Today after one of our services, a first time guest was walking down the hallway with her two children in tow. One of them shouted, “I want to do it again Mommy! I want to do it again!” You can’t get a better endorsement than that. By the way, our 1st Impression Team did a great job with her as well, especially Nancy (my mom) and Beth. Way to go guys!

Today was just awesome! Not only did we have a great attendance, but we had 15 1st & 2nd Time Guests fill out Connect Cards! My message was on understanding God’s will for our lives. And while that might seem kind of dry or ho hum, people were moved. Several people told me that they were going to try to get their friends to the evening service.

At 1PM today Bryan Miller from our church organized his reserve unit, LIFE Group, and anyone from our church that wanted to go down to the VA Hospital to love and serve. It went great – so well in fact, that is going to be a quarterly event. On Friday, over 50 people showed up for the OCC wrapping/ packing party. On Thursday of this week, our Servolution LIFE Group is taking clothes to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief. On Saturday, Dec. 12th, they are organizing a Free Yard Sale for our community. Three different families contacted me last week wanting names of families to help for Christmas. Walk around before and after the services and you’ll hear and see people laughing, sharing, praying, crying, loving and serving.

Sure the music is awesome at Coastal – in fact it just keeps getting better and better! Craig Burden was awesome tonight! And yes I love the lights and sometimes the guy preaching doesn’t completely screw it up, but don’t you see? It’s all this other stuff that gets me jacked up!

The impact we are making in our community is palpable. I’ve heard people say, “If your church were gone, would people in your community even notice?” The answer for Coastal is a loud yes! Tonight after the 3rd service two teachers from Oakland came looking for me. They wanted to tell me that the longtime secretary at Oakland found out that her dad was murdered over the weekend here in Charleston. I went to her home. They live right around the corner from our church. She introduced me to her family as the Pastor of Coastal, the church across the street from the school, the one who prays with the teachers and brings coffee and doughnuts. Yes, we are making an impact. Lives are being changed. Sure, today was a long day, but honestly, I feel just like that child, “I want to do it again! I want to do it again!”