Before discovering ministry as a vocation in my life, God had taken me on a journey spanning many years and several different cultures. I've lived in countries considered by the "civilized world" to be third world as well as in countries of plenty. No matter where I lived though, I've always been fascinated by the dynamic between people. I noticed how under the predominant flow of each culture people ultimately assigned value to one thing - community, togetherness. No matter how hard they worked or if they didn't work at all, the highlight of the day seemed to always be the coffee break.

The coffee break is not simply an interruption to the work day but the highlight of it for it is then that lives are shared with their joys and sorrows. It is during the coffee break that friendships are discovered and strengthen and relationships are formed. More than that, it is during the coffee break often times that titles and hierarchies are erased or ignored leaving behind a real man or a real woman talking and sharing with another real man or another real woman.

At Troy we desire this community and this perpetual coffee break mentality where we understand that the absolute value in life are the people we share it with and not the toys, or the job, not even the hobby. How did we as a society get here anyway? It seems to me that generation after generation we seem to be continuously in pursuit of more wealth, of more stuff,... we buy houses that we can't really enjoy because we are at work all day to pay for them, we buy boats we can't really enjoy because we are at our second job in order to pay for that very boat. And who suffers in the end? All of us and most definitely our relationships.

I remember my parents never having the need for a planner to keep their day straight, and it seemed that advanced notice for a visit meant "call me before you leave home" not "let me see if I can fit you in next month." And all this in one generation... So yes, a Coffee Break Culture because we want to keep in focus the value of our time together, of being with one another, of sharing our lives with burdens and joy, with victories and failures, supporting and guiding one another to a better life and a richer experience with our God and Father.