Rob Touchstone

You may have recently heard some talk about changing the world through coffee in my social media outlets.  I am so excited to be able to go public with news of a vision that is getting close to becoming a reality.

About 4 years ago I asked myself a difficult question. What would it take to truly embody the presence of Christ IN the community and the world?  I passionately wrote about 15 pages of a dream to change the world through a missional coffeehouse.   The vision had been inspired by  The Shaping of Things To Come, an incredible book I was reading at the time. But I I didn’t know how to do it.  All I knew was that the “how” was God’s specialty.

Three years ago my good friend Brian Holaway and I collaborated our visions.  Together we dreamed to start a missional coffeehouse that would seek to take the money that people spend on coffee and give it away to the poorest, most oppressed people in the world.  It would be our way of trying to live out the many things in the Bible that God has to say about the poor and the oppressed.

This would not a be a typical non-profit because it would revolve around more than a business.  It would be about a shared community seeking together to change the world one person and one cup of coffee at a time.

After much work it became clear to us both that the timing just wasn’t right. Neither of us had experience or expertise in the business field. We also didn’t have the money it was going to take to get started.  We didn’t give up on the dream but, because we hit a wall with it, concluded that God would show us if and when it were to happen.

It appears that time is now. With the tremendous leadership of my good friend Chris Soper, the vision is alive and thriving. When I mentioned the vision to Chris a few months ago I could see it in his eyes.   He believed in it.  He had the passion. And he had the business expertise and experience that Brian and I had been lacking. Together, we invited 4 other friends, who we believed shared the same vision, into this dream. Together we have formed a board, are establishing a non-profit, and have refined the vision.  These men and dear brothers are: Matt Yates, Steve Morrow, Charlie Dillingham, and Walt Malone. What a blessing it has been to serve alongside each of these men’s unique gifts.

We believe God is opening doors for the future of the vision.  Quite literally he has given us what we believe is an open door to a location. This location appears to be ideal. It is located on Richard Jones Drive just between Lipscomb University and the Green Hills Mall.

What will we call this vision? Let me introduce you to…The Well.

The Well will be a place where people meet Jesus.  It will be a place of community. It will also have a bold vision to change the world.

Our vision is to make money for the very purpose of giving it away.  For more on that and much, much more on what The Well is dreaming about, go to our official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wellcoffeehouse  and LIKE The Well. We will be posting many updates and much more about the vision of The Well here and on our website which will be launching this week.

We do not yet have the money we need to open the doors but feel the timing is now. We are stepping out on faith and praying for God to provide.

We hope we will be seeing you soon…at The Well.