Hi. I know this is an old blog entry, but I wanted to respond anyway. :) I found it when googling for Holy Joe's in Broken Arrow. I work at the VA and had a homeless patient who was interested in their outreach ministry, and I had misplaced the phone number, lol. My sister is one of the founders of Holy Joe's. In fact she and her husband own the building. They work with my brother-in-law's parents (Ernie and Sherry) to make Holy Joe's happen. When they bought the building, they intended to run an antiques shop, but that fell through and it was unused except as a work space for my brother in law's cabinet making company. All of the Anthamattens involved with Holy Joe's live in the neighborhood adjacent to Holy Joe's. They discussed use of the building for some time and decided to open a coffee shop (simple, leaded and unleaded) with a few snacks and have a place for live music. (Both Ernie and my b-i-l, Doug, are musicians.) It started slowly and grew a little at a time. After about a year, they all agreed that they wanted Holy Joe's to do more. They had some regulars who did outreach work in jails and prisons as well as some who worked with the homeless and with individuals recovering from substance abuse. They started going into downtown Tulsa meeting with people who were living without a home. They offered an invitation to Holy Joe's each time. Most of their work was done in "Tent City", but now so many of those who lived there are scattered all over since the city forced them out. The anthamattens have been able to help many people who were living there get their paperwork in order(ss cards, birth certificates, etc) so they are able to obtain work as well as help find housing placement for many. Their work continues. They have acquired first a van, then an old ambulance, and now a full sized bus to help transport those they invite to and from Holy Joe's. They offer outreach nights every other Saturday (in February and march , 07 those nights are the 10th and 24th). They pick up from the Day Center parking lot in downtown Tulsa between 5:00 and 5:30 and return patrons when the evening is over. They offer a food pantry, a clothes closet, linens, toothbrushes. They also just offer a good time listening to really good music (even those who don't care for the "christian" aspect seem to enjoy themselves) in a safe environment free of drugs and alcohol (something many of the homeless and people in recovery often have little or no access to) Holy Joe's is open to all, christian and non-christian, homeless or not. They do offer counseling and an alter call during their open hours, but that is not the center of what Holy Joe's is all about. Counseling is done in an area somewhat separated from the other areas and is available at the patron's request. No one is pressured to participate in any counseling or Christian ministry at all. It started as just a general idea about opening a fun night spot that was different...no alcohol, etc.. and evolved into more. And it is still growing. I sometimes think they should have left the word "Christian" out of their signage because unfortunately, especially here in Oklahoma, that word can be off-putting to a lot of folks. But at the same time, that is what they are really doing, reaching out in a Christ-modeled way to those they are able to reach, with an open door, no judgement, and any help they have at their disposal to give.

Answers to your questions:

Is the coffee decaf?
They offer leaded and unleaded

Is there dancing allowed?
They have a dance floor.

Is the music 3/4 time?
I actually had to lol at that one! The house band are all old used up metal heads.

What do they do for three hours?
Listen to music, eat, drink coffee, and have a good time.

Is it just church...at night?
Nope. It's not like that at all.

You should stop by there sometime. Everyone is welcome and you'll be greeted with a smile even if you introduce yourself as a skeptic, lol. The folks who run this place do not have lily-white pasts...I think that's one of the main reasons they felt called to make a place like Holy Joe's, where someone's past is their past, and they're only interested in looking to the future. It's a place of hope and unconditional acceptance, music and food, and everyday people. You really should go by sometime. I know you'll be surprised. If I didn't know the people and the place, I would probably have had just the same impression and eye-rolling response you did. But it really is a truly different place. The word Christian is so often misused in this world, and that's lead to it being almost a bad thing. But the people who run Holy Joe's are different. And they've actually read the handbook. ;)