Well, I’ve got some EXCITING NEWS to share with you! Our Christmas Offering Goal for this year was $125,000. Drumroll please . . . .we reached and SURPASSED our Christmas Offering Goal with a grand total of $170,588.50! Wow! Just WOW! We will definitely be increasing our goal for next year – haha! Your generosity never ceases to amaze me Coastal! It is your consistent (not just at Christmas or special occasions), generous (above and beyond) giving that enables our church to do all that it does here, in the community, and around the world! And speaking of Christmas around the world, we found out that our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes were delivered to the following countries this year: Panama, Ecuador, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Peru, and Honduras (and certain hard to reach places that they can not list).
In my end of the year message a few weeks ago, I said that by the end of 2024 I can see our church averaging over 1000 in weekly in-person attendance. Little did I know that the next two weeks we would already be well over 1000 in attendance! In fact, the last two weeks have been our largest (non Big Day) in-person weekly attendance in the history of our church. Plus we’ve already Baptized 6 people this year! Last year our goal was to Baptize 100 people. And in 2023 we ended up Baptizing 114 people! This year our goal is a BIG ONE – 200 people!
We talk a lot about Next Steps at Coastal. Maybe your next step is Baptism. What is Baptism, and why is it important? Well, first of all, let me simply say this – Jesus did it, He commanded it, and that should settle it! Baptism is the outward expression of the inward conversion that God has done in our heart by faith. It is a physical act, a physical ceremony that depicts an awesome spiritual reality. Now, in and of itself, Baptism doesn’t save you. It’s your faith in Christ that does that. And if you haven’t given your life to Christ and you get Baptized, you’re just getting wet. Baptism, you see, is a beautiful picture of our salvation. It also beautifully pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It symbolizes the washing away of our sins and new life. We are ready any service, any Sunday for your Baptism. Typically, we have 2 very large Beach Baptisms over the Summer. If you are ready to get Baptized, you simply need to let us know when. You can do that 1 of 3 ways: respond to this email, sign up on your Connect Card any Sunday, or sign up on our website. We will follow up with you and get it scheduled as soon as possible.
Maybe you’re new to our church and your next step is our Newcomer’s Reception (see below). Maybe you’ve been coming to Coastal for a while and you’re ready to officially make our church family, YOUR church family. Then your next step is our Membership Class (see below). And guess what? Whatever your next step might be, we are honored to walk on this journey with you!
One last thing Coastal – I have a favor to ask of you. We say all the time that we are willing to do anything short of sin to reach people. I want to put that to the test. If you’ve been to church the last two weeks, you know that the second service (10am) is PACKED! In fact, if you come in late to that service, it’s getting hard to find a seat. With our current 3 services, our church can grow to a church of around 1500. But for that to happen, we need some people in the 10am service to go to either the 8:30am service or the 11:30am service. Now, most importantly, come to church! If, for some reason, the 10am service is the only service you can come to, then we’ll see you at 10am. And if you’ve got friends coming, you come to whatever service is convenient for them. Also, if you serve at 8:30am or 11:30am, come to the 10am. But if at all possible, start coming to the earlier or later services to make room for others. And as always, please sit to the front and center of each section. This makes it easier on our ushers trying to find seats for people. And please continue to park as far away as possible, using Oakland Elementary School’s parking lot down the first drive just past the Greenway. Coastal, these are all great “problems” to have. Honestly, they’re not problems at all – they’re opportunities. They’re opportunities for God to see where our priorities are at and if we’re willing to do anything it takes to reach people for Jesus! I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I love what we get to do together!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – Today, Friday, January 19th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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 Wednesday, January 24th, 12pm-3pm.
Food Pantry Sort & Stock: Coastal feeds an enormous amount of people. Come to the church and help keep our Food Pantry organized (and have a lot of fun while you’re at it)! Thursday, January 25th, 11:30am-1pm.
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, Friday, January 26th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Downtown Charleston “Hotdog Ministry”: We will be grilling and serving hotdogs to the homeless and hungry downtown! Friday, January 26th, 4-6:30pm. Meet at Coastal.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – Friday, February 2nd, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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. - As we begin 2024, we are having a Coastal Kidz volunteer training for all Coastal Kidz adult and student volunteers. This will be a time of fellowship, planning, brainstorming, and vision casting as we continue to make Coastal Kidz an amazing place for children to learn about God’s love and His Son Jesus as they grow to become faithful followers of Christ.
We are offering the training twice: This Sunday, January 21, 5:00PM – 7:00PM or Wednesday, January 31, 6:30PM – 8:30PM. You only need to attend one. Childcare and dinner are provided.
Please RSVP for which training you will attend and if you need childcare:
Sunday, January 21, 5:00PM – 7:00PM
Training Session: https://churchteams.com/m/Register.asp?a=cVI2R1hEZ0p6TU09
Childcare: https://churchteams.com/m/Register.asp?a=SEYvR1RWZjVycjg9
Wednesday, January 31, 6:30PM – 8:30PM
Training Session: https://churchteams.com/m/Register.asp?a=bGVSY21UUFJoQWc
Childcare: https://churchteams.com/m/Register.asp?a=NUZRblVzNW5TTnM9 - Attention All Homeschool Families: We’re having a Valentines Homeschool Mingle on Friday, February 9th, 10am-12pm. There will be crafts, food (pizza), and fellowship – you’ll get to meet and hang out with other Homeschool families! This is not a drop-off event, but a time for the whole family. Please RSVP through Natalie Faust at either 443-907-2400 or njudway@gmail.com.
- If you’re fairly new to Coastal, a great next step is our Newcomers Reception. Our next Newcomers Reception is Sunday, February 25th, in our Chapel immediately following the 11:30am service (at approximately 12:45pm). 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. You can sign up on our website or on your Connect Card and indicate if you need childcare!
- Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is Saturday, February 17th, from 9am-12pm, in the Chapel. You can respond to this email, sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card on Sunday. Breakfast & childcare provided!
P.S. Attention all LIFE Group Leaders & Assistants: Training for new Spring LIFE Group Leaders will be offered in-person TOMORROW, Saturday, January 20th, 9-10:30am. Returning Leader’s Training will be online on Thursday, January 25th, 8-8:45pm. All Leaders only need to attend one session. RSVP on your Connect Card. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Scott Huff at scotth@coastalcommunitychurch.org
