Hey friends of CoastEC!

Hey friends!
Hope you're all well! It was great to catch up with Neil, one of my best mates recently. We even got to chase some sea beasts!

Chloe is about to finish preschool and can't wait for big school next year, so that will be a new season for us with all 3 kids at school. Sharon is hoping to get a few days work teaching in a local primary school.

Anyway, here's a quick update on some church things. Thanks for your prayers and ongoing support!
Chris

What's happening?
NEW STAFF MEMBER!
Thanks for your prayers for wisdom as we've interviewed people for our next staff position. We've found him! Marty Lofberg will be joining our staff team in January! He’s married to Aimee, and they have 2 kids: Gideon and Maisy.

Marty will be overseeing all our ministry teams and music ministry. He'll take particular responsibility for all our Sunday gatherings, and will co-ordinate our large and growing number of volunteers who use their gifts to serve the Lord and His church. Employing Marty will help us start strong when we kick off our new Sunday Service at Hallidays (in March). He will basically recruit volunteers, support & train our drivers to build and lead their teams, and oversee our music ministry across all our services.

LIFE

We've just wrapped up our LIFE series - 4 Thursday nights at Blackhead Bowlo, giving people an opportunity to hear about the life that Jesus offers. Thank God for the 10 or so guests we had over the month.

A bunch of them are coming to some Q&A sessions we're hosting at the church office on Wednesday nights. Please pray for the Word to sink in deep, and for God to grant them faith in Jesus!

Coming Up....

NEW CHURCH SERVICE
The Hallidays launch team have been hosting a stall at the Blackhead Bazaar which has given loads of opportunities to connect with locals, and to spread the word about a new service starting in March.
We're hoping to finalise discussions with Hallidays Point Public School soon as our venue for the service. Please pray that process would continue smoothly and that the school would be a great venue for the spread of the gospel. Pray for the launch team as we gear up for starting a new service 20 mins up the coast. Ask for good connections with the community as we host a stall at the local markets on the 7th Jan. Ask for wisdom about how to best advertise the new church gathering.

SUMMER LIFE

Please pray for the SUFM mission team that are coming to Forster at the start of January to share the good news of Jesus with the youth of our town. Ask for safety for the team, and appropriate boldness as they seek to share the gospel. Pray for the locals on team to do a great job of following up those we contact.

Finances

We thank God for His amazing provision and the generosity of His people. Last year we were able to fund 71% of our expenses from local giving. Employing another staff member, starting a new congregation and building a church facility is obviously costing us more money than we've got. So can you please prayerfully consider making a one off donation toward these specific projects (or becoming a regular giver in 2018)? If you'd like to set up direct giving to the church account, details are HEREPhilippians 1:3-7
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart"

CHRISTMAS SERVICE

We can't wait to celebrate God entering our world to give us Himself! Pray that many locals and holiday makers would join us. Ask that this Christmas, many come to put their trust in Jesus and to accept his gift of eternal life.

Building design

Please pray for our Design Team to think boldly and wisely as we collate many suggestions and take advice on the best features for a ministry facility. God willing we will have some draft plans by the end of Feb to present to church. Ask for a good relationship with a great architect!