KINGDOM
Our highest priority as a business is to make an eternal impact. Calling a successful business your own is fun. Serving the BEST community is great. Building our business around QUALITY coffee is amazing.
But... Jesus is much better. We are under the conviction that what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Speaking on behalf of our team of owners: we all live here on earth, but we do not belong to this earth. Our true citizenship is in heaven. We have been purchased fully through the blood of God's only Son. He (Jesus) who knew no sin became sin so that WE might become the righteousness of God. This good news changes everything! It changes how you live as an individual. It changes how you raise your family. It changes how... you run a business.
We all have our preconceptions of how consumer business works. You give me what I want (product), if I give you what's required (price). Its simple. It makes sense. Its even easier! We understand why people are so confused when we explain our pricing in our coffeehouse. But our reason is simple. We want every detail of business to point back not to a consumer relationship, but instead a covenant relationship. The truth that we cannot run our business without is this: God who had ALL and needed NOTHING, looked upon the sinful creation and sent His son. Not an angel. Not a cloud. Not a weird sign. He sent His Son to seal a new covenant with His creation through a perfect blood sacrifice. God gave His greatest, most prized possession… Himself.
For what? What did he have in mind to purchase? He gave His best when we had not one thing to give back in return. This is the economy of the Kingdom. We want to give others our best regardless of anything they can give in return.
When you see our first pillar, Kingdom, we hope you are reminded of a King… crowned with thorns, holes in His hands, displayed on a cross. This is Love. This is true authority. This is the domain that governs our culture in the coffeehouse. We are simply held bound by the laws Jesus, our King, gave us. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
COMMUNITY
Have you ever noticed how much better conversation is over a cup of coffee? Its so communal. No one ever says "Hey, lets meet for a cup of water". There's just always been a correlation with coffee and community. One of our first desires for starting a coffeehouse was to dig deeper and relationally with our community. Within this second pillar, we had two spheres in mind. Within the walls of our coffeehouse and outside the walls in our local community—and ultimately worldwide.
First, within the walls. When designing our space we had one word in mind: "home". We wanted people to feel like they were coming home when they came in for a bible study, to meet an old friend, or go on a first date. Home is partly physical but also relational. When you see the smile on one of our baristas’ faces, been given a hug from sweet, mama Laura, or been blessed with a free coffee from a stranger. We want you to feel welcome. Comfortable. Part of a family. Who knows you and is known by you!
Lastly, we wanted our community within the walls to help us play an active role in change outside the walls. The goal in mind is to develop a culture of generosity (our why is stated above). The plan is to give any surplus funds from our "pay as you can" model towards local or worldwide programs, missions, or needs. We hope that transparency with our community about who their support is going directly to will motivate more generosity towards change! We love because we were first loved. We give because God first gave to us.
COFFEE
Calling ourselves a "coffee company", this pillar is probably no surprise. When our team first connected we all had a mutual desire to build a menu with quality coffee at the center, connected with quality individuals, with quality stories to share. We wanted to go the extra mile when it came to serving a product that is as high quality as possible. Our goal for the menu was to make coffee the vehicle. Most of our drinks are going to be "less sweet" than what you are probably used to. Our reason for this was to display with pride our quality partnerships and in result, quality beverages. There is nothing to hide. We are proud to display coffee that has been handled with care from the ground to your cup. Our goal as a team is to make more and more relationships with coffee farmers worldwide. Relationships that we are directly connected to and physically have met or plan to meet. These are real people with real livelihoods within the coffee market. They deserve our best.
What can we do? First, we can and must acknowledge them. Admit that real people and families are behind a product that we all love. Strive to drink better coffee. Pay more for a product that is worth more. Ask more questions and seek more answers. We can strive to meet them, shake their hand, and provide them with what they need to succeed and grow. Its a popular trend worldwide that coffee farms are held down by "big box store" relationships who are looking to get the most for the least amount possible. The result is tragic. Farmers get what they can and year after year typically lose more and more. We want to see this change! These are real people connected to our small Jacksonville, AL Coffeehouse. As a team, we can become better neighbors even to those on the other side of the globe. When you see this pillar in our branding, we hope you are reminded of the mission behind our product.