WOW! WOW! WOW! I can not say enough great things about VBS this week! First of all, we saw 329 children and had approximately 200 volunteers! And speaking of volunteers, I know I say this all the time, but we really do have the best volunteers on the planet! We could not do all that our church does without you! And you’ve done so much this week, with excellence, joy, and enthusiasm – even during that crazy lightning/rain storm on Tuesday when we LOST POWER and then lost power AGAIN last night! But nothing phases you guys! I am proud to be your Pastor! And most importantly, I’ve just loved hearing all the stories this week of children learning about and loving Jesus. That’s why we do what we do! By the way, this is also why we give sacrificially here at our church. And this is why we’ll continue to walk by faith and trust God for big things – so that we can reach the next generation for Jesus!
Speaking of giving sacrificially, right now (not counting tonight’s offering or anything you’d like to give on Sunday) our VBS offering is approximately $30,000! That means all Shanty Homes for Peru are paid for and we can start paying for the next 15 passenger van.
But remember, VBS is not quite over yet! Tonight is our Party and Closing Program! From 6pm-7pm (weather permitting) we’ll be outside for hotdogs, Kona Ice, and jump castles. And then at 7pm we’ll come inside for songs and a slide show! It’s all FREE, and you’re invited to join us!
One last note about VBS. To pull off a week long event of this magnitude, with this many moving parts, this many kids, and this many volunteers, it requires great leadership. Janet Rollins and Aly Huggins are great leaders and have done a great job! Like all great leaders, they are quick to defer and point to all of their leaders and volunteers. I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I am truly humbled by what we get to do together!
In His Service & Yours!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, TODAY, Friday, July 12th; Monday, July 15th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
Double Tailgate Day: Meeting Street & Joseph Floyd Manor: Saturday, July 13th, 10:30am-1:30pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
2nd Saturday/2nd Meal: Saturday, July 13th, 9am-12noon. 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!
Hope Center Tailgate: The Hope Center, managed by the city of Charleston, serves as a one-stop shop in downtown Charleston to assist those who are homeless or who are at-risk of being homeless. We’re sending a Tailgate Team to serve dinner to anyone who is hungry. We meet at Coastal on Tuesday, July 16th, 12pm-3pm.
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, July 17th, 8:30am-12pm. 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, July 18th, 11:30am-1pm.
Patriot Villas Veterans Tailgate: We will be putting on a Tailgate for the Veterans at Patriot Villas on Thursday, July 18th, 6-8:30pm. Meet at Coastal.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, July 19th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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. - We are planning our 2nd BEACH BAPTISM of the Summer out at Folly Beach County Park on Sunday, August 11th, at 5pm. You can sign up for it on our website. 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 you’re unable to participate in our Beach Baptism, remember at Coastal we’re ready for you to get Baptized any service, any Sunday. If you are interested in getting Baptized, simply respond to this email, sign up on your Connect Card, or sign up on our website.
- Coastal Day at the Riverdogs is quickly approaching! Join us Sunday, July 28th at 5pm for a game between the Charleston Riverdogs and the Annapolis Cannon Ballers at Joe Riley Ballpark. Tickets are FREE and so is parking! To reserve your tickets, simply text the word TICKETS to 843-571-1777 and then click on the link you receive back to fill out the form. Tickets will be sent to you by the email you submit so you can download them digitally to your phone for entry into the ballpark that night. There are no physical tickets for Riverdogs games. Arrive early in any Coastal t-shirt and watch our Youth Pastor, Jacob Bonetti, throw out the first pitch before the game starts.
- This Fall, when we come back to the Sermon on the Mount, we decided to make our sermon series a church wide Spiritual Growth Campaign. What’s that you ask? Well, it’s church-wide in the sense that we want to involve everyone at our church at every level: everyone hearing the same Sunday morning messages corporately, all of our LIFE Groups studying the same material in small groups of 10-15 people, and a daily devotional for everyone’s individual quiet time. Together, we’ll all be studying, discussing, learning, praying, and striving to live out the greatest teaching we have from Jesus! I truly believe that this Fall is going to continue to usher in a season of tremendous spiritual growth at our church. For so many people, it’s going to be one of those turning point moments in their life.
How can you help? We’re looking for LIFE Group Leaders! Last semester we had 58 Groups. This coming Fall we need 75+ Groups! In many ways, for our Leaders, this will be a little bit easier of a semester. We’re ALL going to be doing the same study, so you don’t have to fret about what to choose. And WE are going to be providing the teaching material. In fact, we’re going to record our Pastors giving a 10-15 minute teaching for each week’s lesson. We’ll also provide all the Small Group questions with your own discussion guide. All you have to do is facilitate the meeting. We’re also going to stress/recommend Groups of 10-15 people meeting in homes and as much as possible, moving away from the church building. Again, we really believe this is going to be a tremendous season of spiritual growth for our church! If you are interested in hosting, assisting, or leading a LIFE Group, please reach out to Pastor Scott Huff at scotth@coastalcommunitychurch.org, or let us know on your Connect Card on Sunday. - If you’re fairly new to Coastal, a great next step is our Newcomers Reception. Our next Newcomers Reception is Sunday, August 4th, in our Chapel immediately following the 11:30am service (at approximately 12:45pm). 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. You can sign up on our website today!
P.S. Many of you know by now that Heidi Smith, from our church, died on June 28th. Her funeral service will be held at Coastal, tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, July 13th, at 4pm.
Also, Teresa Spell’s Dad (Pastor Ryan Spell’s Grandfather), Merrill Hanna, passed away this past Sunday. There will be a Graveside Service at Carolina Memorial on Rivers Ave. on Monday morning, July 15th, at 11am. Please continue to lift up in prayer these families and their loved ones.
