Our Postcards from the Midwest Conference are short and encouraging looks at what God is doing in churches across the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming. We’re celebrating faithfulness, fresh vision, and the beauty of ministry in all shapes and sizes.
The Gift of BBQ
Sometimes the simplest things – like sharing a meal – open doors for God’s love to be experienced in powerful ways. At The Well Covenant Church in Colorado Springs, what began as a love for good BBQ has become a ministry that gathers neighbors, breaks down loneliness, and points people to the grace of Jesus. This summer, The Well served more than 1,100 people at their community BBQs, offering not just epic food but also a safe space to be seen, heard, and known.
Church: The Well Covenant Church
Location: 4965 Barnes Rd. Colorado Springs, Co., 80917
Website: https://www.thewellcov.org/
Services: Sundays @ 10:30 a.m.
Pastors: Jim & Amber Eaton
- In one sentence, how would you describe your church?
We are a small church re-plant of about 40-50 people passionate about following God’s call to BLESS our neighborhood.
- What’s something God is doing in your community through the BBQs that brings you joy?
One thing that brings us joy is providing an opportunity for our community to gather. People who live next to or near each other meet each other at our BBQ’s! We have learned that loneliness is a significant issue in our neighborhood and our BBQ’s give people a safe place to be seen, heard, and known. Food brings people together. Epic food, like our homemade food and KC level BBQ meat REALLY brings people together! We LOVE sharing our passion for REALLY good food with our neighbors.
- What inspired your church to host these meals, and how have you seen God use them?
A combination of two things coalesced at the same time to create the vision. Pastors Amber and Jim read the B.L.E.S.S. material and book and started asking God how the church could live out the BLESS practices. At the same time a couple in the church shared their passion for BBQ and desire to provide other people with REALLY good food as a way of sharing God’s grace. That fit perfectly with the “E” in BLESS, “Eat Together”! So, we started dreaming together and soon the vision was born! Turns out we have a lot of people in our church who also love to smoke meat, and the vision caught quickly. This summer is our third summer and we were blessed to receive the donation of a food truck (trailer) to serve out of!
- What has encouraged you most as you’ve served over 1,100 people this summer?
The BBQ’s have given us the opportunity to interact with people in our community in a way that we get to share the love of Jesus through our actions. Our BBQ’s are literally no-strings-attached. There is no program, sermon, contact card, or even invitation to church. Horrible outreach model, right? For us, this is how we are living out Jesus’ command to love our neighbor. And yet, we end up having small interactions where we get to point people to Jesus.
We do not charge anything for the meal nor do we have a “free will” bucket. We just offer it for free. Some folks ask where or how they can donate and our response is that they can’t. This really good food is completely free to them, there’s nothing they can do to earn it. Just like God’s grace to us is absolutely incredible and completely free to us, there’s nothing we can do to earn it. We are encouraged when we get to encourage others!
- Can you share one story or person from the BBQs who represents your heart for ministry?
One of our members has “Roman’s 5:8” tattooed on her forearm. A guest came to the serving window to get food and asked about the meaning of the tattoo. In the midst of managing orders, Rebekah quickly shared the verse and its meaning to her. The guest responded, “Wow, that’s so cool” and continued contemplating the verse as she walked to a table to enjoy her food.
