Albuquerque church store coordinates with cafe and missions department for summer series

Parchments, the bookstore at Calvary in Albuquerque, N.M., recently teamed up with the church’s café, Solomon’s Porch, and missions department to present “Friday Nights at the Porch.” The weekly event combined local music and ethnic food with an evening that focused on one of the missionaries the congregation supports. 

Parchments Manager Cesar Loya said the store started doing these events in mid-June, running from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday, and plans to host them throughout the fall as well. On average, the event has drawn 50 to 60 people on a regular basis.

“For us, that’s a pretty good number of people to come in for an event that doesn’t feature a major artist, or something that has a lot of hype to it,” Loya said. “So, that number has been good for us, to drive some extra traffic on a night that otherwise might be slow for us.”

Friday Nights at the Porch is being announced in church services and promoted through slides in the café. 

During the event, each of the missionaries has time to get to know members of the congregation and their guests. The event gives them an opportunity to share what they are doing on the mission field and a chance to build their contact lists for raising prayer and financial support. Countries that have been showcased at the mission event include Uganda, Croatia and England. 

“It has become a very popular event,” Loya said. “We get a nice group of people here, who enjoy music, fellowship, learn about the missionary and have some great food. We have missionaries join us from all over the world.”

Additionally, the café serves an ethnic dish that is based on the missionary’s field of service featured that night. When a guest purchases the featured dish, the bookstore gives them a $5 gift card to shop at the store. 

“Whether they shop that night or not, guests walk away with a $5 gift card,” Loya said. “It might be burning a hole in their pockets that night, in a couple of days or in the future. Even if they don’t shop with us that night, we know we are making an investment in them visiting our store in the future.”

One of Parchments’ handful of employees serves as the liaison between the missions department and the store, handling promotions and setting up a table for the missionary as well as leading the support team. The café also has been a driving force with its manager ensuring the food is prepared and setting the atmosphere for the night’s festivities.

“It really is a collaborative, group effort, where many departments within the church are involved, but there are key people within the bookstore, café and missions department that contribute to the event every week.” Loya said.

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