Prayers with purpose

Under the rafters of the wood floor above, beneath the exposed pipes and wiring, with the help of hand drum and a couple of acoustic guitars, an old hymn rises.

A trio of young people, in jeans and sweatshirts, give the song -- made popular in modern times by bands like Jars of Clay and the David Crowder Band -- a new, contemporary sound. As 29-year-old Josh Davis belts it out, many of those who are gathered here sing along from their seats.

"Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise."

Their music floats up the stairs, mixing with the sounds of footsteps, conversations and an espresso machine.

This is no church basement. And this is no church service.

On the subterranean floor of North Town Coffeehouse in downtown Yakima, a new worship night is starting with the goal of giving young people a place to praise God in their own way.

Audience participation is encouraged.

"This is not a concert," Davis tells the crowd. "This is Worship Night. We expect you to sing along with us.

"We have a singular purpose here tonight and that is to praise Jesus. The Bible has a lot to say about this dude we call Jesus. He was more than just a man."

The new, informal, non-denominational Christian Worship Night features live, uplifting music, testimony and scripture readings. The plan is for people, particularly young people, to sign up on a rotating basis to lead worship and play music.

"I want to provide opportunities for people to worship," says 54-year-old North Town owner Dave Tompkins, a former youth pastor. "Worship has always been close to my heart. I spent most of my life in full-time ministry."

And, "I love working with kids. I know kids are always looking for something to do, a place to go, a place to hang out."

The coffeehouse's first Worship Night, held Wednesday, drew about two dozen people, who sipped coffee drinks and sang along in the intimate space, about the size of a large living room. Seventeen-year-old T.J. Dinsmore, a pastor's son who's slated to lead the next event, sat up front.

"It's cool to be able to do this not in a church," says Dinsmore, a West Valley High School junior whose father is the pastor at Wiley Union Church. "There's no pews. It's more of a laid-back atmosphere."

Dinsmore is a worship leader at his church youth group.

"I thought it was a cool idea what (Tompkins) wanted to do," he says. "It's not like in a church, with certain rules."

The basement of the coffeehouse, he says, is "comfortable. It's a place where we can meet and just worship God together and just learn about him.

"You don't even have to go to church. You can just come worship."

Tompkins, the father of three adult sons, served as the youth pastor at Ahtanum Pioneer Church for more than 20 years. He says he doesn't want to lead the event, only provide the venue.

"I'm just a Christian businessman who used to be a youth pastor who would like to see this kind of thing happen," he says. "I just want to make it available, and I might participate, too. Although I'm a lot older than the kids, I'm not uncomfortable with the music."

Tompkins also wants to make one thing clear: Worship Night is a time for praise, not church recruitment.

"It needs to be inclusive," he says. "We need to be sensitive to people around us."

The upscale coffeehouse with a relaxed, historic and hip vibe has been popular with students and young people since its grand opening last summer.

Since January, Tompkins has been advertising Worship Night with fliers in the shop. He said 10 or 12 people called for more information and expressed their interest.

About nine, including Davis, showed up for an organizational meeting. He and a couple of friends agreed to lead the first event.

"I felt like it was something I wanted to be part of," says Davis, who lives in Edmonds but visits Yakima frequently to visit his parents. He says his motto is "Less talk, more rock."

"I'd like this place to be completely packed out," he says. "That would be awesome."

"I like Yakima," he adds. But, "For college-age people, there's not a lot going on."

When he lived here, he says, "it was kind of hard to for me to find something to do. I could go to youth group, but I'm almost 30."

Wednesday night is a typical night for many churches to hold Bible study or youth groups. The coffee shop is giving young people, especially teens and
20-somethings, another option.

"Well, hallelujah," Davis says. After setting up equipment and carrying out a short sound check, he's ready to rock.

"You can really find a safe place here to come and encounter God," he says. "And that is a worthy goal."

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