I’ll try to keep this short and sweet. Just a few thoughts racing through my head on Sunday night:
- Sometimes our church reminds me of the Charleston Riverdogs. How you ask? Their motto: “Where Fun Is Good!”
- Just had a lot of fun at church today.
- Gave away WD40 sticks to all the men. What man doesn’t like WD40?
- Also gave away a couple of Home Depot Gift Cards and Power Drills.
- Daniel is a gifted singer and worship leader. Our Praise & Worship Team keeps getting better and better.
- And how about Wes playing keyboards today! I think next week he’s playing the violin! Just joking.
- Had another teacher from Oakland come to church today.
- Loved Craig Groschel’s message. And yes, I hate cats too!
- People loved eating in between the services. Jamie Westendorf of Charleston Outdoor Catering brought all the food – shrimp & grits, crab cakes, barbeque, chicken, coleslaw, mac & cheese – and didn’t charge us a dime! That’s right, nothing, not even the cost of the food! If you need a caterer for your event, give him the business.
- Several people gave their lives to Jesus today!! Several people recommitted their lives to Jesus today! I had a couple of conversations with people who haven’t been in church in a long time. One man talked to me about getting more involved at Coastal.
- Attendance remains over 200.
- The new carpet in several of the rooms looked great!
- And finally, my family made me feel very special today! Steak, presents, and season 7 of 24! I got a new Clemson shirt! I don’t think I have any of those.

What a great kick off to the One Prayer series on Sunday! For those of you who don’t know, One Prayer is a global initiative where over 1800 churches representing over 1 million believers are participating together in the same sermon series, serving with other Christians in their communities, and giving an offering used to start churches around the world. I preached on Sunday and then the next 3 weeks we get to listen to some of the best communicators from around the country.

The band just seemed in the groove on Sunday. They really rocked! Honestly, it was just one of those days – hard to describe, but the energy level was just high. It’s like people are excited before they even get to church. They just know that God is going to move and lives are going to be changed!

The message theme for this year’s One Prayer is “God is . . .” My message was, “God is not finished with you.” I talked about how people don’t think that God can or wants to use them because of who they are or what they’ve done. I used the lives of Joseph and Peter as examples of people that God used in spite of their circumstances and their mistakes. It really seemed to connect with people.

We were back over 200 on Sunday and had lots of guests. We also had 14 children in Splash Zone (3-5 year olds) during the second service! We’re in the process of moving those kids to a bigger room. The most important thing that happened Sunday was that someone gave their live to Christ for the first time and several recommitted their lives to Jesus!

We also had a Baptism Service at Folly Beach on Sunday afternoon. If you know anything about Baptism Services at Coastal, you know they are always memorable. This was no exception. Sunday was a beautiful day and then about 4PM one of those afternoon showers popped up. But this was no “normal” shower. There were tornado warnings and they got everyone out of the water and shut down Folly Beach County Park. Traffic was crazy and many couldn’t even make it out to Folly. But there was a group that made it and we decided to walk past the “guarded area” and go for it! We did and it was awesome! We ended up baptizing 12 people and now have at least 6 more to baptize later. We will schedule another Baptism at the Beach later in the Summer. God is definitely not finished with Coastal!

I love our church! I do. I love seeing all the new faces. I love seeing people take steps toward Jesus, life change, service, and community. I love the diversity of our church. I love that we reach people who probably wouldn’t darken the door of a church otherwise.

A couple of weeks ago, we announced that we were going to be having a Baptism at Folly Beach on June 14th. We had several people who were going to be Baptized. But then I started getting a lot of questions and I really sensed God telling me to take a Sunday and preach a message about Baptism, what it means, why you should do it, why we immerse, and who should do it. I shared that with the Creative Team and that’s what I did this morning. Wow! That decision was definitely a God thing. Right now we have 16 people who are getting Baptized next Sunday! If you’ve never been Baptized by immersion as a believer in Christ, we’d love for you to join us! Even if you’re not getting Baptized come out to Folly Beach with us for an awesome celebration and cheer everyone on!

The music absolutely rocked today! Billy is an unbelievable guitarist! He and Wes really jam well together! And I absolutely loved his pink guitar.

We were back over 200 in attendance today – 212 I think. In the second service I was talking about what to wear for the Baptism at the Beach and made a joke about me wearing a thong! It brought the house down. I wasn’t sure I was going to get everyone back. You never know what’s going to come out of my mouth.

Every week we have 1st & 2nd Time Guests! Between the 2 services they had 18 preschoolers. 121 in the 1st service was a record.

We introduced our new Student Ministry Intern and his wife today – Sean & Melissa Clements. I just love this couple already! Sean is going to end up doing a lot more than just Student Ministry. They are the real deal! Introduce yourselves to them and welcome them to the Coastal family.

This afternoon we had our annual Adult vs. Student (and sponsors) Softball Game & Cookout! Let me just say it was a lot of fun – the food, the laughter, just hanging out, and yes even the game! We easily had 50+ people show up! The Students won as usual, thanks to their excellent softball skills and their excellent umpire, I mean our umpire – you get the picture! The game wouldn’t be the same without Charlie!

Had a great FUEL on Saturday! Love talking about next steps and the future of our church. We start the One Prayer series this coming Sunday – God is ________. It’s going to be awesome!

Like I said, I love our church!

Last year one of the most exciting things that we got to be a part of was, “One Prayer.” The idea for the series was started through the ministry of Life Church and Pastor Craig Groeschel. The premise is simple and powerful. Hundreds of churches from around the world simultaneously doing a series together called, “One Prayer.” As of right, now over 1600 churches from around the world are participating in 2009, representing almost 1 million Christians.

At Coastal we will start this years series on the weekend of June 14th and run for a total of 4 weeks. Last year, the preaching theme of One Prayer was, “If God would answer ‘one prayer’ for the church at large, what would you pray? Lord make us _________.” This year, the preaching theme is, “God is ___________.” How would you fill in that blank? “God is Powerful. God is Love. God is Holy. God is a Fortress.”

Just like last year, I will preach live the first Sunday, kicking off the series, expressing how I would fill in that blank. Then, the next 3 weeks we will have the opportunity to watch a video message from some of the best preachers from around the world. Simple.

But also powerful. We get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves to promote unity in the Body of Christ. We will be fasting, praying, and seeking God in concert with hundreds of thousands of other believers. We will be exposed to other great teachers and ministries. We get to experiment with video teaching. We will be mobilizing our church to do something ministry related in our community. And we will receive an offering toward the end of the series and combine it with hundreds of other churches to plant churches around the world. Last year over 600 churches were planted in China, India, Sudan, and Cambodia.

I can’t wait! So, what about you? How would you fill in that blank? What do you think I’ll preach? For a brief explanation of the series visit the One Prayer website and watch this short video: