Well, I’ve got some exciting news to announce! Late yesterday afternoon, I finally received the email I had been waiting on. After much, much prayer and a long and sometimes difficult process, we are ready to start construction on our new facility!! In fact, this next week will be our final week in our old building (Coastal Kidz & Offices) as we know it. The pre-construction site work all begins next week (silt fencing, tree protection, barricades, etc). And then the following week, the week of September 21st, the demolition begins! All of which means that this Sunday, September 13th, is the last week of Coastal Kidz in our old building. Beginning next Sunday, September 20th, Coastal Kidz will be meeting across the street (where most of you park) at Orange Grove Middle School. We will be setting up Coastal Kidz next Saturday, September 19th, at 8:30am. If you are interested in being a part of the Coastal Kidz Set-Up Team, respond to this email or reach out to Janet Rollinsat 843-442-8299. This also means that all this next week our Pastors and Staff will be moving everything we are keeping in our old building into our old auditorium for temporary storage. If you have some availability this week and would like to volunteer to help us in this process, simply respond to this email. And if you are new to Coastal and have no idea what we’re about to do, please go to our Daring Faith page on our website.
Buildings are simply tools. But I really believe that our new facility will serve as a beautiful symbol in our community that even during a season where it seems as if everything has been on hold, or worse, fading away or dying, that God is not finished with us. There is hope and new life! Coastal we are here to stay, leaving a legacy for future generations! Regardless of our circumstances, our mission has not changed – to share and experience the LIFE and LOVE of Jesus with Charleston and world! And we will not be distracted or diverted from that mission! This new facility is simply a tool to carry out that mission – a symbol of a growing church that chooses to keep walking by faith!
Don’t forget that starting THISSunday September 13thwe are opening up our 11:15am service for in-person worship along with our 9:30am service. We’ve been monitoring our numbers and our capacity for social distancing in just the one in-person service at 9:30am. As a result of that and a desire to help make people feel comfortable finding a seat, we are opening up the 11:15am service. If you are concerned at all with being in a crowd or if this is your first time returning back to in-person worship, the 11:15am service would be the perfect service for you.
However, for the month of September (13th, 20th, 27th) there will only be Coastal Kidz (our Children’s Ministry) in the 9:30am service. As more and more people continue to return, including our volunteers, we’ll open up our Children’s Ministry for both services (hopefully in October). Also, please keep in mind that our church will continue to follow the City of Charleston’s mask mandate. If you don’t have a mask, we will gladly provide one as you enter. But most importantly, we will continue to show grace, kindness, and love to everyone. As always, if you’re sick, immunocompromised, or caring for those who are, PLEASE stay home and watch our services online.
Don’t worry – we will continue to offer ALL of our services online at 9:30am, 11:15am, and 6pm. If you miss a service, you can easily catch up on our Facebook page or our YouTube Channel. But, and this is important – whether you’re in-person or online, stay ENGAGED! We need each other now more than ever before. And the best way to stay engaged is through our LIFE Groups. If you haven’t already done so, go online right now and check out the Fall Semester LIFE Group Catalogand sign up for a Group today! And yes, you can sign up for multiple groups. There are a variety of groups (both in-person and/or online) on almost every day of the week. Groups start in just one more week – the week of September 20th! YOU NEED THIS! WE NEED THIS! So check them out and starting signing up!
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
Here are this week’s “Friday 5”:
- Upcoming Outreach Projects: Sign up on your Connect Card to help at Lowcountry Orphan Relief on Friday 9/18 from 9-11am or at the Suburban Hotel Tailgate on 9/19 from 10am-1pm. Come make an IMPACT in our community by being the hands and feet of Jesus! If you have any questions about these projects, please reach out to Pastor Chris Jones at 843-870-4613.
- Don’t forget that simply because you are a part of the Coastal family, ALL of Dave Ramsey’s best selling resources and tools available to you FREE for 1 year! This includes 5 classes (Financial Peace, Legacy Journey, Smart Money Smart Kids, the Jump Start Course and a new Budgeting course), the Everydollar+ budgeting tool, and a host of other resources designed to help families track their progress through the baby steps. You have access to everything for an entire year at your own pace, on your own schedule. Here’s the link: https://www.financialpeace.com/hosts/coastalcommunity?pc=94671724. Sign up today! We want to be known as a generous church, and we also want to do everything we can to equip our church and community to experience true financial peace in these difficult times!
- Waves Student Ministry (6th-12th Grade) is back! The first three weeks of the month are going to be strictly small groups meeting at a couple of different locations. We are encouraging ALL students to jump in to one of these groups and starting connecting again with other students and leaders. As we begin to see which groups are working out best (time & location-wise) for students, we might combine and shift the groups. We will keep you updated weekly on what the groups are looking like and have even opened up a poll on our Waves Instagram to allow students to let us know which group they plan on attending. The groups are listed on our website and on WAVES Student Ministry Instagram. On the 4th week of the month we are going to have a semi-normal Wednesday meeting and all joining together for a time of fellowship and worship. For more information or to answer any of your questions, please reach out to Pastor Ryan Spell at 843-442-8985.
- Attention all Coastal women & friends: Chosen Women’s Conference is going VIRTUAL for the first time ever, and Coastal is hosting a watch party on Thursday, September 17 (7:00–9:00 pm) and Friday, September 18 (7–9:30 pm). What is Chosen? It’s a live-worship, guest-speaker, community-building, faith-strengthening event designed specifically to equip and empower women of all ages to walk in the freedom God has given us. 2020 guest speakers include Christine Caine, Irene Rollins and Wendy Perez. Tickets can be purchased at www.chosenwomensconference.com. RSVP for the Coastal Watch Party to Rachel Speer rachel@coastalcommunitychurch.org.
- What’s your Next Step here at Coastal? If you’re fairly new to Coastal, a great next step is our Newcomers Reception. Our next Newcomer’s Reception is THIS Sunday, September 13th, in the Welcome Center immediately following the 11:15am service (at approximately 12:30pm). This is a great way to learn more about Coastal, meet staff and key volunteers, as well as meet some other new people. Childcare provided. RSVP online or on your Connect Card. Or maybe your next step is officially making Coastal your church family by becoming a Member. Our next Membership Class is Monday evening, September 14th, 6pm-8:30pm. You can respond to this email or sign up on our website. For both the Newcomer’s Reception and the Membership Class, you can join us either in-person or online through Zoom.
P.S. On Sunday, September 20th (next week), we kick off our new Fall Sermon Series called, “Hope in the Dark.” We’ll be preaching through the book of 1 Peter. As a part of the series, we’re going to provide a daily devotional (5 days a week) and a weekly memory verse for the duration of the series as we read, study, and pray through 1 Peter together as a church. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for the devotional (it will be emailed to you daily)! I really believe this is going to be a great study and a great series for our church and our community! As always, invite and bring a friend to Coastal – either in-person or online.
