Well, if you haven’t heard yet, this past Sunday we announced that God did a miracle in our midst! We gave the largest single offering in the history of our church for our “Daring Faith” Campaign – $202,635.80 (that includes over $2,800 in CHANGE)! Our 3 year commitment grand total was $1,689,886.82! Actually, the total keeps climbing since the announcement was made on Sunday! It’s now over $1.7 million after more cards were turned in! In fact, people are still turning in money and Commitment Cards almost every day! What a GREAT GOD we serve!
I am so proud of you Coastal! In 2 Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul is describing the generosity of the Christians in Macedonia. He could have very easily been writing about you. Listen to what he wrote, “For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.” Notice that they gave themselves first to the Lord, then, the byproduct of that action was their generosity. That’s you Coastal! That’s you!
By the way, if you haven’t yet turned in a Commitment Card or Sacrificial Offering, it’s not too late to participate. In fact, many people picked up Commitment Cards on Sunday. You can either drop it off at the church office any time during the week (8:30am-4pm), put it in one of our offering envelopes and drop it in the mail, or you can even do it all online. Don’t let Satan rob you from being a part of the miracle of this opportunity for growth and blessing that God wants to do in your life.
Now, let me see if I can answer a couple of questions people have had:
- When do I start my giving toward “Daring Faith”? Now. Your Sacrificial Offering was the start of your “Daring Faith” Commitment. I would encourage you to consider automating your giving. You can do that through your bank or we can step you through it.
- Do I still need to designate the “Daring Faith” portion of my giving? Yes. Whatever you are giving towards your “Daring Faith” commitment please continue to mark it “DaringFaith.” If you are using TEXT to Give remember that “DaringFaith” is all one word, no space. If you are using TEXT to Give, you can’t separate your regular giving and your “Daring Faith” giving in one TEXT. You’ll have to send them separately. You can separate your giving through check or PayPal on the memo (ex. $100 tithe, $100 Daring Faith).
- When will we break ground? We are hoping to break ground in either late March or early April. It would be great to get started right before Easter – our 30th Anniversary! The permitting process in Charleston is a SLOW process. But we have an excellent, experienced Team working on our behalf. Trust me, as soon as we know, you will know. We will keep you updated along the way.
Obviously, if you have any other questions please reach out.
Oh, and one more example of your generosity during “Daring Faith” – OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD! On Saturday you guys wrapped and packed 756 shoeboxes! And then on Sunday you took home several hundred more shoeboxes to fill – pushing us well over 1,000 boxes this year!! By the way, if you took home a box, you can drop it off at Coastal during the week or bring it with you to church no later than this Sunday.
I love you Coastal and I am forever grateful for all of you! “Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.” (2 Corinthians 8:11 NLT) Let’s go for it Coastal!
See you Sunday!
Pastor Chris
P.S. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you sign up for our Daily Christmas Devotional that will start Sunday, December 1st and go all the way to Christmas Day. And if you volunteer or serve in any capacity at Coastal, make plans to attend our Volunteer Banquet on Friday night, December 6th, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Childcare and Dinner provided! You can sign up for both things by responding to this email or on your Connect Card on Sunday.
