Jennifer Moore has been with World Missions Ministries since 2011. She recently had the opportunity to work with Centraal Café in Antwerp, Belgium, alongside career missionaries, Bill and Gretchen Schwartz, for two and a half months. This is where her passion to be involved with Coffee House Ministries was cultivated. Here is a snapshot of her recent journey and where she believes God is leading her next.
To give to Jennifer, go to give.iphc.org/moore-jennifer
“If you feed them, they will come.” I’ve heard my mother say this parody statement many times throughout my life. I would always laugh when she said it, but time and time again, I have seen it come to pass.
There are many times throughout Scripture where we see Jesus eating with His disciples, with sinners, and even with Pharisees. Every time He is eating with someone, He is also teaching them. When Jesus met Zacchaeus, He told him that He must be a guest of Zacchaeus. In that culture, this meant that they would be eating together. Because Jesus reached out to Zacchaeus and developed a relationship with him, Zacchaeus’ heart was opened to the truth. This brings to mind another principle I learned from my mother: when the physical hunger is satisfied, people are then willing to allow you to satisfy their spiritual hunger as well. It was partially with this in mind that my desire to be part of Coffee House Ministries began.
This summer, I had the opportunity to join the team in Antwerp, Belgium. I went to assist in the opening of Centraal Cafe and found an opportunity to use one of the gifts God gave me, the ability to bake. Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty good at it. One benefit of having an “in-house” baker is the ability to keep prices very affordable for delicious baked goodies.
Despite only being there for a short time, I was able to meet some amazing people. Many people from Christian Community, the church plant in Antwerp, came to our open nights, but we also had several people come in out of curiosity. It was at one of the café open nights I was able to talk more in-depth with one of the ladies who had only just started coming to the church. She moved to Antwerp from France for work and had very little spiritual background, but was searching for more meaning in her life. She is only one example of the many people who are desperately seeking the light and love of Christ. To my knowledge, she is still attending Christian Community.
The cafe has an amazing location. It is right along the river, just off of a major thoroughfare, and is surrounded by office buildings. Who wouldn’t want to take a coffee break at a local, cozy coffee shop? I truly believe that when you offer someone something to eat, it will open the door for building relationships, and this is a key step to reaching them with the gospel. Thank you for taking the time to read about this amazing opportunity God has placed in front of me. I am anxious to return as soon as possible to not only share tasty treats, but to also share the eternal treat that is our salvation in Jesus Christ. Join me in praying for the people of Belgium to have open hearts to receive the love of Jesus. Will you partner with me and be part of this great story unfolding in Antwerp, Belgium?
To learn more about this great opportunity, contact Jennifer directly at jmoore.wmm@gmail.com or at 1-336-684-3522.
