1. economy (people just aren't eating out as much)
2. competition (at least a dozen coffee shops in downtown Troy competing for that RPI/Sage student population) Incidently, I heard through the grapevine that RPI is doing more to keep their students on or close to campus due to the rise in violent crimes against college students.
3. I have found that, although I love the idea of having a family business, God's business needs to come first and both were suffering due to the fact that I only have so much time in a given day.
I may revisit the coffee house idea in the future and have kept some of the equipment for future purposes. It is a hard thing to juggle many things at one time, for me anyway. Some people are able to do this effectively, yet I seem to be one of those people that does well when focusing on one thing at a time. For me, I am content with facilitating a city missionary movement starting in the heart of a neighborhood most people would prefer to forget about or ignore.Kids? more and more keep coming. We are exploring creative and effective ways to reach them and minister to them.
Grown-ups? well, let's just say they're not as trusting as the kids are, but we're making progress in connecting with some of them.
Pastor Willie Bacote and I have noticed an increase in attendance at our feed-a-kid community meals. Many of the families that come do so on a regular basis. We are getting to know them and they are getting to know us. As such, they are asking us to pray with them and for them. And through the Holy Spirit we are building bridges for the gospel, or onramps as some prefer to call them.
College kids? we have managed, by the grace of God, to connect with an RPI fraternity. They were looking for a community service outlet and we have the outlet for them to plug into. So far it's been a good fit! We're prayerful that God will shape these connections with the college student population as well as with families in Troy's inner-city
