Meet Stephen McIlwaine, manager of The Dock Café
When Chris and Susan Bennett headed off in their camper van in May, they left the Dock Café in the capable hands of manager, Stephen McIlwaine, who is making sure that this unique corner of the Titanic Quarter continues to flourish.
We caught up with him and discovered that, like the Dock itself, Stephen’s background is little unconventional…
He was born in Belfast but when he was a toddler, his parents responded to a call to serve with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in Namibia, Southern Africa. After 12 years, the family returned to Northern Ireland and settled in Ballymena where Stephen went to school. He studied Design Engineering at the University of Ulster and when on to complete a Masters in Business Management
About four years ago, towards the end of his time as a student, Stephen connected with the Dock as a volunteer. He says: “In terms of my own faith I was going through a period where I was realising that church life/faith had to be more than just sitting in church on a Sunday and turning up every week for worship. I’d heard about what Chris (Bennett) was doing down here and I realised it was missional and open–ended so I decided to get involved for as long as God wanted me to do that.”
Stephen continued to volunteer every Saturday even though he had begun to work full–time in the charitable sector where he gained experience in managing volunteers. “It was a big commitment but I felt it was the right thing to do. It was a chance to meet real folk, the people that you just don’t meet coming through the church doors. I’m a people–driven person and it was a day to day thing of just witnessing to other volunteers and customers.”
Two years later the funding ran out for Stephen’s job and he set his career aside and embarked on a six month internship with the Dock. A project role followed, before Stephen took on a supervisory role in the café. With Chris’s departure, Stephen now manages the Dock Café along with the Development Coordinator, Joachim.
Stephen says: “We think the Dock is vital for this area. It has that seed of life. Our strapline – Life in the Titanic Quarter– couldn’t say it better. It really has sparked life here. In the 7–8 years of development of the Titanic Quarter the Dock has been key.
“People believe in the idea and what the space is about. We’re still number one on TripAdvisor (for coffee and tea in Belfast) which is amazing for a place that relies on honesty and volunteers.”
Stephen’s remit is to make sure the day to day operations of the café are done to as high a standard as possible. He’s also responsible for relationships with the five main groups that the Dock works with in the Titanic Quarter – BMC students, Ark residents, local people, international tourists and those that work in the surrounding businesses.
“All those people come in for their lunch and part of my role is getting to know them,” says Stephen.
“Another big part is making sure we have enough volunteers day in and day out. We are an extremely busy café but there are a lot of people who want to be involved.”
The Dock was built on prayer and Stephen shares five areas the team is praying about in particular:
Chaplains
“At the minute we have three chaplains during the week but ideally we’d like to have one per day so we’re praying that more chaplains would get involved – people who are gospel focussed, gospel driven and have a real heart for reaching out to people here and want to faithfully give their time to reach the people of Belfast and wider afield.”
The longevity of the Dock
“We’re on a ‘Meanwhile Lease’ so by grace we’re here. We have a great relationship with the Titanic Quarter and they’ve been incredibly faithful in giving us the space but obviously as this area grows and becomes more popular the risk of us having to go increases. It’s a Kingdom Project. I feel it’s here for the long term.”
Sunday Nights at the Dock (first Sunday in the month)
“A team is being put together to look after Sunday nights. We’re praying for growth and that this place would be more fruitful in seeing people coming to faith.”
Creativity
“We miss Chris’s creativity! The Dock is always growing and we’re praying that big new ideas will come through.”
Mission
“In terms of reaching out to people, the Dock is a great signpost a great seed planter. I very much believe we have a day to day opportunity to meet people and share Jesus, but for a lot of them church would be a massive culture shock. How do we journey people through that? How do we disciple them? It’s one of the big challenges for the Dock.”
Please pray for the Dock and do call in, meet the team and enjoy a unique café experience! Open Mondays–Saturdays, 11am to 5pm. 2k Queen’s Road, Belfast BT9 3DT.