Never did I ever imagine an Easter weekend like this one in 2020! But that’s okay. No one ever imagined that very first Easter either, and that’s when God showed up and did the miraculous! Church Buildings around the world might be empty this Easter, but so is Jesus’ tomb, and that’s what we celebrate! I truly believe that what the enemy meant for evil and to harm us, God is going to use in miraculous ways. We’ve gone from planning 7 services over Easter weekend to now having 19 services online! Our goal was to see over 2000 people for Easter weekend. The last two weeks we’ve already seen over 1300 on Church Online alone (not counting Facebook). We’re going to CRUSH that goal and countless lives are going to be changed for all eternity!
Little did we know months ago, when we were planning out this “Welcome Home”series for Easter weekend, our 30th Anniversary, that we would all literally be STUCK AT HOME! And not only that, but the graphic for the series (see above) has everyone enjoying a big welcome home hug or embrace, and now we’re NOT ALLOWED to do that anymore! But that’s okay, because guess what? A physical house doesn’t make a home anymore than a building makes a church! And now, more than ever before, people are longing for community, longing for relationships. And the simple message of Easter is that regardless of your past, regardless of where you’ve been or what you’ve done, God loves you, and He wants to embrace you and welcome you home. That’ll PREACH!
So Coastal, here’s what I’m asking of you. Pull out all the stops, and do whatever it takes to invite everyone you know to watch one of our 19 services online this weekend. Text, call, email everyone you know and spread the word. You can find all 19 service times at www.easteratcoastal.com. Use the graphic above, share the graphic/announcements we post on social media, and invite your friends to join us.
As we wrap up our 100 Day Challenge, I also want you to consider doing something else – a 24 hour water only fast. I know many of you are participating in our 40 Day Easter/Lent Fast, and that’s great. You’ve chosen to give up sweets or caffeine or facebook or any number of things. Well, for those of you who are physically able, I want to challenge you to pick a day between now and Easter Sunday (Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday) to participate in a 24 hour, water only, fast. During the 24 hours, I want you to pray not only for OUR Easter Services, but also for the church all over the world and the crisis that we’re facing together! I simply think that times like these call for Christians everywhere to do the very thing that God instructs us to do – fast and pray and depend on Him. This is not about weight loss. It’s about losing the weight of fear and worry and asking God to do the miraculous. Will you join me?
We’re also going to have a Church wide Zoom Prayer Meeting this Wednesday night at 8pm. I’d love for you to join me for a short (about 30 minutes), simple time of scripture reading, and guided prayer as we prepare our hearts for Easter weekend and pray for our world. The zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/4864196205. Login a few minutes before 8pm. I’d love for you to join us!
Coastal, I’ve been so blown away by your flexibility, adaptability, love, and generosity! Every day I see example after example of our church BEING THE CHURCH, loving and serving our world! We, the church, were established for just such a time as this! THIS is our defining moment! Let’s not let this one (yes, there will be more) pass us by because we were scared, worried, or selfish. Deuteronomy 31:6, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
P.S. This Saturday’s “Grab & Go Meal Drive Through” will be an Easter lunch of spiral sliced ham, mac’n cheese, potato salad, green beans, and dessert. We will also be giving away a roll of toilet paper and a bag of candy filled Easter Eggs for every family! Spread the word! We could definitely use cookies/brownies or desserts that can fit in a ziplock bag or prepackaged/individually wrapped snacks (Little Debbies, rice krispy treats, etc.) We also need candy filled plastic Easter Eggs. You can drop any of these items (or Food Bank donations) off at the church Monday-Thursday 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm or Friday 9am-12noon.
