Mission with a cuppa from Church Army

What have Starbucks and Church Army got in common? From next spring Starbucks stores in the US have decided to put a religious message on its coffee cups- a quote from the Rev Rick Warren, author of  The Purpose Driven Life.  Earlier this year Church Army launched its new campaign for home mission and has issued advice to its evangelists about how a coffee mug with the slogan  can be used to start up conversations about life, faith and Jesus.

Church Army evangelists Lynda Alsford and Nick Green have provided   guidelines to help parish representatives, individuals and those in parishes who may be unsure about how to strike up a conversation, answer more meaningful questions than the usual "would you like sugar?".

David Coleman, Church Army's Communications Manager adds; "Research tells us that a lot of people are open to discussing faith- often they just need a prompt, and what's better than a mug of good tea or coffee."

The  guidelines encourage people to:

• Ask if they know what the slogan ‘what will they believe?’ could be about?
• What do they believe about God, and what do they believe about themselves?
• What do they want children they know to believe in?

Philip Johanson, Church Army's Chief Secretary adds: “Our style of evangelism is about sharing faith in a low-key way as we go about our work, rest and play. Most of the meaningful discussions we have in life seem to revolve around informal situations so why not a coffee mug?"

A wide range of action ideas for mission and evangelism can be found on the Church Army website www.churcharmy.org.uk or by calling 020 8309 3519. The mugs cost £4 (including P&P) and can be ordered from 020 8309 3519 or via email info@churcharmy.org.uk