Third Place Cafe in Worship Facilities Magazine

I'm excited to share a simply amazing article from Woship Facilities Magazine on our very first project, Third Place Cafe at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA. Third Place Cafe was birthed out of a desire to connect with people in real and meaningful conversation; to create a place where people would naturally connect.

I can remember, as you can read in my previous post, the time when I approached the executive pastor of Crossroads about the idea of creating such a place. The conversation went well and part of the interest in the idea was due to the plans Crossroads Christian Church had for the future. Discussions had already begun about a campus expansion. Saying "yes" to the idea of creating Third Place Cafe between the sanctuary and children's area in an outdoor setting was the first step in seeing if such an idea would really work and be a viable concept and compliment to the future plans for the Circle of Light that was to come.

You can read the entire article about this WFX Solomon Award winning facility created by author and artictect Mel McGowan of Visioneering Studios.

Your Church Bartender,

Michael Trent

Generics vs Genetics

It's been nearly a decade since that Monday morning when myself and another youth pastor at the time prayed together about the idea of approaching an executive pastor with the idea for Third Place Cafe. Asking Roger, "What if I could create a place to get people to come early and stay late, extending the best hour of their week." To this day, that is still the question I ask as God has given Third Place Consulting the opportunity to create third places in and for churches around the country.

Our first owned and operated cafe was Third Place Cafe, located on the campus of Crossroads Christian Church in beautiful Corona, CA. That first cafe will always hold a special place in my heart - it continues to teach me to this day. One of the things I've learned is that third place cafes are not cookie-cutter, generic designs or environments. Each church and culture is different.

During a recent session at WFX in Indianapolis, I shared with the audience some ideas on how to filter their coffee plans - one point being "Genetics vs Generics", where I shared of the importance and responsibility a church has to understand their own DNA, be aware of the scarcities in their community - both the ministry and market needs - and how important it is to see third places as investments and not expenses.

The architect on our original Third Place Cafe was Mel McGowan from Visioneering Studios. In Mel's new book, Design Intervention: Revolutionizing Sacred Space, he shares that:

"America is increasingly becoming a postmodern, post-Christian nation, and church architects who drop fiberglass steeples in front of converted Wal-Marts are part of the problem. Without rethinking biblical definitions of authentic church and community, they continue to endorse the same generic solutions across the country. - - - - However, generic is irrelevant - and not always cheaper. Instead of throwing more money at less effective buildings reaching fewer people, a design intervention considers the surrounding culture, unique identity, DNA, and purpose of the individual ministry." McGowan, pg. 21

Each community has different needs, each church has been given different gifts, each ministry team should consider their Genetics and not settle for being Generic - all in the name of saving time and money - which what you'll likely loose more of in the long run when choosing a generic.

...going the extra mile(S)

What an amazing season of traveling! I'm constantly amazed, yet somehow not surprised at the insanely talented people I continue to meet across this country. I've just returned from a wonderful week in Indianapolis at the WFX (worship facilities expo), where I had the awesome opportunity to pour into architects, builders, pastors, and other church industry leaders in a session on Third Places. We have such an opportunity and responsibility as the church to leverage our real estate and square footage in such a way that we create connecting places in a day and time when we are getting more high-tech, yet our inner design knows we must continue to be high-touch.

A special thanks to my friend and fellow church bartender partner, Dan Lacher, who spun the portifilter and serves the great people who visited booth 609 (Aspen - Cogun - CKN).

On a high from such a great week, I decided to do the crazy thing of driving all the way home in one day. Wow was it ever worth going the extra mileS.....you see, my youngest daughter had a soccer game and that was my goal for the day. It's my blog so I'm going to brag - - - you see here a picture of her goal for the day. Yep, she broke free from the 'school of fish' that is 5 year old soccer and ran, dribbling the distance of the field until she finished with a sweet kick into the center of the net.

Running to side for a hug, kiss, and high-five from dad; the next question of her mouth, "Do I get to pick dessert tonight." We all have our reasons for focusing on the miles or soccer nets ahead of us...........let's keep our eyes on the priceless prizes that God has given us.

My Third Place in Little Italy

While many of the Q Conference attendees chose to stay close and walk to local restaurants, my wing-man, Jake, and myself made our way to the subway below NYC and grabbed the B-train to Little Italy. Walking only a few blocks, we ran into some firemen with really cool accents. "Gentlemen, if you only have one meal in Little Italy, where do you go?" After much friendly arguing over where to go, my new 'civil' friends agreed that we must go to Da Nico's; "and don't forget to ask for the back porch".

Were these guys ever right. Da Nico's had it all-right - look, feel, environment, service, quality, and that something special you just know is there even when you can't put your finger on it. Our outdoor environment was placed between two buildings with trees overhanging, while Spring filled the air with fresh smells. My Third Place in Little Italy is one that left a great taste in my mouth, literally and figuratively.

Thanks firefighter dudes for helping The Church Bartender find a new Third Place worth talking about.

The Fray @ Q

Flying to NYC from Orlando this week, I knew I was in for a treat at the Q Conference, hosted by Gabe Lyons and the Fermi Project. But maybe one of the coolest places I've been in a long time was Thursday night as The Fray put on an intimate concert for those attending the Q Conference. I was so close I could touch the piano and see the key changes - - - that dude has insane passion that comes out of great pain - but didn't that one guy...........um.........um........yeah, Jesus, that was him. Amazing how the greatest art, music, and Messages come from pain, yet can bring us peace. And my favorite quote of the night was, "We just didn't have enough JPMs or Jesus' Per Minute for K-Love..." referring to their struggle for acceptance by the 'Christian' music industry.

New Chicago Cafe Opens

Below are pictures of the most recent cafe opened by Third Place Consulting with much thanks to the Aspen Group and Wildesign Group for their amazing work in desing, building, and architecture.

More photos and reactions to this Third Place can be found at Aspen Group Blog.

No Such Thing As Church Clothes

I’ve served on church staffs on the East and West Coasts and now have the cool opportunity to travel the country creating third places. Selecting clothes for the suitcase before a trip can be quit a task since I find myself in different climates, cultures, and even church cultures. At home I focus a lot of energy on teaching my children that church is not a building or place, but a people that God calls the body of Christ. Here is a lesson I hope I never forget....

One day my oldest daughter used the phrase “church clothes” and I nearly passed out. I sat her down like any good dad would and asked her the all important investigative question, “Where did you hear those words? Who taught you that?” I could not believe my ears. We quickly walked into her bedroom and I told her to go to her closet and pick out this thing she called “church clothes”; and she did. Then I asked her to pick out some “non-church clothes”; and she did.

As both sets of clothes, “church and non-church”, lay on the bed, I asked her this question, “If you had a friend who wanted to come to ‘church’ with you and she only had this set of ‘non-church’ clothes to wear, would you tell her she couldn’t come? Would she be welcomed at our church?” It took less than five seconds before tears welled up in her eyes and she said, “No daddy, I would never want something like clothes to keep my friends away from God.”

Sitting on the bed, we shared some amazing truths from God’s word that remind us He looks at the inside and not the outside; that he is much more concerned about the condition of our hearts than the condition and style of our clothes.

I love being both a teacher and student in the greatest classroom God ever invented – my home.