I think every church has a unique churchprint just like every person has a unique fingerprint. Churches need to identify what it is that makes them unique. They need to discover their signature. I think we try to play off the theater motif: Now Meeting @ a Theater Near You. That’s our signature as www.theaterchurch.com. We also package our welcome packet in a popcorn box. Why not? It’s a celebration of where God has strategically positioned us.

I love churches and businesses that have unique signatures that set them apart. I remember a restaurant in Milwaukee that had dolphins. What a fun place to eat. I loved Gino’s pizza in Chicago because you could carve your name in the wall. It was their signature. I’ve seen restaurants with huge fish tanks. Red Lobster has a lobster tank. I remember eating at Ground Round as a kid. Their hors d’oeuvres were popcorn and peanuts.

I really want Ebenezers to have a unique signature so that when people walk in it’s like no other place they’ve been in. I want us to have some signature foods. I’ve lobbying for fondue I want us to have a unique motif. We’ll have train tracks in the floor and I’m wondering if we have an “elevated train” running around the ceiling? I’ve never seen a restaurant do that. It’d be a unique way of celebrating the history of the property. The original diner served travelers before their was food service on the trains.

I also want to make Ebenezer’s kid-friendly. Lora and I love to go out for coffee, but it can be tough with small kids I’d like to have a coloring station or video station or maybe a train station. I want it to be a place where parents can hang out with kids.

I’d also like to have a unique giveaway. Grotto Pizza in Rehobeth gives away balloons to kids. Kids love it One idea is to give away shiny stones (marble-like stones). I know that sounds crazy and it might be a potential health hazard. But Ebenezers was originally a stone altar that meant “Hitherto the Lord has helped us.” That’s our backstory and kids love stones.

I want Ebenezers to be the kind of place that kid’s say “Can we go to Ebenezers? Please. Pleeaassee.” One key is signature. There’s an old song: “Let’s give ‘em something to talk about.” That’s what a signature does. I want people to walk out of Ebenezers and tell their friends about. By the way, a few other signature ideas are to hang the original deed, paint a mural of the Capitol from the vantage point of Union Station/Ebenezers in 1844, and tell the backstory about how Ebenezers evolved. One other idea I had was to use a satellite map of the city as part of the flooring. They have one at the city museum that is sweet. If anybody wants to contribute to the “map fund” let me know

All of that to say this. I want Ebenezers to have a signature! We celebrate originality individuality. How many times have I said: There never has been and never will be anyone like you. That’s not a testament to you. It’s a testament to the God who created you. In the same sense, there never been and never will be a coffeehouse like Ebenezers. And that’s a testament to the God of Originality.

By the way, I love Nooma videos signature. Blue gumballs. I love those things