It all started with Sin in the basement.

 

Alright alright alright. Before you get weirded out, here’s the real story of how Sozo Coffeehouse began—a ministry built by young adults, for young adults.

 

Sozo was born out of a local nonprofit’s desire to help college students and young

professionals grow in their faith journeys. Even before we had a building, the vision was

simple: create a safe community where young adults could build friendships, develop

leadership skills, gain life experience, and find opportunities to impact the world around

them.

 

That vision has carried us far. Today, Sozo has sent young adults across the globe—from

orphanages in Peru, to earthquake-shaken communities in Haiti, to the slums of Kibera in

Africa. Some now serve full-time in places like Spain and Canada.

 

But before all that… let’s go back to the beginning—from Sin in the basement, to a place of

restoration.

 

When our small team of young adults began searching for the best place to reach people

ages 18–35, the Old Market immediately stood out. Its demographic is 97% young adults,

with more than 65,000 college students living within five miles. It’s also one of the most

influential areas of the city—home to the arts, entertainment, education, government, and

culture. And yet, spiritually, Downtown Omaha was one of the most unreached communities in our city, with almost all new and growing churches much further out west in the suburbs.

 

So how did we test whether the Old Market was where we belonged?

 

We threw a party.

 

We rented out the upstairs of the building Sozo occupies today (still a great wedding venue)

and hosted a swing dance. We passed out flyers all over downtown and waited to see if

anyone would show up. We handed one to the band playing downstairs in the bar—a

band called Sin. Yes, the first-ever Sozo event literally started with Sin in the basement.

More than 200 young adults showed up that night—many just wandering in off the street.

Even the members of Sin came upstairs. That night made one thing clear: this was the place.

We started hosting our Bible studies upstairs—the heart of our ministry from the

beginning. Each study was designed to be a space where questions were welcomed and

community was formed, giving young adults from over 40 different faith backgrounds room

to wrestle with what they believe. It’s still why we close early every Tuesday.

 

But we didn’t stay upstairs for long. Eventually, we took over the lease for the basement.

And it was… rough. Because the building is historical, renovation was costly. The basement

was full of old freezers, uneven floors, and crumbling fixtures—and the $54,000 our young

adults scraped together didn’t even cover the demolition quote.

 

But we had something money couldn’t buy: a group of people with a vision.

 

For nearly two years, young adults who believed in Sozo volunteered their days, nights, and

weekends. They tore out fixtures, built walls, ran wires—doing whatever it took to

transform the space. Over 3,200 volunteer hours were logged. It was nothing short of a

miracle.

 

If that isn’t enough for those of little faith, here’s the part that may stretch you: after we

finished clearing out the basement where Sin once played, Jesus came down and gave us His

blessing to open.

 

Literally—in person.

 

We knew no one would believe us, so we kept the proof: His signature. That’s right. The city inspector who signed our final approval to open Sozo was named…

 

Jesus.

 

Okay, maybe not the Jesus you were thinking of—but after 3,200 hours in a basement, His

sense of humor was perfectly timed.

​

So, where did we get the name Sozo? 

 

Sozo is a Greek word that means “a safe place” or “to save.” And honestly, both meanings describe who we are.

 

The first meaning of that name is the coffeehouse itself. From day one, our heart has been

to create a place where anyone—no matter their background, beliefs, or baggage—could

feel welcome. A place where you can host a baby shower, grab coffee with a friend, play a

board game, or just exist without being judged. We keep politics out and keep family-friendly fun in. If you need a safe place to land, Sozo was built for you.

 

The second meaning is the ministry that happens behind the scenes. It’s the reason we

close early every Tuesday at 6 p.m. While the shop quiets down, young adults gather to

wrestle with Scripture, ask hard questions, and explore their own faith journeys together.

We don’t teach from a stage—we learn from one another. We read, research, discuss,

disagree, and still choose to love each other through it. It’s messy sometimes, but it’s real.

And that’s what makes it Sozo.

Community Impact

People often ask what Sozo does for the community, and we always enjoy starting with

what happens inside our walls. Yes, our Bible studies on Tuesday nights are the heartbeat of

who we are—but throughout the week, this place is alive with intentionally family-friendly

events that bring our community together.

 

Some events simply happen because we keep the doors open: third-Friday open mic nights, salsa dancing, comedy shows, local musicians, art events—moments that create the

kind of community we’ve always hoped for. Others we host directly, like our annual

Gingerbread House Making Contest, or the Free All-You-Can-Eat Pancakes and Bacon Feed every October that served more than 500 people this year between midnight and 4 a.m. Our monthly prayer walks aim to gather over a thousand people to better understand, appreciate, and pray for the urban neighborhood we’re part of. Link to prayer walk page here

 

And those are just the highlights. Keeping our doors open also makes room for some of Omaha’s largest AA groups, foster-care reunification meetings, mental-health support gatherings, and more than seventy unique ministries that use our space for at least an hour each month. In other words, Sozo isn’t just a coffeehouse—it’s a home base for a whole ecosystem of people doing good work in our city.

 

On the ministry side, our young adults serve as mentors for organizations like Release and

the Hope Center. They even provide volunteer childcare once a month so foster parents can

attend training and support programs. Although we rely on donations to fuel our

ministry efforts, the coffeehouse itself also helps fund organizations such as the Open Door

Mission, Christ for the City, Release, Youth for Christ, and others we partner with on a

regular basis. The community pours into Sozo, and Sozo pours right back out<3