Linda Baughman: Grace Cafe Lead
Linda Baughman during the morning preparations.
So much work goes into our monthly Grace Café. We wouldn’t be able to pull off this ministry without faithful people like Linda Baughman. We recently interviewed her to hear what all goes into making Grace Café the wonderful and successful ministry that it is!
Do you have a lot of errands to run for Grace Café?
They see the end product, but there’s probably a good 8-12 hours that goes in before we ever serve a meal.
Have you been helping run Grace Café as long as it’s existed?
Yeah, they talked to me first. The leadership came to me and said that we want to do this and I said, “okay, I’m happy to help,” and we talked to Susan to see if she’d be willing to come on board.
Team members Joel Satre and Jonathan Anderson assisting with the Sunday morning setup.
8-12 hours of preparation work seems like a lot.
Sometimes, it’s not so much. I determined from the very beginning that we wanted to do homestyle home-cooked meals. I didn’t want something that was prepackaged that’s just put out. Susan feels the same way about her desserts, she wants them to be homemade. It’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make to provide a meal for our people that is worthy of their attendance.
What is the value you see in eating together?
We can serve hotdogs and potato chips and have the same comradery that you have in the gymnasium when everybody’s there. Especially for us, because we serve after the first service and second service and so many people are there until the second serving starts or just out there visiting, talking, sharing, and ministering – it’s wonderful. That’s my most favorite part, is seeing people just interacting with one another.
GCC member Jon Popp enjoying a meal with his children and Don Barr.
Getting that at least once a month is nice.
I have people that come to me and ask “when are we going to start Grace Café?” I’d say “just hang in there, we’re working on it.” Because we missed it when Covid hit and we had to take a hiatus! It’s worked out really well, everybody seems really happy about it. At first, our numbers were kind of low, but now they’re back up to pre-pandemic numbers.
Have you seen Grace Café change over the years at all?
We’ve gone through so many different people that have helped. Some moved away, some couldn’t commit, but now I have a core group that’s here with me. Brad, Katie, Susan, and I are here every Grace Café Sunday unless somebody’s sick or out of town. I’ll jump in and help with dessert if Susan can’t make it. I’m committed to being here every time and so is Brad and so is Katie Lynn and we stay from 7:30 am until 2:30 pm, we’re here the whole time. I couldn’t do it without them cause they’re my continuity.
How long have you had this core team?
About two years!
Were you asked to do this job because you have the skill-set of event coordination and execution?
I would say I have this innate ability to kind of look at a crowd of people and figure out what we can do and what we can’t do – I credit my mom a lot for that. But it’s a gift God has blessed me with over the years to do that. I’m a service-oriented person and an event-oriented person.
It’s a perfect blend!
It’s kind of ironic because food and flowers, they’re kind of different but they’re both perishable.
Youth members hosting a birthday celebration with Grace Cafe lunch after the first service.
What’s something you feel like the Lord has taught you in this or something that you’re excited about for this next season?
I’m just excited that we’re interacting with our family again. That means a lot to me. I love coming here and seeing people I know and checking upon them. So many times when they come through the serving line, maybe I haven’t seen them in service because we attend different times but when we come to the serving line it’s like, “oh, how are you doing? How are so and so?” It just makes it feel homey.
Jesus met with so many people over a meal!
Exactly! He knows us!