Tue, Feb 09 2010
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Published July 17, 2006 04:23 pm - A cup of coffee, a spoonful of hope. Downtown Ashtabula cafe an extension of neighboring Healing Rooms ministry. HOME-GROWN BUSINESS Star Beacon
By CARL E. FEATHER Lifestyle Editor Would you like some sugar and a prayer with your morning cup? When patrons stop at His Cup Cafe on Park Avenue, Ashtabula, they get their choice of freshly brewed coffees, espresso, latts and teas, plus the opportunity to tap into divine intervention. "Im here to serve Gods love one cup at a time," says the Rev. Jim Ekensten, who, with his wife, Terri, runs the cafe. If the patron is in a hurry and simply needs a little caffeine to clear the cobwebs, Jim and Terri will fill the order and get him on their way. But if the burdens of life take more than a cup of java to lift, the Ekenstens and volunteers are there to help. "Im called to intercede and stand in the gap for Ashtabula," he says. The cafe isnt decorated like a church and the only Bible that patrons will see is the one Jim studies on the counter. A "Thought for the Day" Bible quote is displayed on an erasable board; above the fireplace is a framed quote: "Prayers that arent prayed will never be answered." Otherwise, the cafe looks like any other coffee shop. "Were not here to pound religion into peoples heads," says Jim, who is ordained through Full Gospel and is a member of First Assembly of God, Ashtabula. "God will reveal himself the way he wants to each individual." Three years ago, the Ekenstens opened a Healing Rooms ministry in the west side of the building, a space formerly occupied by Jims Barbershop (not this Jim). Healing Rooms are non-denominational healing ministries staffed by volunteers who pray for physical, emotional and spiritual healing. People come in off the street for healing, call in requests or send e-mails through the Healing Rooms Web site. Jim says they receive at least two prayer requests every day through e-mail alone. Some nights, they are at the Healing Rooms praying until 11 p.m. to meet demand for their service. He and the prayer volunteers have witnessed many healings in the ministry, from a child whose rheumatoid arthritis was removed from her fingers to adults with back pain, says Jim. "We are seeing awesome things with the healing ministry next door, which topped off my decision to move ahead with the coffee shop," he says. Jim says he felt led by God to add the coffee shop as a way to ease people into the Healing Rooms work. 
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© 2009, Ashtabula Star Beacon
P.O. Box 2100, Ashtabula OH 44005-2100 (440) 998-2323, Send news tips and feedback 
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