Ok, so it’s time for a bit of a review from Sunday night’s “Cafe Church @ Maling Room Cafe”.

Before heading into the review I should state that I don’t actually think that what happened on Sunday is actually church. I would prefer to call it an outreach event or a social night or something like that, but of course, you can’t get as cooler name if you call it something like that.

Anyway, I haven’t had too much feedback about it thus far. When I bump into people I ask them what they thought and if they bought a friend along what they thought of it also. So, if you were there on Sunday night and would like to give feedback either write it below of send me an email or something.

So, these are my thoughts:

What worked well:

- The space: It was a good size and held everyone in nicely. There were seats for all even though people chose to stand most of the night. People could spread out and chat to “different groups” of people. It’s the Maling Room, the space just worked well.

- The numbers: I was somewhat blown away by the number of people who came. It was great to see everyone seemingly get behind the night. In total we had nearly 60 people, which included a few kids. It was a good start i think.

- The food: The spread that was put on was amazing. All feedback that I’ve got about it was that it was impressive. Small hamburger rolls stuffed with different fillings, dips and crackers,olives, gherkins, sun-dried tomatoes, fruit platters and the quiche’s were excellent. Can’t complain too much about the food, nor so the drink.

- The vibe: People just sitting around and chatting with the live music in the background made for an excellent vibe. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and meeting new people or catching up on old news.

- The testimony: Bean’s testimony was excellent, concise, challenging and to the point made for an excellent explanation of the Gospel. Loved it.

- The live music: They were brilliant musicians and we were very fortunate to have them there. There music was good for the style and type of night.

What could work better:

- The live music: This is nothing to do with the actual music but the volume being so loud has been the consistent “could be improved” feedback that I’ve had. The way the Maling Room is set up and the acoustics of the rooms don’t do anything that great for live music. A possible change in position might help or just having very soft or unplugged music might be the way to go. Not sure how one can get around this too much. Having said this, if the volume and type of music was changed would it have changed the vibe?

- The cost: For people who came it cost $10 but we were being charged double that ($20 p/p). It’s not that the cost needs to be improved as such but more of a realisation that to put on something like this, which i think is a quality and culturally relevant event then that will cost money. If people are keen for it then what price is acceptable or how can the difference be constantly be made-up? Should i be seeking a benefactor or should people pay more or should the church continue to trump the difference? Positives and negatives on both sides there i think.

- The bringing of friends: I can’t complain too much, it’s the first time we’ve done this. I suspected that people were coming firstly to suss this out. Sort of saying, “What is Coombsy actually doing here? What does he mean by having an event a Maling Room? How is this going to work? Am i going to be comfortable bringing my friends to this?” They are the type of questions i suspect people were asking before the night, now I hope their “fears” have been relieved. In total there were 9-10 visitors who came from people about 5-6 people inviting them along. No doubt there were people who asked friends to come along and they just didn’t come – no worries. But, the litmus test of an event like this is how many friends/visitors did come. The event shouldn’t just be for the people within the CBC community, it’s not aimed at us or for us. We’ll just need to see how the next one goes.

Summary:

I think that covers most things that i can think of. I haven’t gone into depth about my talk – it’s always hard to do and can come across a bit arrogant really. I think i preached the Gospel and did so in 10-12mins. Hopefully when people have a coffee next they think of Jesus and perhaps that will move them forward. I think the night went really well and was really happy with it. So buzzed from it that i was up till 1.30am that night (and i don’t think that was just the coffee!).