Drop In For Coffee at Portland

This year, the Portland SUFM all-year program started a new initiative for local teens. It's a drop-in centre in a coffee shop for youth and young adults, designed to connect with kids in the Portland community who are bored or looking for engagement. We chat with them, play board games, and endeavour to build a relationship with them, over time providing opportunities to share stories and talk about Jesus with them.

We’ve run our drop in centre and coffee shop three times now, and each time is better than the last. It feels really natural, and we’re seeing more and more kids that we’ve never seen before being invited by their friends, and their friends’ friends. There’s not a whole heap to do in Portland, and they just love coming down and being in that space.

The biggest standout story for me is that one of the kids who's been connected with the SUFM for a long time recently made a response to Jesus at the worship service. We've caught up with her since and she's really going well. I think what made Christianity real for her was a love we're able to show her through this mission. Through the drop-in space, worship services, testimonies, and small groups, she’s experienced the love of Jesus. And I think that's the X-factor, especially with teenagers—not just us telling them something, but showing them love in action, that they’re loved by God.

I'm excited about what the future holds for Portland SUFM. The sky's the limit in my mind.

— David, Portland Youth Field Work Director