So, have you signed up for a LIFE Group yet? If you haven’t heard, we unveiled our 2022 Fall Semester LIFE Group Catalog last week! You can go to our website right now, check out all the different Groups and sign up today. 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. Most of our Groups start the week of September 18th. Next Sunday, September 11th, is LIFE Group Sunday (see below)! Don’t miss it – it’s always a lot of fun!
This weekend is Labor Day weekend. Most people have Monday off from work. A lot of people will be taking that last hurrah, that last getaway, that last trip to the beach, before the rhythm and routine of the Fall sets in. Even though schools have been back in session for 2 weeks now, Labor Day weekend feels like the end of Summer and beginning of the Fall.
So let me ask you, what does the rhythm and routine of your life look like right now? And most importantly, where does your spiritual life fit in? Is it a small piece of the pie that you’re desperately trying to fit in to an already overcrowded, busy schedule? Or is it the most important thing, permeating every part of your life, the priority through which everything else flows? Does the rhythm and routine of your life include reading your Bible, gathering together regularly with your church family in worship, LIFE Group, fellowship, prayer, giving, serving?
Here’s the good news. You choose the rhythms and routines of your life. You set the priorities. If you don’t, the urgent will always win the day. And the urgent, regardless of how pressing it feels in the moment, is usually not the most important. For example, join a LIFE Group this semester. Make it a part of the rhythm of your life. I can already hear some of your excuses. And here is the biggest one of all. “But Pastor Chris, I just don’t have the time. I’m too busy.” Hear this with all the love I can muster. You have time to do whatever it is you value – tv, social media, sports, hobbies. It’s just not that important to you yet. So, as we move into the Fall, think about what matters most in this life, let that determine your values and priorities, and in turn let those values and priorities set or reset the rhythms and routines of your life.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Jesus said matters most in life, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-38) Love God and love people. Everything else flows from that.
One last thing – who are you inviting and bringing to church with you on Sunday, September 18th – our Friend Day? You never know the power of a simple invitation.
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
- UPCOMING OUTREACH PROJECTS:
Clothing Team: Our Coastal Clothing Team will be organizing and sorting clothes, TODAY, Friday, September 2nd (and Friday, September 9th), 9am-11am. Meet at 2952 Old Pond Road on Johns Island.
Chair Set-Up: Come help set up all the chairs in the auditorium this Saturday (tomorrow), September 3rd, at 7:30am (and then stay for Saturday Serve at 8:30am).
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 TOMORROW, Saturday, September 3rd. We meet in the Welcome Center/Cafe at 8:30am, project leaders make a “pitch” for their serving opportunity, and then we serve!
Double Tailgate Day – Charleston Vets & Joseph Floyd Manor: Saturday, September 10th, 10am-1pm. Meet at the church and then pick which Tailgate you’d like to serve.
Soldier’s Angels – We’ll be helping with the Veteran’s Mobile Food Distribution, Tuesday, September 13th, 8am-1pm. Meet at 1113 Sam Rittenburg Blvd. (The Elks Lodge).
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. - On Sunday, September 18th, Coastal is kicking off a brand new series on the book of Romans called, “A Revolution of Faith.” It’s going to be a BIG DAY – a FRIEND DAY! So, pull out all the stops and invite your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers! Use the Invite Cards in your bulletin this Sunday to reach out to someone and make the ask!
- We are GROWING! As a result of that growth, I need you to help me with 4 things, especially as we prepare for Sunday, September 18th and 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 (see above picture – plenty of parking available). Take a right immediately past the Greenway, before you get to Orange Grove. We’ll be glad to send the Golf Carts that way. We’ve still got some space available in the field behind the church as well. That’s a great option for early, first service volunteers.
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 9:30am service is now over 85% capacity! We can bring in a few more chairs, but not many. What we really need is for about 50 people to move to the 11:15am service. We’re not quite ready to add a 3rd service, but all of these measures will help us in the transition.
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. One person, one service, once a month, makes a huge IMPACT! By the way, these are GREAT problems to have! Keep praying, keep inviting, keep serving and together let’s “make more room for Jesus!” - ATTENTION COASTAL: Sunday, September 11th is a BIG DAY here at Coastal! It’s LIFE Group Sunday! Think Job/College Fair but for LIFE Groups! Before and after both Sunday morning services everyone is invited to our Welcome Center/Gathering Space where you’ll get to visit a booth/table representing all the different LIFE Groups this semester! You’ll get to meet the leaders, ask any questions, meet other people just like you checking out all the groups, and enjoy some great food! But most importantly, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll get to sign up for a LIFE Group! Don’t miss it – it’s always A LOT of fun!
- Don’t forget that simply because you are a part of the Coastal family, ALL of Dave Ramsey’s best selling resources and tools are available to you for FREE! 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.ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/hosts/coastalcommunity?pc=44091003. 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!
P.S. Our church gives away an enormous amount of clothes every month – 1200-1400 items of clothing! All of that is made possible because of YOU generously bringing bags of clothing and our awesome Clothing Team sorting, cleaning, and organizing all of it! Thank you!! We are always in need of MEN’S CLOTHING – especially Men’s Shoes and Men’s Underwear! Obviously, we need NEW Men’s Underwear. So next time you’re in Wal-Mart or Target or you’re shopping online, pick up a package or two of Men’s Underwear and bring it to the church!
