“We are entering a new way of doing church with our café community,” says Sharyn Walmsley of Café 7 in suburban Perth, Western Australia. “We are concluding that Café 7 is not a definition but a description of doing mission/church side by side on a daily basis.” 

Mugs create interest! “We have mugs which have a different word on them such as Joy, Peace, Love, Faith, Trust, Believe, etc – and many want to purchase them as gifts or know where they can get a set for themselves or others,” Sharyn explains. 

Questions raise discussion! People ask: Why the name Café 7? This opens opportunity to share the gospel – for in scripture the number 7 is the perfect number or God’s number! (A lot of discussion also ensures from the question: Why do you close your café on Saturday – the 7th day?) 

Sabbath Keepers! With renewed interest in Sabbath keeping among Christians, there is a big interest in the possibility of some joining for worship times. “As people identify with the café culture and are comfortable with it, we are happy to run worship in the café,” Sharyn says. “This includes running another Alpha or small group activities for mums and others” 

Fathers Day attracts crowd! “We had a huge turn out of people to celebrate Fathers Day,” reports Sharyn. “We were able to share with many people – and they shared with us too.” 

Good service! The atmosphere created by the staff is different to cafes. One person commented on that he goes into the city to a posh restaurant, buys an expensive meal and walks out having only spoken to the waiters. But he comes one night to Café 7, pays less for a better meal, has a great modern ambience to relax it, finds the staff wanting to chat with him, and the owners sit with him and want to know about him. He said, “You can’t believe how good it makes me feel!” 

Sharyn says, “We are praying that Café 7 takes the shape of God’s church, not the one we think it should be. The process and journey is just as much about us being changed – as about those whose lives we impact.”