Your time to shine

There comes a time when you have to stop watching things happen and start making things happen, Gospel Café owner Annette Sessoms said.

With that in mind, Gospel Café, a family-friendly gospel concert, was born.

"I think when people become Christians, they feel like they can no longer have a good time," Sessoms said.

By creating Gospel Café, Sessoms hopes to change that.

Gospel Café welcomes people of faith into an atmosphere that is safe for the whole family, Sessoms said. To maintain a family-friendly environment, alcohol is not served; only tea, coffee and water are available.

This Saturday, Gospel Café will hold its second Gospel concert. The doors will open at 3 p.m. and the concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Jacksonville High School Cafeteria. Gospel groups, singers and even a mime group will perform.

"Basically, the Gospel Cafe is a Christian organization that capitalizes on local talent," Sessoms said.

The show should last three or four hours. The Gospel Café always let guests out early on Saturday nights, so that people will "wake up Sunday and feel refreshed and ready to go to church," Sessoms said.

Along with the hired performers, anyone in the audience who wants to showcase his or her talent is also allowed to perform.

 "It's your 15 or 20 minutes of fame - your time to shine," Sessoms said.

Tickets for Gospel Café concerts are $10. From the ticket profits, Sessoms donates 10 percent to local churches. At the last show, she donated money to First Baptist Church and to River of Life Church, which she is a member of, she said. Each person who performs at Gospel Café is also given a donation.

The ticket sales, along with money from Annette's personal bank account, funds the Gospel Café concerts, Sessoms said.

For Saturday's show, however, Gospel Café received several donations from local businesses. A local Food Lion donated a $25 gift card, Andy's Burgers donated gift cards, a local Wal-Mart donated a $50 gift card, and a local Golden Corral donated money to help fund the event.

Another goal of Gospel Café is to "keep everyone busy and keep the money right here in Jacksonville," Sessoms said.

For Saturday's concert, Sessoms hired the Golden Corral of Jacksonville to cater the event. Eventually, she hopes to earn enough money to give gift cards and scholarships to college students.

"I had two children to go to college," the mother of two, said. "It was really hard."

Sessoms and her husband Jefferey are currently trying to find a permanent location for Gospel Café. The local high schools are no longer renting out their buildings on the weekends, so it is important for Gospel Café to have its own building, Annette said.

 "I want the location to be downtown really," Sessoms said. "Every time I think of the word café I think of downtown."

For more information about the Gospel Cafe, call 910-581-9076.