What If Church Looked More Like a Coffee Shop?
What happens when a church starts looking more like a coffee shop than a Sunday service?
In this episode of Kingdom Keys for Business, Life and Work, Gea Gort and Bill Job talk with Paul Unsworth, founder of Kahaila, a thriving café and community in East London that has become a powerful example of Business as Mission in action.
As a Baptist pastor, Paul became convinced that many people would never walk into a church building—but they would walk into a coffee shop. That conviction led him to create a space where people could belong before they believed, where faith could be discovered through relationships, hospitality, and practical love.
What started as a café on Brick Lane grew into initiatives helping women leave sex work, supporting survivors of human trafficking, creating employment opportunities, and launching new businesses that continue to transform lives.
Paul also shares honestly about the challenges: growing too fast, navigating organizational tensions, surviving COVID, and learning to trust God's voice through seasons of pruning and uncertainty.
This conversation is a powerful encouragement for anyone sensing God's invitation to step out in faith, even when they feel unqualified. Paul: "My main gift isn't entrepreneurship. My main gift is faith."
In this episode:
- Why Paul skipped church to explore London's streets
- Creating belonging before belief
- Starting a café as a form of church
- How business became a platform for mission
- Supporting women leaving sex work and survivors of trafficking
- Lessons from rapid growth and painful pruning
- Hearing God's voice in difficult seasons
- Why faith matters more than expertise
- How God provides what we need when we step out in obedience
#BusinessAsMission #BAM #KingdomBusiness #FaithAtWork #Kahaila #PaulUnsworth #BillJob #GeaGort #KingdomKeys
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