Our new portable baptistry that is! It arrived today! I’m jacked! At Coastal we baptize by immersion and for almost 20 years whenever we have Baptism Services we typically do them at the beach. When we met at Ashley Hall School, we used their indoor swimming pool. We’ve also borrowed other church facilities that have a baptistry.

However, even though it’s December and 74 degrees today here in Charleston, we only use the beach during the Spring, Summer, and early Fall. And anyone who has been at Coastal knows that we have a history of having to reschedule and reschedule and reschedule our Beach Baptism Services because of weather. We will continue to use the beach for baptisms. There is something powerful about baptizing people in the ocean.

However, if I’m honest, one of the drawbacks of outdoor baptisms is that not everyone comes out to the event. The crowds aren’t terrible, but I think it’s important for as many people as possible to see real examples of life change. And that’s what baptism is – a beautiful illustration of life change – a celebration! It is an outward symbol of our faith. It is a public profession of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It symbolizes new birth and a washing away of our sins. It’s also saying to the world that your life is now under new management. Therefore, I think it’s important to act when someone gives their life to Jesus and is ready to be baptized. It’s something we shouldn’t keep putting off.

So, with all that in mind and our new portable baptistry in hand, we’re going to be having our first Baptism Service in our own building on Sunday night, December 20th, during the 3rd service, the 6PM service. Not only is it the Sunday before Christmas, it is the 3rd week of our series on Forgiveness. I can’t think of a better time to do it!

True to Coastal style, we’re going to make the event a celebration – a party! At 4:30PM we’ll be having an Oyster Roast. We’ll provide the oysters (local, disease free), butter, cocktail sauce, crackers, knives, gloves, drinks, hotdogs (for those who don’t like oysters), and paper products. You bring whatever other food you want share – chili, desserts, etc.

At 6PM we’ll move into the auditorium for a time of awesome, rocking worship and the baptism service. You won’t want to miss it. If you are interested in being baptized, simply let us know. Wear shorts and a t-shirt for the baptism and bring a change of clothes, we’ll provide towels and a changing room. And yes the water is heated! It’s going to be an awesome celebration! I can’t think of a better Christmas party!