At some point in all of our lives, we’ve all heard or said this widely accepted saying, “Experience is the best teacher.” But guess what? It’s a myth! Experience is not the best teacher. EVALUATED experience is the best teacher! And one way to evaluate and learn from your experiences is to ask and answer the right questions. Someone once said, “The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask yourself.”
Here’s a few to get you started:
1. Am I closer to God today than I was on Jan 1, 2024?
2. What is my spiritual growth plan for 2025?
3. What drained me emotionally in 2024?
4. What fills me emotionally?
5. Is there anyone whose forgiveness I need to seek or forgiveness I need to give?
6. Where is the clutter in my life?
7. Would I rate my marriage a 10? Would my spouse (you might want to ask over a nice dinner)? If it’s not a 10 ask this question, “What would it take in 2025 to make it a 10?”
8. Have I scheduled my date nights for January?
9. How much do I weigh? Is that OK?
10. Do I have a Physical/Mammogram/Colonoscopy/etc. scheduled between now and March 31?
11. What’s my major physical focus area for 2025?
12. Are my finances in order?
13. Do I have debt beyond my mortgage?
14. What’s my next step in my giving?
15. How am I growing as a leader?
16. What are my reading goals for 2025?
17. What caused me the most stress in 2024?
18. How am I going to fix that in 2025?
19. What am I pretending NOT to know?
20. What is my calling?
So, as you’re praying about goals and changes you want to make in 2025, can I encourage you to include making Coastal a priority? Jesus called the church His Body, His Bride. Jesus died for the church. Jesus started the church. The church is the Family of God and the only thing that will last on into eternity. The church is the hope of the world, and when done right, there is nothing greater or more powerful than the local church. However, there is no perfect church – because the church is made up of people, you and me, and there are no perfect people. Church attendance/involvement is just like any other habit – it’s easy to make excuses and get out of the habit. So, my advice, make a commitment and push through. If it’s been a while, get back in the habit this year. If you already attend regularly, maybe it’s time you started serving. Maybe this is the semester that you join a LIFE Group. How does your giving reflect your commitment to the church? Is it consistent? Generous? Maybe you’re fairly new to Coastal, but have never been to a Newcomer’s Reception. The next one is Sunday, February 9th, immediately following the 3rd service (sign up online). Maybe this is the year you officially become a Member of Coastal. Our next Membership Class is Saturday morning, February 15th, 9am-12noon (sign up now online). And how about this – invite and bring someone with you to church! You never know the power of a simple invitation. I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I love what we get to do together!
Happy New Year!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, TODAY, Friday, January 3rd; Monday, January 6th; Friday, January 10th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
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, January 3rd, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
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 THIS Saturday, January 4th. We meet in the Auditorium at 8:30am, Project Leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we go out and serve!
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 9th, 11:30am-1pm.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, January 10th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Double Tailgate Day: Meeting Street & Joseph Floyd Manor: Saturday, January 11th, 10:30am-1:30pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
2nd Saturday/2nd Meal: Saturday, January 11th, 9am-12noon. Come serve with us 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!
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. - As we begin 2025, we are having a Coastal Kidz Volunteer Training for all Coastal Kidz adult and student volunteers. We are offering the training twice: Sunday, January 12th, 12:45PM (lunch & childcare provided) or Saturday, January 25th, 9AM (childcare provided). You only need to attend one. CLICK HERE to register for the Coastal Kidz Volunteer Training. You can also text the word “training” to 843-571-1777. Childcare is available by REGISTERING HERE or texting “trainingchildcare” to 843-571-1777.
- We are in the planning stages for our SPRING LIFE GROUPS! LIFE Groups are the primary vehicle at Coastal for community – learning, friendships, fellowship, and care. We typically have all different types of Groups – Bible studies, book studies, activity groups, support groups, men’s/women’s groups. Would you possibly be interested in leading, assisting, or hosting a LIFE Group this new year? The Spring Semester begins in February and depending on the Group, lasts for 8-12 weeks.
Training for new Spring Life Group Leaders will be offered in-person on Saturday, 1/18 from 9-10:30am or Tuesday, 1/21 from 6:30-8pm. Returning leaders’ training will be online on Thursday, 1/23 from 8-9pm. All leaders only need to attend one session. RSVP on your Connect Card this Sunday. Contact Pastor Scott Huff at scotth@coastalcommunitychurch.org if you have any questions or are interested in leading a Group. - Well, there is only a little over a week left to give to this year’s Christmas Offering. Next Sunday, January 12th is the last day. With the offering so far we’ve already purchased both the new box truck and a 15 passenger van (we’re just waiting to wrap both of them)! We’ve also sent $10,000 to the New Life Children’s Home in Peru! There is still much left to be done, but none of this would be possible without your generosity! Every gift counts, every gift matters. 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 any time until January 12th at any of our regular Sunday morning services, or anytime through TEXTing or our website.
- Coastal Young Adults Weekly Streaming of “The Porch!” If you are in your 20’s or early 30’s you are invited to our NEW weekly gathering to stream “The Porch” including small group discussion! Every Monday night, 6:30pm-8:30pm in the Coastal Chapel, beginning Monday night, January 27th! For more information, please contact Pastor Scott Huff.
P.S. CSM (Coastal Student Ministry – 6th-12th Grade) starts back THIS Sunday! Doors open at 5pm and the official times are from 5:30-7PM. This is going to be a fun night as we will have an open gym! What better way to kick off this year than to have no agenda other than eat pizza, play, and to catch up with each other! We’d love to see your student there and this would be a great event for them to invite a friend to as well! As always, if you have any questions about CSM, please reach out to Pastor Jacob Bonetti.
