This past Sunday was just amazing! We had 822 in-person and 704 online! We had a ton of guests, gave away a lot of “swag bags”, gave away ALL of our new t-shirts (don’t worry we’re ordering more), and gave out all of our Easter at Coastal signs! We also had 1 person indicate that they wanted to talk to someone about being a follower of Jesus and 6 others recommit their lives to Jesus! And get this, in the first service there were 45 KIDS in the 1st-3rd Classroom in Coastal Kids! In fact Coastal Kidz had 239 on Sunday – the most they’ve ever had on a Sunday, except for Easter! By the way, that’s the other reason we’re adding a 3rd service beginning Easter Sunday – to make more room in Coastal Kidz. And then Sunday night we closed out the day with our IMPACT Evangelism Training Seminar. It was AWESOME, and 80 people turned out for it! It really was a great day!
I want to share something with you that happed as a result of my sermon several weeks ago. It was the end of our “Relationship Rescue” series, and in my message I said this, “Do you want the same kind of home life that you see in most families today? Then just keep doing what most people do. Make your children the focus of your home. Don’t discipline them. Be their friend first. Who cares how much screen time they have? Make sports and travel ball a priority over church and Youth Group.” Well evidently that last single sentence struck a chord with several people. One parent in particular shared with me how they made a point that week not to miss LIFE Group because of sports. And then this happened. Evidently something was scheduled on a Sunday, and this parent told the coach that they couldn’t make it because of church. The coach said this, “What are your priorities?” Wow! This parent handled it well (probably better than I would have). But the real disturbing, disappointing thing happened next. The coach said, “In 7 years of coaching, I’ve never once had one parent complain, speak up, or say anything about church being a conflict.”
Now, I share all of that, not to make a point about youth sports or travel ball. Although Janet and I have said for years, that if all the parents who are Christians would simply put their foot down and refuse to practice, play games, or tournaments on Sunday, it wouldn’t happen. But apparently, at least according to one coach, no one does. The real point I’m making and the point I was making in my sermon was, “If you want what everyone has, just keep doing what everyone is doing.” That applies to your family, your finances, your marriage, your sex life, your body, everything. The world is drifting further and further away from Christ. That’s not surprising. But we, as followers of Jesus, are called to stand out, to be set apart, to be different from the rest of the world. 1 Peter 2:9 says this, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
I wholeheartedly believe that as the world around us gets darker and darker, that the light of Christ will shine brighter and brighter! I believe that these difficult days are simply opportunities for the true church and followers of Jesus to rise up and point people to the only real Hope – our Risen Savior and King Jesus! But we can’t do that if we’re not following Him, living for Him, and becoming more and more like Him day by day. And when we do that, we WILL stand out, we WILL be different, not because we think we’re better than anyone, but simply because we’re forgiven sinners who have found the Savior. And now it’s our job to share what we’ve found with the world around us – to love them, serve them, and invite them to a place where they to can discover Jesus! Who are you inviting to Coastal this Easter? I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I love what we get to do together!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
If we’re not friends on Facebook or Instagram – give me a follow!
https://www.facebook.com/chris.rollins
On Instagram: jampastorchris
- 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, March 24th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Downtown Charleston “Hotdog Ministry”: We will be grilling and serving hotdogs to homeless and hungry downtown! Today, Friday, March 24th, 4-6pm. Meet at Coastal.
Carolina Bay Spring Fling/Easter Egg Hunt: On Saturday, March 25th, 2-5pm, Coastal will be providing a Kids Craft area for all the children. Meet at Carolina Bay park at 1:30pm to help with set-up.
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, March 29th, 8:30am-12pm. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, March 31st, 6-7:30pm. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
Family Serve Night: On Friday, March 31st, 6-7:30pm, we will be packing “On the Go Meal/Snack Bags” for the resident of the Ronald McDonald House.
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, April 1st. We meet in the Welcome Center/Cafe at 8:30am, project leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we serve!
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – Friday, April 7th, 8:30am-11am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, April 7th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
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. - You know the drill by now – INVITE, INVITE, INVITE! Go to Easter at Coastal and download our shareable graphics to use on Social Media. And while you’re there don’t forget to let us know which service you plan on attending by reserving your spot. It lets us know when a service reaches capacity. We really want to encourage our people to attend on Friday and Saturday, to make more room on Sunday. If you need to come that Sunday, please try to come to the 8:30am or the 11:30am service. Typically, the 10am service is PACKED! But most importantly, as we always say, come to the service that you can get your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to come to.
- Don’t forget, beginning Easter Sunday our new Sunday morning service times will be 8:30am, 10am, and 11:30am. Our church continues to grow and this is simply the next step for us to accommodate that growth and enable us to continue to grow. With that growth comes new opportunities to serve.
Our biggest needs are probably Coastal Kids and 1st Impressions, but each one of our Sunday morning LIFE Teams (Cafe, Security, Prayer) will need new Sunday morning Volunteers. You can sign up to serve on your Connect Card this Sunday or you can go to our website right now and sign up today: https://coastalcommunitychurch.org/connect/serve/ Each one of our Ministry Leaders are AWESOME, and they will step you through the process. I promise you that what you will receive in return, is far greater than any sacrifice you think you will make. Sign up today! - Being a member of Coastal is really about being part of a family. The next Membership Class is THIS Saturday (TOMORROW), March 25th, from 9-11:30am. If you haven’t signed up, you can still come. Simply respond to this email and let us know if you need childcare.
- Attention All Student Ministry Parents! Registration is open for Fuge Summer Camp in Greenville, SC – July 3-8. Join hundreds of Students from all over the Southeast for amazing music, messages specifically for teenagers, and great games and recreation! Total cost for the week is $350 per student (friends are invited to join too). Parent information meeting THIS Sunday, March 26th immediately after the 1st service in the Chapel.
P.S. I want to challenge you to give a sacrificial gift, above and beyond over the Easter Weekend. Big days like this incur extra expenses – advertising, direct mail, supplies, etc. At Coastal, however, we look at all of this as an investment – an eternal Kingdom investment, planting seeds to reach our community for Jesus. And we could not do it without your generous, consistent giving! Thank you in advance for your generosity!
