WOW! WOW! WOW! What an amazing weekend we had at Coastal last week! Of course, it all started with Community Outreach. On Friday we had a Tailgate at Patriot Villas. On Saturday morning we went downtown and helped Mt. Carmel UMC with their Back to School Supply Giveaway. We gave away food, clothes, and school supplies! Also on Saturday, we had 41 people go through our Membership Class – our largest ever! And then on Sunday morning we had 983 in attendance! On Sunday afternoon we baptized another 28 people out on Folly Beach! And get this, back in January I announced that our BHAG (BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOAL) for this year was to baptize 100 people. Are you ready for this? We are now officially at 94 people being baptized for the year (I’m pretty sure we’re going to break 100 – haha)!
It’s just amazing what’s happening at Coastal right now! But we’re just getting started! This coming Sunday, in your bulletin, you’ll be receiving your 2023 Fall Semester LIFE Group Catalog and you can start signing up for a Group! Actually, many of you have probably already received one in the mail. Our mantra here at Coastal during LIFE Group sign-up is that there are multiple ways to sign up for a Group (online, Connect Card, sign-up sheets), but you only have to sign up one time, one way. And yes, you can sign up for multiple Groups!
I love what we do here at Coastal on Sunday mornings! I do! I love everything about it. I love the music. I love watching people come to faith. I love all of our LIFE Teams and our Sunday morning Volunteers. Sunday mornings at Coastal is an exciting place to be. I don’t understand how you would ever want to miss it. But. . . there is one weakness with a crowd. It’s hard to grow in a crowd. You don’t live out/walk out your faith in a crowd. You need community. And that’s what our LIFE Groups are all about! This semester, we have 55 different LIFE Groups to choose from – activity Groups, study Groups, support Groups, and more! There is something for EVERYONE, every day of the week! Unless otherwise indicated, most Groups begin the week of September 17th and last 8-12 weeks. Make sure you check out our catalog and start signing up today! I love you Coastal! I love being your Pastor! And I love being in community with you!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Coffee & Doughnuts with the Vets at Patriot Villas – TODAY, Friday, August 25th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
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, August 25th, 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! TODAY, Friday, August 25th, 4-6pm. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, September 1st, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
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, September 2nd. 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, September 8th, 8:30am-11:30am. Meet at Coastal.
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, Friday, September 8th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
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, September 8th, 9:30am-11:30am. Meet at 1850 Truxton Ave in North Charleston.
Double Tailgate Day: Charleston Vets & Joseph Floyd Manor: Saturday, September 9th, 10am-1pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
Ronald McDonald House Meals That Heal: Saturday, September 9th, 4:30-6:45pm. Online signup required. Contact Rachel Speer for more info.
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. - If you’re fairly new to Coastal, a great next step is our Newcomers Reception. Our next Newcomers Reception is THIS Sunday, August 27th, 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!
- All Young Adults are invited to join us on Wednesday, September 6th, at 6pm for our Fall Kick-Off Event! We will meet on the Coastal front lawn for a low-country boil with lawn games and music! Spread the word – invite and bring a friend! For more information, please contact Pastor Scott Huff at scotth@coastalcommunitychurch.org.
- CSM (Coastal Student Ministry – 6th-12th Grade) is returning THIS Sunday, August 27 from 5:30PM-7:00PM (doors open at 5PM). We are kicking off this year’s CSM in STYLE! We will have a fun filled introductory night where students will be able to fellowship together and have a great time! There will be pizza; the gym will be full of fun stuff to do; we will have a game truck; and there will be bubble soccer! We pray this will be a great time for students to reconnect with each other as well as their leaders after a long summer. We’d love for your student to be there, and we encourage them to invite a friend! They won’t want to miss it! If you have any questions, you can email Pastor Jacob at jacob@coastalcommunitychurch.org.
- LIFE Group Sunday is September 10th! After each Sunday service you’ll be able to check out all the Groups offered this semester, browse the tables in the Welcome Center representing those Groups, meet the different Group Leaders, and ask any questions you might have! It’s a BIG Day here at Coastal and a LOT of fun! Invite and bring a friend and don’t miss it!
P.S. We are GROWING! As a result of that growth, I need you to help me with 4 things, especially as we prepare for the Fall. Here are the 4: parking, seating, service choice, and volunteering. Parking – leave our small parking lot out front for guests and new people. And then truthfully, park as far away as possible. Park in Oakland’s parking lot (take a right immediately past the Greenway, before you get to Orange Grove). We send the Golf Carts that way. We’ve still got some space available in the field behind the church as well and down the first drive, but Oakland’s Parking Lot has plenty of room. Seating – sit to the front and center of each section of chairs. This makes it so much easier for those with 1st Impressions who are ushering. Service Choice – our 10am service is quickly reaching capacity. We don’t have room for more chairs. What we really need is for some of you to move to the 8:30am or 11:30am service. Volunteering – to meet the needs of a growing church, requires a large and growing number of volunteers (especially Coastal Kidz). So, if you’re not serving on Sunday mornings, start serving. By the way, these are GREAT problems to have! In fact, they’re not problems, they are opportunities. Keep praying, keep inviting, keep serving and together let’s “make more room for Jesus!”
