I’m so excited about tomorrow morning! I hope you are too! It’s finally here – Christmas at Charleston Vets! Tomorrow, Saturday, December 17th, 10am-2pm, we’ll descend on Charleston Vets in North Charleston and provide the Veterans there with a Christmas Party like no other: a home-cooked Christmas meal, a Christmas stocking packed full of home-baked Christmas cookies, Christmas gifts for every Veteran, a coffee and hot chocolate bar, a craft table so the kids can make gifts for the Veterans, Christmas music and more! At this point, everything (food, gifts, stockings) has been accounted for and taken care of – thank you, thank you, thank you! The only thing left to do is to simply come and serve. And no doubt we will have an abundance of volunteers. But that’s okay, because it’s a PARTY and the more the merrier! If you plan on coming, it would help us out if you signed up on our website: www.coastalcommunitychurch.org/missions. And if you’re coming to serve, why not be a double blessing and show up at 9am to help with chair set-up. A huge shout out goes to Eddie & Peggy for leading an awesome team of volunteers to pull off this Party!
I also want to share with you 2 things that happened this week that you were a part of, that you might not be aware of. We have a very special relationship with Oakland Elementary School, the Elementary School across the street from our church. We have been consistently giving, loving, and serving Oakland for the past 18 years. One of the things that we’ve done for the past 7 years is provide an Oakland T-Shirt for the entire school (600+ people) at Christmas. Here is what Elizabeth Nicodin, the Principal, wrote on their Facebook page, “Today is my absolute favorite day….Family Picture Day, year 7! We didn’t let the rain stop us from taking our annual Oakland family picture. Every year Coastal Community Church gifts all of our family with a new Orca t-shirt. Coastal has become a part of our Oakland family over the years and we are so grateful for all of the love they show us. Thank You just doesn’t seem adequate – we love you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for our cool new shirts!”
And then, speaking of schools, on Tuesday of this past week, our church hosted Carolina Voyager Charter School’s Winter Concert. Pastor Ryan Spell and his Tech Team were there providing a 1st class production and environment for the school and their guests. And speaking of guests! We’re pretty sure we had the largest single service attendance for the concert – over 600 people! Needless to say, it was standing room only, with people in the overflow gather space.
Coastal, that’s over 1200 people who were exposed to the love and generosity of our church this week! And all of that, and so much more, is made possible by the loving service and generous, consistent giving of our church – YOU! I love you Coastal, I love being your Pastor, and I love that we get to do together!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Lowcountry Orphan Relief: Lowcountry Orphan Relief provides support services and aid to meet the needs of Lowcountry children identified as at-risk or suffering from abandonment, abuse and/or neglect. Coastal will be serving there, today, Friday, December 16th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Christmas at Charleston Vets: (See above) Come and serve and be a part of an AWESOME Christmas Party at Charleston Vets, Saturday, TOMORROW, December 17th, 10am-2pm. Meet at the church at 10am (or at 9am for chair set-up).
Hope Center Tailgate: The Hope Center, managed by the city of Charleston, serves as a one-stop shop in downtown Charleston to assist those who are homeless or who are at-risk of being homeless. We’re sending a Tailgate Team to serve dinner to anyone who is hungry. We meet at Coastal on Tuesday, December 20th, 3pm-6pm.
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, December 21st, 8:30am-12pm. Meet at Coastal.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – Friday, January 6th, 8:30am-11am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes Friday, January 6th, 9am-11am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
Saturday Serve – The foundation of all of our serving opportunities at Coastal really starts with Saturday Serve – the first Saturday of every month. The next Saturday Serve is Saturday, January 7th. We meet in the Welcome Center/Cafe at 8:30am, project leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we serve!
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 at 843-870-4613. - If you’re fairly new to Coastal, a great next step is our Newcomers Reception. Our next Newcomers Reception is Sunday, January 8th, in our Chapel immediately following the 11:15am service (at approximately 12:30pm). This is a great way to learn more about Coastal, meet staff and key volunteers, as well as meet some other new people. You can sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card on Sunday.
- Our goal for our 10th Annual Christmas Offering is $125,000! And guess what? We’re almost half-way there!! Now through Sunday, January 15th (5 weeks), we are encouraging our entire Coastal family to give above and beyond their regular tithes and offering to this year’s Christmas Offering. To give, all you have to do is designate your gift “Christmas” on your check, offering envelope, online, or TEXTing (843-571-1777). You can give your gift during these next 5 weeks (until January 15th) at any of our regular Sunday morning services, or anytime through TEXTing (text “give” to 843-571-1777), or our website. You might also consider giving it all at once during one of our 3 Christmas Eve Services (Friday, December 23rd, 7pm, Saturday, December 24th, 4:30pm, & 6pm). Our entire Christmas Eve offering will go toward our Annual Christmas Offering. With this year’s offering we are purchasing a 15 passenger van, sound equipment, golf carts, and buying Christmas gifts for all of the children of the New Life Children’s Home in Peru.
- SPRING LIFE GROUP LEADER TRAINING! Training for new Spring LIFE Group Leaders will be offered in person on Monday, January 23rd, 6:30-8pm or Saturday, January 28th, 9-10:30am. Returning Leader Training will be online on Thursday, January 26th, 8-8:30pm. ALL Leaders need to attend one session. RSVP on your Connect Card. For more details or to answer any of your questions, please reach out to Pastor Scott Huff.
- Coastal Student Ministry (6th-12th Grade) will be having their Christmas Party TODAY, Friday, December 16 from 7-8PM. Doors will open at 6:15 for food and hanging out. They will have a White Elephant Gift exchange so bring a $5 dollar gift in a gift bag. They will provide a few gifts for people who cannot bring one.
And then on Wednesday, December 21 they will be going to the moviesfor FREE at Citadel Theater! The movie starts at 6:30pm. This is a great opportunity for your Student to invite some friends. They’re going to see the new Puss in Boots (Shrek) movie. Students will need to bring money for concessions because that will NOT be provided by the church.
P.S. New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday this year – Sunday, January 1st, 2023! And to celebrate we’re having a Baptism Service! We can’t think of a better way to start the new year right, than by being buried with Christ through Baptism, and being raised to walk in the new life (Colossians 2:12). It’s a new life for a new year! There will only be one service that day – 9:30am. If you would like to participate, sign up on your Connect Card this Sunday or sign up on our website!
