IT’S FINALLY HERE!!  VBS starts this coming Monday night!  Monday, July 15th – Friday, July 19th, 6pm-8pm, 4 year olds – 5th Grade!  It really is the best week of the Summer!  And now more than ever before, I am convinced that the earlier we can plant seeds of God’s love and His word in the hearts of children, the better.  Not only is it an awesome week for our kids, it’s an awesome week for all the volunteers.  Exhausting – yes.  Holy Spirit controlled chaos – definitely.  But. . . exhilarating, rewarding, and life-changing – you better believe it!

So, what do we need you to do?  First and most importantly, PRAY!  Pray for the children that the message of “Life is Wild, God is Good” (this year’s theme) will make a life changing eternal impact!  Pray for strength and energy for all of our volunteers.  And pray for the positive IMPACT on our community.  I also need you to GIVE.  We plan for VBS every year.  Part of our Christmas Offering helps to pay for VBS.  However, the money all comes from the same place and everything costs – supplies, food, crafts, games, advertising, jump castles, Kona Ice, etc.  So just know that your consistent, generous giving pays for VBS, and it is an investment in the Kingdom worth making.  REGISTER.  Even if you’re a member  or regular attender of Coastal, please go ahead and pre-register your children NOW!ONLINE REGISTRATION CLOSES TONIGHT AT 6PM!  It really makes the first couple of days of VBS go so much smoother.  Right now we have 209 children registered – our largest pre-registration ever!  SHARE any of our posts about VBS on your social media – especially in parent/mom/community group pages.  Reach out to the families you know with children and encourage them to sign up!  Be that mom or that dad in your neighborhood, in your circle of influence who picks up a car load of children and brings them to VBS.  That child could very easily be someone just like me!  VOLUNTEER.  And finally, if you haven’t yet volunteered to serve the week of VBS, there are still plenty of opportunities – simply email Janet at janet@coastalcommunitychurch.org or call her directly at 843-442-8299.

LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris

Here are this week’s “Friday 5”:

1. We are in the process right now of planning and preparing for our Fall Semester of LIFE Groups!  LIFE Groups (starting the week of September 22nd) will be a little bit different this Fall in that all of our Groups will be a part of our church-wide Spiritual Growth/Giving Campaign called “Daring Faith.”  All of our Groups will be studying the same material – a “Daring Faith” DVD with a workbook/daily devotional that we will provide.  We’ll also be encouraging smaller groups that meet in homes all over Charleston.  This will help create unity and momentum as we all step our in faith together.  These “Daring Faith” groups will only last 8 weeks.  In other words, you will only be signing up for a group based on time/location, not the study or activity.  Our goal is to get as many people who consider Coastal their home into a group!  You can do anything for 8 weeks!  So if you are interested in facilitating/hosting a Group (pushing play on a DVD and then lead through the questions), please respond to this email or sign up on Sunday on your Connect Card.
2. Our next sermon series (another favorite Coastal Summer tradition) starts THIS Sunday, July 14th called “Summer Reading.”  Each week of the series we’ll be using the subject matter from 6 great books as the basis for that week’s sermon.  At Coastal we believe that “Leaders are READERS!”  This week Pastor Chris will be using the book  “A Trip Around the Sun” by Mark Batterson to talk about living a life of passion!  Don’t miss it!
3. As a part of our “Daring Faith” Campaign, we want to provide a Coloring Book, so we are looking for some artists from our church who would be willing to sketch a page or two for the coloring book.  We’ll provide several themes and subjects that go along with the campaign and then leave the rest up to you.  If you are interested in helping with the coloring book, please respond to this email and let us know NOW. We will contact you and give you all the details.  We did this for the “All In” Campaign and it was a great sucess!  Again, this will be just another great way to involve our entire church, even our children, in what we will all look back on as a great period of unity and growth here at Coastal.
4. New to Coastal?  Join us Sunday, July 21st in the Welcome Center, immediately following the 11:15am service for our next Newcomers Reception.  This is a great way to learn more about Coastal, meet staff and key volunteers, as well as meet some other new people.  Pizza and childcare provided.  RSVP online or on your Connect Card.  You can also simply respond to this email and let us know that you’re coming.
5. In case you missed our Beach Baptism on Sunday, June 9th – don’t fret!  We have another one scheduled to close out the Summer on Sunday, August 4th, 4pm out at Folly Beach County Park.  Baptism is a public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ. We call it “going public” at Coastal. It’s an important next step after salvation.  And there is something very powerful about getting Baptized in the ocean!  Bring your whole family out to the Beach after church on that Sunday, and then we’ll gather together for the Baptism Service at 4pm (Look for the Coastal flag)!  You can sign up on your Connect Card on Sunday or respond to this email to sign up today!

P.S. Don’t forget that we’re taking everyone to see the new “Lion King” movieon Wednesday morning, 10am (doors open at 9:30am), July 24th!   Spread the word, invite and bring friends!  For “Toy Story 4” they gave us 3 theaters.  For “Lion King” they’re giving us at least 5!  You can sign up to come to the movie on your Connect Card starting this Sunday or by simply responding to this email.  YES – invite and bring your friends (just let us know they’re coming)!  That’s why we do this!