This week has reminded me just how quickly life can change. In the span of just a few days, my son had a birthday. I had the incredible privilege of baptizing a young student that I dedicated when he was a baby. I visited an older Pastor friend of mine who came home from the hospital and rehab following a stroke. I officiated a beautiful wedding for a sweet couple from our church. I stood with one of our Coastal families as we held the funeral for little JC, a precious 5 year-old boy whose life tragically ended far too soon.
Joy and sorrow. Celebration and heartbreak. Laughter and tears. As I reflected on everything that happened this week, my thoughts kept returning to Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.”
Solomon reminds us that there is “a time for every activity under heaven.” Sometimes all of those seasons seem to collide in the very same week. One of the things I love most about God’s church is that we get to walk through every one of those seasons TOGETHER. Think about it – we celebrate births, birthdays, baptisms, and weddings. We gather around hospital beds. We comfort grieving families. We pray for one another. We laugh together. We cry together. We remind one another that, no matter what season we find ourselves in, God is faithful and He never leaves us.
As I look ahead to next week, I’m reminded that another season is about to begin. On Monday evening our campus will be filled with hundreds of children for Vacation Bible School. They’ll laugh, sing, play games, make friends, memorize Scripture, and most importantly, hear about the love of Jesus. While many of us are in different seasons of life, these children are just beginning their journey. What an incredible privilege we have to plant seeds of faith that will bear fruit for years to come. VBS is about planting seeds in children today. Our Thrive Campaign that we will launch this Fall is about creating room for those children, and countless others, to continue growing for generations to come. Throughout the campaign we’ll be asking God to help us expand our reach and deepen our roots so that future generations will have the opportunity to know and follow Christ. We’re not simply building a building. We’re investing in people we may never meet this side of heaven.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that life is made up of seasons. Some are joyful. Some are painful. But every season is an opportunity to trust God and to join Him in what He’s doing. Thank you for allowing Janet and me to walk through every season of life with you. It truly is one of the greatest privileges of our lives. I love you, Coastal. I love being your Pastor. And I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us next.
Much, Much Love!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING SUMMER OF IMPACT OUTREACH PROJECTS:
NHC Fellowship & Hospitality Project: Those in skilled-nursing centers are arguably some of the most neglected people in our society. The hope of this project is to send a reminder to the residents of the facility, in which we are serving, that they are not alone. This kid-friendly project will consist of loving on the staff and residents through words of encouragement, quality time and snacks and more! TODAY, Friday, July 10th, 10am-12noon. Meet at: NHC Skilled Nursing Facility, 2230 Ashley Crossing Dr, Charleston, SC 29414.
2nd Saturday Meal: TOMORROW, Saturday, July 11th, 9am-12noon. Come serve with us at the church as we prepare a hot meal in the Coastal kitchen and then deliver those meals to one of our awesome ministry partners – organizations like Charleston Vets, S.C. Strong, Brighton Place, Joseph Floyd Manor and more!
Double Tailgate Day – Meeting Street & Joseph Floyd Manor: TOMORROW, Saturday, July 11th, 10:30am-1:30pm. Meet at The Outpost and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve. 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
The Boutique Sort & Stock: Come help sort & organize all the clothes we distribute! Monday, July 13th; Friday, July 17th, 10:30am-12:30pm. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
JFM Fellowship Activity & Devotion: A fun project for kids! We’ll serve at Joseph Floyd Manor (JFM), a public housing facility in Downtown Charleston, playing BINGO with the residents. Monday, July 13th, 1:30pm-3:30pm. Meet at JFM.
Soldier’s Angels: We’ll be helping with the Veteran’s Mobile Food Distribution, Tuesday, July 14th, 8am-12pm. Meet at 1113 Sam Rittenburg Blvd. (The Elks Lodge).
Brighton Place Fellowship Activity & Devotion: This project will allow us to spend some time with the residents and get to know them better through a lively game of Bingo and devotion. Kid Friendly! Tuesday, July 14th, 1:30pm-3pm. Meet at: Brighton Place, 1429 Orleans Road.
VA Hospitality Project: This team serves at the VA Hospital in Charleston by providing a hospitality cart, greeting incoming patients and employees, visiting patients, and helping Volunteer Services with small sorting projects. Wednesday, July 15th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
The Market Organize & Prep: Come to The Outpost and help keep the Market stocked and organized (and have a lot of fun while you’re at it)! Wednesday, July 15th, 10am-12noon. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
Patriot Villas Veterans Tailgate: We will be putting on a Tailgate for the Veterans at Patriot Villas on Wednesday, July 15th, 6-8:30pm. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
Serving in the Market & the Boutique at The Outpost: Coastal feeds and clothes an enormous amount of people. Come to The Outpost and help serve our community (and have a lot of fun while you’re at it)! Thursday, July 16th, 11am-1:30pm. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Join the team as we travel over to Patriot Villas, a veterans housing facility in North Charleston, to provide encouragement in the form of a fresh hot cup of Coastal coffee, a Krispy Kreme donut and community. We’ll spend the morning serving the veterans, fellowshipping, building relationships and thanking them for their service! Friday, July 17th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at The Outpost – 1050 St. Andrews Blvd.
Hollywood Free Laundry: Partnering alongside the owners of We-Fold-It, we are able to serve the community of Hollywood by getting to pay for their laundry! We will host a table with snacks, coffee and water for those who are waiting on their laundry, help people bring their laundry in and out of the facility, fold their laundry and use iPads to start the machines so that those we serve never have to open their wallets! Saturday, July 18th, 8am-11am. Meet at We-Fold-It Laundromat, 6310 SC-162 Unit D, Hollywood, SC 29449.
Hollywood Clothing Distribution: The third Saturday of each month, there is a clothing distribution for the those in need in Hollywood. We will get the opportunity to take one of our Mobile Outreach Clothing Vehicles out to distribute clothing while loving on those we encounter. This is an amazing project to join and get a glimpse of what our Clothing Ministry here at Coastal does!! Saturday, July 18th, 8am-11am. Meet at We-Fold-It Laundromat, 6310 SC-162 Unit D, Hollywood, SC 29449.
Ronald McDonald House Meals that Heal – Breakfast: Ronald McDonald House provides a “Home-away-from-home” where families stay while their children undergo extensive medical treatment. The Meals that Heal program provides a much-needed support service to families taking care of their sick children, who often don’t have the time, funds, or energy to prepare a healthy, home-cooked meal. Ages 16+. Saturday, July 18th, 7:30am-9am. Meet at: 81 Gadsden St, Chas (Downtown Charleston).
As always, if you are interested in serving in any of these projects, you can sign up on your Connect Card this Sunday or sign up now on our website. If you have any questions, please reach out to Pastor Chris Jones. - We’re looking for LIFE Group Leaders for this Fall! If you’ve ever led a Coastal LIFE Group in the past, WE NEED YOU TO LEAD ONE THIS FALL! If you’ve ever BEEN IN a Coastal LIFE Group before, and have ever considered leading one, this Fall is the time to do it. Why is this the time to lead a LIFE Group? Because all of our LIFE Groups will be studying the same material based on simply watching and/or listening to the Sunday morning message. We’ll provide all the discussion questions and leader materials necessary for facilitating the Group. In other words, people will be signing up for a Group based primarily on relationships, time and location, and not the different studies.
If you’ve led a Coastal Group before, go to this link and sign up to lead one today! We need to have the information about all of our Groups turned in by July 26th, so we can put together and print our LIFE Group Catalog. You can also sign up on your Connect Card this Sunday. Contact Pastor Scott Huff if you have any questions. - VBS is now just 3 days away: starting this Monday night, July 13th-17th, 6-8:15pm each night, for children 4 years old – 5th Grade! We already have 337 children pre-registered! But there are still 5 Big Needs:
1. Simply put, we need MORE VOLUNTEERS – YOU! To pull off a VBS like we do at Coastal, reaching 300+ children, it requires A LOT of people. GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND SIGN UP TODAY! You can also TEXT “vbsvolunteer” to 843-571-1777 to volunteer. There is a place for you! By the way, childcare for our volunteers is provided on site.
2. VOLUNTEER TRAINING! If you’re volunteering make sure you sign up for our last VBS Training! Sunday, July 12th, 4pm-6pm. Childcare is available.
3. If you haven’t already done so, PLEASE REGISTER YOUR CHILD ONLINE. This really makes the check-in/registration process go so much smoother when VBS begins. Online Registration will be close TONIGHT, Friday, July 10th at 6pm. After that, you will only be able to register at our campus each night in-person before VBS. You can also TEXT “vbs2026” to 843-571-1777 to register your child.
4. SNACKS, PROPS, & SUPPLIES! Each night of VBS we provide a snack time for the kids. We’re also in need of several props/decorations and supplies for the week. If you are interested in helping to provide either one, go to this sign-up Genius link and sign up today.
5. MONEY & MISSION! There are two parts to this year’s VBS Offering! 1. We will be collecting money to send with our Peru Missions Team this Summer! We hope to send them with at least $25,000 for building projects & supplies. 2. We will also be challenging our children and families to bring food and clothes for The Outpost. Our church feeds and clothes many hurting people in our community. For the food, please bring any non-perishable food. For the clothes, please bring these specific clothing items: men’s, women’s, and kids’ underwear in 2ct or 4ct, as well as new kids’ shoes, and kids school uniforms. There will be a little “competition” each night between the Teams for who brings the most food/clothes and the most money. You can begin giving financially now through the week of VBS. Simply designate your offering “VBS.”
If you have any questions about VBS, please reach out to Aly Huggins. It really is one of the BEST weeks of the Summer! I hope you’ll be a part of it! - We are planning our 2nd BEACH BAPTISM of the Summer out at Folly Beach County Park on Sunday, August 9th, at 5pm. You can sign up for it on our website. The only requirement for Baptism is that you have personally given your life to Jesus. Baptism is a public profession of your faith, and it’s a great celebration! It beautifully illustrates Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. If you’re unable to participate in our Beach Baptism, remember at Coastal we’re ready for you to get Baptized any service, any Sunday. If you are interested in getting Baptized, simply respond to this email, sign up on your Connect Card, or sign up on our website.
- On Sunday, July 19th, Pastor Chris will be kicking off another favorite Summer Sermon Series tradition here at Coastal – “Summer Reading”! “Summer Reading” is where we pick a group of books (see book list and schedule above) for you to read over the Summer, and then the subject matter of each of those books becomes the sermon topic for that particular Sunday. We’re not preaching from the books themselves. If anything, during this series you will find yourself compelled to go to Scripture as we point people to the truth of His Word and a deeper relationship with God. We hope you’ll pick up one or two or all of the books and read them over the Summer. After all. . . leaders are what? Readers!
P.S. Membership Class: Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is Saturday, July 25th, from 9am-12noon, in the Chapel. You can respond to this email, sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card (let us know if you need childcare). Breakfast & childcare provided!
