Concerned about Steve’s crumbling marriage, the senior pastor and two elders of the church confront him, encouraging him to take a sabbatical from his worship pastor duties and go to marriage counseling. Steve refuses and leaves the church to walk the Christmas-lit streets of the small town. As a storm begins to brew, Steve stumbles upon the God Café—the only restaurant still open on Christmas Eve. As he enters the door, he is greeted by the waiter who appears to resemble Jesus. The waiter welcomes Steve in from the storm and serves him coffee.
Steve then meets two patrons who introduce themselves as Simon Cephas (Peter) and Rabbi Saul (Paul). When Peter wishes Steve a Merry Christmas, he grumbles under his breath with disgust and Paul refers to him as “Mr. Scrooge.” The two men sit down at Steve’s table and retell the story of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death and resurrection, mostly word for word as it is written in the Bible. They also share their stories of how they denied or persecuted Jesus during biblical times but He never turned His back on them. Paul talks about salvation and quotes Ephesians 2:8-9.
The scene jumps to the waiter waking Steve as he lifts his head from the café table. Steve asks him what he owes him for the coffee and the waiter replies, “Son, you don’t owe me anything, it’s been paid for you.” He notices the waiter’s hand is nail-scared. Steve leaves the café and discovers in his pocket the same counseling center pamphlet the senior pastor handed him (which ironically Steve previously threw away). When Steve looks back at the café he sees it is now a building with a “For Lease” sign on it.
Reflecting on the lesson he learned from his dreamlike experience, he immediately calls his wife and agrees to do counseling together.
During the scenes of Steve interacting with Peter and Paul, there are cutaways to people standing in front of green-screen landscapes while singing worship songs. If you are willing to look passed these odd cutaways, The God Café has a positive message to share. It chronicles Steve’s dreamlike experience of rediscovering Jesus through the retelling of Scripture. We also witness Steve’s positive change in attitude at the end as he attempts to reconcile his marriage. However, some heavy content isn’t suitable for young children. For these reasons, The God Café earns our Dove-Approved Seal for Ages 12+.
The Dove Take:
The God Café’s Gospel retelling and repentance message makes it suitable for all ages. Yet its dialogue-heavy scenes are better suited for a teen or adult audience.
