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AN ALTERNATIVE ATMOSPHERE
"We could use a coffeehouse," agreed students Erik and Sue as the idea first hit them last spring. "It seems like the perfect idea for a campus like The College of Wooster, because we're a hang-out kind of campus more than a party campus."

Originally, the idea was to provide a way for I-V chapter members to meet together informally beyond the context of large-group meetings. But the chapter's vision grew to see a great opportunity. Why not extend the invitation to everyone? Why not use a coffeehouse as an outreach environment? So they planned to host a coffeehouse in a church hall next to campus, naming it "The Java Well," after Jesus' conversation with a Samaritan woman in John 4.

After prayer and discussion about format and program content, the group chose to provide a place for unbelieving friends to come, have coffee and muffins, and interact with friends who are believers. The goal is to offer a safe gathering place with some light entertainment, a glimpse of Christian fellowship, a place for relationships to grow, and conversations that can lead to investigative Bible studies.

Last spring, Aaron, outreach coordinator for Wooster Christian Fellowship, presented the possibility to the chapter leaders. Sue, our president, admits, "At first, my reaction was, 'There's no way we can pull this off!' But the more we prayed and trusted God, the more we were convinced to go ahead with it."

GETTING STARTED
Leaders worked out arrangements with a local church to use their facilities. Several chapter members tithed their summer earnings to provide for the high startup costs. The leaders also appealed to chapter members to ask their parents to empty their cupboards of surplus coffee mugs and donate them to the Java Well. Sue's faith was tested as she sat at the large-group meeting the night before the grand opening with only three mugs in the bottom of a large basket she'd hoped to see filled. Not having money to buy new mugs and not wanting to compromise the atmosphere with foam cups, students earnestly prayed and trusted God to provide. Later that night, Sue told her sorority sisters of the urgent situation. Many of them called their parents who were coming to campus the next day for parent's weekend, asking them to bring mugs. By the time the Java Well opened that next evening, over 200 mugs were collected, and we needed all of them! What's more, some of Sue's sorority sisters have been among our most faithful patrons.

So, what does it take to transform a drab, tile-floored church fellowship hall into a warm and inviting place to hang out? Simple, tastefully-used decorations and about twenty-four people. Every other Saturday night, a crew of five work from 5-7:00 p.m., setting up card tables and chairs, black linens and oil lamps or candles on each table, a few couches and lounge chairs from the youth room placed near a microphone stand, coffee pots, a black writing board with the menu written in fluorescent colors, coat racks, and a large welcome sign bearing the Java Well logo. The hall is lit almost entirely by candlelight.

The cooking crew works from 7-9:30, mixing and baking batches of cookies (M&M and chocolate chip), muffins (pumpkin and blueberry), and brownies. The first of two sets of seven servers works from 9:30 until midnight. The second shift stays until 2:30 a.m.

One real challenge has been finding appropriate entertainment. Features have included an African drummer-storyteller, poetry readings and a banjo player. "We don't want to scare people away with an overtly evangelistic program," says Sue, "nor do we want our leadership to come across as a censorship board. Yet, once word got out that the Java Well is such a popular spot, several campus bands wanted to perform there. We've had to decline a few offers because we fear their messages could be quite different from that of the gospel. And when we have a night for poetry reading, how should we screen what poetry is read?"

Erik, who's thought a lot about evangelism since attending InterVarsity's School of Leadership Training at Cedar Campus last summer, adds, "There are times you should be direct and confrontational, but on this campus people could easily shut off and run away. So it's helpful to have a place that's 'safe' for anyone-no 'bait-and-switch.' We want a balance that avoids coming off too strongly on one hand and seeming un-Christian on the other."

BEYOND A CUP O' JOE
Some unexpected benefits are coming from the Java Well: leaders and volunteers are learning about teamwork, and chapter members serving on the work crews are building new friendships. Several friends of chapter members, after helping in the kitchen for a night, have begun attending large-group meetings. "They seem like a neat group of people, so I decided to check it out," commented one visitor.

Whether behind the scenes or around a table with a good cup of "Joe" (or tea, or hot chocolate, or juice or root beer), the Java Well is about building trusting relationships with diverse people on campus, some of whom otherwise may have steered far clear of Wooster Christian Fellowship circles.

"We're glad that it's provided both a face lift to our group's reputation on campus and, more importantly, an opportunity for evangelistic contact," says Erik. "It's an academic-intellectual context where religion is still involved." On a campus that's skeptical about organized religions in general, the Java Well helps make WCF approachable. Some people have been shocked to find out that Christians are real people who laugh, have fun, are willing to talk-and don't bite.