You guys never cease to AMAZE me! This past Sunday we put out 2000Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for our church to take home, fill up with toys and gifts, and bring back to the church by Sunday, November 16th. Now, for those of you who don’t know what Operation Christmas Child (OCC) Shoeboxes are, let me explain. OCC is a ministry of Samaritans Purse, one of the largest Christian Outreach & Relief organizations in the world. It’s a simple concept. Christians and churches (just like Coastal) unite together all around the world, and pack shoeboxes filled with gifts for children in impoverished/troubled areas. Many of these children have never received a gift before, let alone a Christmas gift. Local churches in those areas help distribute the shoeboxes. And in each box there is a Gospel presentation in their own language. You can go to their website and see story after story of lives changed from the gift of a simple shoebox.
Over the years, it has become one of our favorite missions. For the last several years our church has packed 1000 boxes. This year we decided to step out in faith and pack 2000 boxes! Honestly, heading into this Sunday, I was hoping that on the first week, we would come close to taking home half of the boxes – which, again, we had never done before. Well, not only did we come close to half, you guys took over 1200 shoeboxes home – more than we have ever done before! That’s right, we only have a little over 700 shoeboxes left!
So, this Sunday let’s see if we can take home the remaining boxes. Just like last Sunday, you can pick them up in our Welcome Center. I would encourage everyone to take several. Pray about how many boxes your family would be willing to pack, step out in faith, grab a BUNCH! They’re actually pretty small and fill up pretty quickly. There will be an insert in our bulletin with suggested ideas. You can also go to their website if you have any questions. This is a great opportunity to teach your children and your grandchildren about generosity and the true meaning of Christmas. Let them help pick out the items for the shoebox. Make it a family thing. Maybe it’s something you could encourage your child’s sports team to do together, or your workplace. Get creative and host a packing party with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, or your LIFE Group!
Some more amazing news – this past Sunday we had 62 people in our Newcomer’s Reception! That’s the most people we’ve ever had. And then, counting this coming Sunday, that will make 8 Sunday’s in a row that someone has gotten Baptized! We’ve now Baptized 173 people for the year! And we have another Beach Baptism coming up in November (see below)! Wow, just WOW! Coastal, I love you! I love being your Pastor! And I love doing LIFE with you!
LIFE & LOVE,
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Clothing Team: Come help sort & organize all the clothes we distribute! TODAY, Friday, October 10th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
2nd Saturday Meal: TOMORROW, Saturday, October 11th, 9am-11am. 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!
Double Tailgate Day – Meeting Street & Joseph Floyd Manor: TOMORROW, Saturday, October 11th, 10:30am-1:30pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
JFM Fellowship Activity & Devotion: A fun project for kids! We’ll serve at Joseph Floyd Manor (JFM), a public housing facility in Downtown Charleston, playing BINGO with the residents. Monday, October 13th, 1pm-2:30pm. Meet at JFM.
Soldier’s Angels: We’ll be helping with the Veteran’s Mobile Food Distribution, Tuesday, October 14th, 8am-12pm. Meet at 1113 Sam Rittenburg Blvd. (The Elks Lodge).
Brighton Place Fellowship Activity & Devotion: This project will allow us to spend some time with the residents and get to know them better through a lively game of Chair Volleyball, a meal, and devotion. Kid Friendly! Tuesday, October 14th, 1:30pm-3pm. Meet at: Brighton Place, 1429 Orleans Road.
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, October 15th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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, October 16th, 11:30am-1pm.
Patriot Villas Veterans Tailgate: We will be putting on a Tailgate for the Veterans at Patriot Villas on Thursday, October 16th, 6-8:30pm. Meet at Coastal.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, October 17th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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, October 17th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Hollywood Clothing Distribution: We will get the opportunity to take one of our Mobile Outreach Clothing Vehicles out to distribute clothing while loving on those we encounter. Saturday, October 18th, 8am-11am. Meet at We-Fold-It Laundromat, 6310 SC-162 Unit D, Hollywood, SC 29449.
Hollywood Free Laundry: Partnering alongside the owners of We-Fold-It, we are able to serve the community of Hollywood by getting to pay for their laundry! We will host a table with snacks, coffee and water for those who are waiting on their laundry, help people bring their laundry in and out of the facility, fold their laundry and use iPads to start the machines so that those we serve never have to open their wallets! Saturday, October 18th, 8am-11am. Meet at We-Fold-It Laundromat, 6310 SC-162 Unit D, Hollywood, SC 29449.
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. - MomCo needs your help! We are looking for a few more experienced, loving childcare workers during our meetings! We meet the first and third Wednesday of each month from 9:30-11:30am at the church. You would get paid $40 per meeting and be helping to serve some wonderful moms and kiddos! Our group is open to all moms with children aged birth to 18 years old, but the majority of our kiddos are elementary aged and younger – very heavy on 3 year olds and younger. We are open to all moms in the Charleston area, not just Coastal moms, but over three quarters of our ladies do go to Coastal. A majority of our ladies are stay at home moms so our meetings provide a little kid free time to eat breakfast, socialize and strengthen their relationship with Christ. Please reach out to Sara Doscher at 843-901-5290 if you are interested in serving!
- Membership Class: Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is Sunday, November 9th, from 5pm-8pm, in the Chapel. You can respond to this email, sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card (let us know if you need childcare). Dinner & childcare provided!
- CSM Serve Weekend – October 24–26 (Friday-Sunday)! This is a major yearly event. Serve Weekend is a powerful event designed to help students learn what it means to serve and love like Jesus. Students will participate in worship, teaching, a community tailgate, and time in host homes. It’s a ton of fun and an event our students really look forward to. Your student won’t want to miss this! THE ENTIRE WEEKEND COSTS JUST $75! Drop-off: Friday evening, 5pm @ Coastal. Pickup: Sunday after 3rd service. The full itinerary is available upon registration. You can register by clicking this link.
- Did you know that Coastal has a new podcast featuring messages from previous Sundays as well as a special, weekly Friday Five episode with Pastor Chris? Yes, you can LISTEN to my Friday 5! Check it out and give it a follow to stay up to date with everything happening at Coastal as well as all new content coming soon. Right now it streams on our app and Spotify with Apple Podcasts coming soon!
P.S. Baptism is a public profession of a believer’s faith in Christ. On Saturday, November 22nd, at 10am, we will be hosting a “polar plunge” Beach Baptism at Folly Beach County Park. There will also be opportunities to be baptized in all 3 of our services on Sunday, November 23rd. If Baptism is your next step, indicate on your Connect Card or sign up online.
