Over 4 years ago, in the summer of 2005, Jerome Stockert began to understand that God was calling him to something else. Not sure of the what, where, and when, he continued to pray. After 2-3 months of serious prayer Jerome believed that God was calling him to use a business, a coffee and tea house, as a place where He would begin a church. Throughout this time, Jerome was confident that this was the next step in obedience to Christ though he still didn’t know the where, when, and how. So he waited and prayed and waited. Meanwhile, he continued to serve and be obedient in what we did know, to serve and minister to the collegiate communities in and around the Pittsburgh metro area. And then July, 2008 came, three years after this start.
Out of the blue a friend of his contacted him and asked if he knew anybody who would be interested in starting a church geared toward young people through the use of a coffee and tea house. Wow! After much prayer and the growing knowledge of this being what the Lord had in mind, Jerome and his wife agreed to move to the Shreveport area where he will serve as the lead church planter for this café/church plant.
As the lead planter Jerome is the front person for the church will own and operate the café, Ethnos Coffee and Tea. Located in the Villaggio the vision for Ethnos is for it to be a multimedia café where residents and guests can develop a more intimate sense of community and for it to double as the meeting place for a new church plant.
In a nutshell Ethnos Coffee and Tea will be a fully-operational coffeehouse where the church and the community cross paths. Ethnos will be a local shop that seeks to serve the community of the Villaggio and surrounding area by providing a quality coffee and tea (and/or quality products), friendly service and a place where people can meet and become a part of a healthy community. Ultimately the goal is to operate in such a way as to connect people with God and integrate them into a biblical community where they can grow and mature as disciples of Christ.
Ethnos Coffee and Tea seeks to provide the following:
- A quality product
- Great service
- A place to feel like a “regular” and meet up with friends
- A “third place” for people in the community
- Church office space
- Meeting space for community groups
- A venue for church-wide events, such as services, worship meetings and concerts
