If you’re like me, it’s hard to believe that IT’S NOVEMBER! For most people, the beginning of November means that the Holidays – Thanksgiving & Christmas – are fast approaching. But for many people, the Holidays are not the “happiest time of the year.” They are very difficult and very painful (see #3 below). On top of that, people are just on edge. Tempers are short. Times are tough. Budgets are TIGHT. And prices have SKYROCKETED!
Well, earlier this week I was doing some pre-marital counseling with a young engaged couple from our church. We’ve been making our way through the book, “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts” by Les & Leslie Parrott (good resource by the way). We were on the chapter, “Do You Know How to Fight A Good Fight?” One of the points the authors make is that the biggest stress in most marriages, the thing that most couples fight about is still money (big surprise right?).
Well, it gave me the chance to remind them about something that I want to remind you about (some of you are new and might not be aware of this). A couple of years ago our church purchased a site license for something called, “Ramsey+”. In fact, we’re one of the only churches in the country who have done this! What that means is that YOU have access to ALL of Dave Ramsey’s best selling financial resources and tools for FREE! This includes 5 classes (Financial Peace, Legacy Journey, Smart Money Smart Kids, the Jump Start Course and a new Budgeting course), the Everydollar+ budgeting tool, and a host of other resources designed to help families track their progress through the baby steps, get out of debt, and experience financial freedom. All of that and more is FREE for our entire church! You have access to everything online, at your own pace, on your own schedule. Simply go to this link (located on our website – Resources/Financial Tools) and sign up today! Again, here’s the link:
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/hosts/coastalcommunity?pc=69597500
We see this as an investment in you, your family, your finances, and your future! It’s also a way to practically express our generosity and love toward you and our community and to be a real practical source of help. Think about it – what if you were debt free, with money in the bank? What if you and your spouse were on the same page and weren’t stressed out about your finances? What if you could have hope for your life, INCLUDING your finances? That’s what Ramsey+ is all about – giving you a plan and hope so you can experience financial peace.
I hope you’ll sign up and access the material. We want to be known as a generous church, and we also want to do everything we can to equip our church and community to experience true financial peace in these difficult times! And by the way, we’re able to do things like this because of the generous, consistent giving of our church – YOU! Thank YOU for your continued generosity! I love you Coastal, I love being your Pastor, and I love what we get to do together! And I can’t wait to see you at Saturday Serve and in church on Sunday!
Oh, and by the way, this Sunday is Time Change Sunday. Your clocks will “Fall Back” and you’ll get an extra hour of sleep! So no one will have an excuse to miss church or be late – haha!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – TODAY, Friday, November 4th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes TODAY, Friday, November 4th, 9am-11am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
Chair Set-Up: Come help set up all the chairs in the auditorium this Saturday (tomorrow), November 5th, at 7:30am.
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 TOMORROW, Saturday, November 5th. We meet in the Welcome Center/Cafe at 8:30am, project leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we serve!
Soldier’s Angels: We’ll be helping with the Veteran’s Mobile Food Distribution, Tuesday, November 8th, 8am-1pm. Meet at 1113 Sam Rittenburg Blvd. (The Elks Lodge).
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, November 11th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Double Tailgate Day: Charleston Vets & THANKSGIVING at Joseph Floyd Manor (see below): Saturday, November 12th, 10am-1pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
THANKSGIVING at Joseph Floyd Manor: In addition to serving the veterans at Charleston Vets on November 12th, we’ll be also hosting Thanksgiving at Joseph Floyd Manor (JFM). Make plans to not only serve the residents at JFM, but also help with providing a home-cooked meal. Scan the QR code below to see what we need and to sign up to help! We’ll need plenty of hands to pull it off and make this a great Thanksgiving out at Joseph Floyd Manor! You can also click on this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050e45a5a92fa0f58-thanksgiving1
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. - Okay everyone – this is it! You now have ONE WEEK to bring your filled shoeboxes back to Coastal for Operation Christmas Child – NEXT Sunday, November 13th! This is a GREAT opportunity for you to teach your children about generosity, the true meaning of Christmas, and the love of Jesus. Help us reach our goal of packing over 1000 shoeboxes this year and share the love of Jesus with children all around the world!
- Grief Share will be hosting a free, one night event on Thursday, November 10th, at 6pm, called, “Surviving the Holidays.” This event will help you discover how to deal with the difficult emotions of the holiday season, give helpful tips on how to survive social events, and discover hope for the future. Contact Sue Muoio at s.muoio@outlook.com or register at www.griefshare.org.
- Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is THIS Monday night, November 7th, 6-8:30pm. You can respond to this email, sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card on Sunday. You can join us either in-person or online through Zoom. Food & Childcare Provided!
- PERU MISSIONS TRIP INFORMATION MEETING! Join us in the Chapel immediately after the 11:15am service on Sunday, November 13th for an information meeting about the July 22nd-29th Missions Trip to Peru! RSVP on your Connect Card for lunch and childcare.
P.S. Mark your calendar for our next Coastal Night of Worship – NEXT Friday night, November 11th, 7-8:30pm! Invite your friends and family to join us for a night of prayer, worship, and encouragement. RSVP now for childcare (birth-kindergarten) on your Connect Card.
