I prefer my Starbucks because it's not as noisy, crowded, and busy as the other Starbucks around me. I normally read, write, and reflect while enjoying my coffee and I find that I can do that better at my Starbucks than at the other ones closer to my home.

But one of the biggest reasons why my Starbucks feels like my Starbucks is because I know most of the baristas there. As soon as they see me coming out of my car, they start pouring my Grande Pike and it's ready for me on the counter as I enter the store. Every time I am there, I am met with a smile and a friendly greeting.

Because of these small gestures of friendliness and hospitality, I feel more at home at my Starbucks than at any others. So much so that I drive past two other Starbucks closer to my home.

So the question for the Little Church on the Prairie is how can we help people feel the same way about LCOP so that LCOP becomes "my" church for folks?

How can we do our part to help people feel at home?

We have had, and still currently have, some amazing people who do a fantastic job of welcoming and greeting people.

One of the challenges for us is to have some younger folk step into the ministry of hospitality so that we can carry the ministry of hospitality into the future.

One of the goals of our ministry is, because Jesus is One who welcomes all, to do whatever it takes to welcome all God's people.