I’ve got some exciting news to share!  Our Christmas Offering Goal this past year was – $60,000.  Drumroll please. . . this year WE gave $69,108.57!!  Wow!  Just WOW!  Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Coastal, I know where your heart is!  Together we are making an IMPACT – ONE life at a time!  Some of that money is already being spent – food and supplies for Saturday Serve, t-shirts at Oakland Elementary School, cameras and security equipment for Coastal Kidz, and the Winter Retreat for our Students.  I want to challenge you to continue to give generously to Coastal.  Your consistent, generous giving allows us to do what we do – share and experience the LIFE & LOVE of Jesus in Charleston and the world!

I want to thank those of you who are “making room for Jesus” by coming to the 11:15am service.  It definitely helped this past Sunday!  Our attendance was the exact same as the week before – 629 – but the crowd was more evenly spread, making more room in the 9:30am service.  We are having serious conversations about adding that 3rd service!  It’s possible that when we add services for Easter this year, we will keep 3 of them moving forward.  We will probably do what we did for last Easter – Sunday mornings, 8:30am, 10am, & 11:30am.  More services means more volunteers.  For those of you serving one service/once a month in various ministries, especially Nursery & our Coastal Kidz Children’s Ministry, will you consider serving at least twice a month?  That one shift alone will make a huge difference and allow us to continue to grow and reach more people.

We had 69 people show up for Darkness to Light’s “Stewards of Children” Training this past Tuesday night!  It was awesome!  We are definitely going to make it a regular part of our ministry here at Coastal.  In fact, we are moving toward making it mandatory for all volunteers working with children & students.  I want to thank those of you who came.  I hope you got as much out of it as I did.

Our WAVES Student Ministry (6th-12th Grade) is leaving today at 3pm to Pigeon Forge, TN with 75 people for their Winter Retreat!  Please keep Pastor Ryan, all of his volunteers, and all of the Students in your prayers.  Pray for safety and protection, pray that they have a blast, but also pray for lives to be forever changed!  They return to the church on Monday at 6pm.

LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris

Here are this week’s “Friday 5”:

1. You’ll get a chance to preview the Spring Semester LIFE Group Catalog this Sunday in your bulletin!   LIFE Group Sunday will be the following Sunday, January 27th and LIFE Groups will begin the week of February 10th.  And here’s a little secret – you can also check them out and go ahead and sign up online!  Our LIFE Group Leader Training for all Leaders & Assistants is either Tuesday, January 22nd, 6:30pm-8:30pm or Saturday, January 26th, 10am-12noon (pick one).

2. Christmas has come and gone, but the Spirit of Giving never stops at Coastal – especially when it concerns our community and Oakland Elementary School! Beginning this Sunday at Coastal, stop by the “Wish Fish” table in the back of our auditorium, pick a “fish”, commit to purchasing those items, and then bring them back to Coastal by Sunday, February 10th. It’s that simple! Items include things like pencils & erasers, hand sanitizer, art supplies, paper, binders, puzzles and more! Let’s help Oakland and its Teachers & Students start 2019 off right and finish the year well.

3. Start 2019 off right by officially making Coastal Community Church YOUR church family!   The first Membership Class of 2019 is Monday night, February 4th, 6pm-9pm.  Childcare and light refreshments are provided.  You can sign up for the class on our website or byresponding to this email.

4. Friday nights from 5pm-7pm (beginning next Friday, January 25th) will be “Spirit Night” for Coastal Community Church at the James Island Chick-fil-a on Folly Road – yes, that’s EVERY Friday night!  All you have to do is tell them that you’re from Coastal and 10-15% of your order will go back to Coastal!  We’re going to use that money for our Missions/Outreach!  So spread the word and pick up some chicken on Friday nights starting next week!  We’re also looking for some volunteers who will hangout at Chick-fil-a during those hours and hand out our invite cards, instructing people to designate their receipt toward that night’s “Spirit Night” (that’s the key).  Respond to this email if you’re interested!

5. During our Marriage Sermon Series in the new year, Coastal will host a Marriage Conference – Friday & Saturday, February 22-23.  Cost $100 per couple/$50 per individual.  Meals and Childcare are included.  Open to the community.  See our website for schedule and deposit details ($50 deposit due January 27th).  You can sign up on your Connect Card or from our website online!

P.S. New to Coastal?  Join us Sunday, February 10th in the Welcome Center, immediately following the 11:15am service for our next Newcomers Reception.  This is a great way to learn more about Coastal, meet staff and key volunteers, as well as meet some other new people.  Pizza and childcare provided.  RSVP online or on your Connect Card.