My name is Emma Patches, and I’m 16 years old. For the past four years, I’ve been volunteering at my church café, and a couple of months ago, I was officially hired. It has become a place where I can get to know people, talk about the Lord, and stay connected to my church.

Recently, God has also given me an amazing opportunity to use the café to reach out to friends from school.

It started during a deep conversation with one of my friends who is an atheist. She began asking me some really big questions about the Bible—how we can trust it when it was written by many different people, how we know the truth hasn’t been changed over time, and how a powerful God could allow sin and bad things to happen in the world.

I wasn’t expecting her to open up on such a deep level, and honestly, I felt unqualified to answer such huge questions. So I invited her to church, where we could talk more about them.

She was hesitant. She told me that even thinking about going into a church made her anxious.

I began to realize that she wasn’t the only one. Many of my friends, Christian or not, didn’t feel comfortable in a church setting. Some worried they would be judged by the people around them. It made me sad to think that this anxiety could be keeping some of my friends from taking a step toward Jesus.

So instead, I asked my friend if she would come to the café.

She said yes.

That conversation gave me an idea. I began inviting more of my friends to the café simply to spend time together, talk, ask questions, and pray. The café gives them a place where they can feel more comfortable taking that first step.

I love being able to help create that kind of environment for people.

The Lord has guided me through all of it. He has given me ideas for improving the café and finding new ways to make it a place people want to come into. He even gave me the opportunity to speak about the café to around 3,000 students my age at the Momentum Youth Conference.

There have been setbacks and bumps in the road, too, but through them I’m learning to trust that God is at work and to keep following where He leads.

For me, creativity has become about more than making something. It can also mean creating an opportunity, creating an environment, and creating a place where someone feels welcome.

I’m grateful that God has given me the opportunity to use something as simple as a café to help others feel comfortable, have meaningful conversations, and perhaps take one step closer to Him.