[Sly Fox]

Watching the video, it is obvious why this would work in Austin. But the challenges of making the faces of church in America look more like what we expect to see in heaven is the greater challenge. Surprising to see this running in NYT of all places.

Breaking the Evangelical Mold at a Church With Ethnic Roots


Worship, Austin Style: Sunday services at Vox Veniae, a Protestant church in Austin, Tex., feature a six-piece band and volunteer baristas. The 200-member congregation reflects the eclectic city.

By MARK OPPENHEIMER
Published: June 7, 2013

AUSTIN, Tex. — Last Sunday at Vox Veniae, a 200-person church in working-class East Austin, the volunteer baristas showed up an hour before worship services to make locally sourced coffee in the vaunted Chemex system, beloved of connoisseurs. To enhance the java-snob appeal, no milk or sugar was provided. “It’s a purist thing,” one barista said.

Members of Vox, as the church is known, cleaned up the building and made it a hub for Austin-style activity.
“Keep Austin Weird,” the local slogan goes. And the approach to coffee is just one unusual feature of this rule-breaking church in the notably alternative Texas capital.

Click Here for Full Story with Video

[NotAJerry]

There are several churches this diverse in the DC area, including my PCA church that has many of the same aspects to it as far as involvement within the community. I actually think this will be the urban norm fairly soon with only the suburban south/midwest as a holdout.