This Sunday, July 21st, I’ll be kicking off another favorite Summer Sermon Series tradition here at Coastal –“Summer Reading”! “Summer Reading” is where we pick a group of books for you to read over the Summer, and then the subject matter of each of those books becomes the sermon topic for that particular Sunday. Now before some of you freak out, thinking that I’ve gone heretical, thrown out the Bible, and I’m now preaching from other books instead of the Bible, throw away your email and simmer down. That’s not what we’re doing. We’re not preaching from the books themselves. If anything, I think you’ll discover that during this series you will find yourself compelled to go to scripture as we point people to the truth of His Word and a deeper relationship with God.
Here is the Book List and the order in which we will be using them:
When Your Way Isn’t Working by Kyle Idleman
The Crucified Life by A.W. Tozer
The Bait of Satan by John Bevere
Think Ahead by Craig Groeschel
Rest & War by Ben Stuart
Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry
Practicing The Way by John Mark Comer
So, I hope you’ll pick up one or two or all of them and read them over the Summer. After all: Leaders are what? Readers! Retired Admiral James Stavridis of the US Navy once said this, “The single best way a leader can learn and grow is through reading. So many of our best leaders develop and enhance their ability to lead through endless contact with books.”
One last thing, please keep our Peru Missions Team (30 people) in your prayers! They leave tomorrow and will return next Saturday, July 27th. Pray for them and the people of Peru they will be serving. 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:
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, July 19th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Brighton Place Tailgate: We will be putting on a Tailgate for the Brighton Place community (here in West Ashley – near Citadel Mall) on Wednesday, July 24th, 6-8:30pm. 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, July 25th; Thursday, August 1st, 11:30am-1pm.
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, July 26th, 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! Friday, July 26th, 4-6:30pm. Meet at Coastal.
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas: Friday, August 2nd, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, August 2nd, 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. - 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. We still have about 250 tickets left!
- 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. Interested in officially making the Coastal church family, your church family? Our next Membership Class is Monday, August 26th, from 6-9pm, in the Chapel. You can respond to this email, sign up on our website, or sign up on your Connect Card (let us know if you need childcare) on Sunday. Dinner & childcare provided!
