Levi Church worked as a barista at Summer Moon in Fort Worth, Texas, for nine months, pouring lattes with the same passion that he’d one day use to create something bigger: his own coffee business. Starting a coffee business was a dream he shared with his lifelong friend and soon to be roommate at Oral Roberts University, Elijah Snider.
Church knew it would be difficult to start a business, but he didn’t realize how difficult it would be as a freshman in college.
Church decided in the summer of 2023 to attend ORU, where Snider began attending in fall of 2022 and kept Church updated on what he was learning as an entrepreneurship major. In July 2023, at a worship night in Fort Worth, the men had the idea of starting a coffee company together. They decided they would call it Divine Coffee Company, based on John 15 where Jesus tells His followers to abide in the vine.
“We started Divine because we loved coffee,” Church said. “We were about to be in the same major and we were in similar mindsets of starting a company so we could work for ourselves and not another person.”
Church and Snider roasted their coffee beans and Church used the knowledge from his previous job at Summer Moon to create recipes that were original and handcrafted.
“From August to November of 2023, we started marketing on social media and began doing random events that our friends were booking us for,” Church said. “In November we started doing more private events like parties, Christmas parties, worship nights, and youth and young adults’ nights.”
When ORU move-in day came in August, Church and Snider’s cars were filled with both personal necessities and supplies for their business such as a grinder, coffee beans and coffee cups.
“As a freshman, I was still getting used to living on campus, meeting new friends, having a whole new friend group, and finding my faith on my own,” said Church, now a junior in entrepreneurship. “Starting a business on top of all that was hard to balance.”
According to a 2022 study by the NobleReach Foundation, a nonprofit which supports entrepreneurship for recent college graduates, approximately 11% of college students already own and operate a business.
Church remained determined to be a part of the 11%, no matter how much hard work it took. He oversaw the marketing and financial side of the business while Snider handled licensing and operations. Church often posted on Instagram to reach their target audience, young adults.
Church found that the more consistently he and Snider posted to the Divine Coffee Co. Instagram, the more they benefited from the algorithms.
He also found that sticking to a routine each day helped him achieve his goals for his business, his schooling and his personal life.
“I had to schedule out my days really well,” said Church. “I had to spend my time with the Lord and spend my time with friends and family. I would work in between classes, whether it was 15 minutes or three hours of a break.”
This semester, Divine Coffee Company is now open for business in the Stovall Center on the ORU campus, where all students and staff now have the chance to experience Church’s handcrafted, original coffee recipes.
