The picture above is of David Torman, one of several men from Coastal who spent hours underneath a home in Swannanoa, NC, digging through and cleaning out bucket after bucket after more buckets than you can count of mud and muck and filthy insulation. The only way to describe it is a combination of pluff mud and sewage. For those of you (like me) who are fans of the movie, “Shawshank Redemption”, it reminded me of that scene at the end of the move where Andy Dufresne crawled through 500 yards of a sewage pipe to escape prison. One of the famous quotes from the movie came from the character Red, who said, “Andy Dufresne, the only man who crawled through a river of !@#+% (poop), and came out clean on the other side.” I guess it’s David’s smile, despite being covered in filth, that made me think of that scene. And there is nothing on this side of eternity that can create or manufacture that kind of joy, except humbly serving in God’s Kingdom. And that’s what we did in Georgia two weeks ago and in North Carolina last week. Over the past two weeks our church has given tons and tons of water, food, and supplies. We sent those supplies all over the southeast. Over 90 Volunteers personally took time away from work, home, and their busy schedules and went to GA & NC to serve and love the people who were most affected by the storms. Our Volunteers are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever seen. And you do it all with enthusiasm and joy! And not only that, because of your generosity, we were able to personally give away $34,000 to individual families, many of whom had lost everything. I can’t be more proud of our church and our Volunteers who prayed, served, and gave. And you continue to do it, week in and week out!
This Sunday, October 27th, is Baptism Sunday at Coastal! Don’t miss it! Right now it looks like we’ll be Baptizing almost 20 people throughout the day! We’ll be baptizing people in all 3 services – 8:30am, 10am, and 11:30am! The only requirement for Baptism is that you have personally given your life to Jesus. Baptism is a public profession of your faith, and it’s a great celebration! It beautifully illustrates Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. If Baptism is your next step, sign up online today!
Don’t forget to return the Oakland Elementary School gift items tagged (but not wrapped) by this Sunday, October 27th. Return the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes to the church filled with toys and gifts by Sunday, November 17th. I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I love what we get to do together!
Much, Much 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, October 25th; Friday, November 1st, 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! TODAY, Friday, October 25th, 4-6:30pm. 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 31st; Thursday, November 7th, 11:30am-1pm.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, November 1st, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, November 1st; Monday, November 4th, 9:30am-11:30am. 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, November 2nd. We meet in the Auditorium at 8:30am, Project Leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we go out and 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. - Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is THIS Saturday (tomorrow), October 26th, from 9am-12noon, in the Chapel. You can respond to this email or sign up on our website. Breakfast & childcare provided!
- YOUNG ADULTS social at the Charleston Battery game on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7pm. The cost is $20 which includes a ticket to the Ultra Lounge private deck, soft drinks, & snacks. Parking is not included in the cost of the ticket. Sign up on your Connect Card or on this link to reserve your spot today! Email Pastor Scott with any questions scotth@coastalcommunitychurch.org.
- Grieving? Know someone who is? Join GriefShare’s free, one time event on Monday, November 4th at 2pm or 6pm that will help participants prepare for difficult emotions this holiday season and discover hope for the future. Contact Sue (616-443-6553) with questions or register today at www.griefshare.org.
- One of the projects for our upcoming Saturday Serve on Saturday, November 2nd, is a Cleaning & Beautification Day over at Oakland Elementary School. Some of the things we will be doing is: trimming trees/vines along the driveway and sidewalk at entrance/exit, pressure washing the sign/marquee at the entrance, weeding the garden beds along the front of the school, trimming/removing limbs, and edging and blowing the parking lot and driveway. If you have any of the tools and equipment for these projects and would like to serve on this project, then come to Saturday Serve, and join us in serving our neighbors!
P.S. 2025 PERU MISSION TRIP INFO MEETING! There will be informational meetings with Q&A between the 1st and 2nd services and between the 2nd & 3rd services in the Coastal Chapel on Sunday, Nov. 17th. Please stop by to meet with Pastor Scott and hear about the trip, cost, and dates for our Peru Mission Trip in 2025!
