Prayer
We acknowledge that we are powerless to change anyone's heart. But God is powerful and He can do anything!
Prayer Update (Dec11-Jan12)
Posted on December 25th, 2011
Hi friends!
We have had a truly amazing year – so much to be thankful for! We have seen lots of growth and God is still drawing many people to Himself. Please keep praying for us and for the spread of the gospel in the region. On the family front, Sharon is pregnant and we are expecting #3 to arrive in May! So we’re looking forward to meeting the little one next year. We really appreciate your prayers, encouragement and financial support. Here are some things to inform your prayers.
Stand firm in Jesus,
Chris (on behalf of CoastEC).
PRAYER POINTS…
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God is gathering and growing His people…
CoastEC is made up of people from all walks of life and stages of faith. And there is a great sense of family and community amongst us despite our crazy diversity! We’ve had the joy of baptising several people who’ve started following Jesus, and seen lots of other people take big steps forward in their faith. We’ve also seen growth in numbers attending this year. Currently there are 73 adults and 43 kids who regularly attend the service, and 69 people in our home groups (bible study groups).
Training new bible study leaders…
Praise God for raising up more people keen to lead our home groups next year. Pray for Min, Pete, Lynne, Andries, Jess and Thelma. Ask that God would equip them to shepherd a small group, and for many to grow in their love for the Lord as we seek to expand our home group ministry.
Another Service…
We are hoping to start a second service so we can connect with even more people. We currently meet at 5pm but we’re planning do both a 4pm and 6pm service starting about Easter. Pray for wisdom about this. Pray for God to raise up solid core groups for both services.
Growing staff team…
Thank God for sending Ruth who has been doing a great job overseeing our Ministries and music. We are also planning to employ a second pastor in 2013 to help us keep growing this work. Pray for God to provide the resources, and for the wisdom we’ll need as we seek to identify the right man for job.
Christmas Eve Service (5pm)…
Pray for a great gathering as we proclaim Jesus and celebrate the incarnation. Pray for many locals to attend. There will also be lots of visitors in town at this time of year – pray we can connect with many of them and encourage them in their faith.
Solid Rock Youth Cafe Outreach (5th – 14th Jan)...
A team of about 65 young adults is coming to town to share the gospel with Forster youth. Pray for many locals to be contacted and for them to be open to the gospel. Pray for us as we follow up kids after the mission is over, and ask God to help many make the transition to youth group, bible study and church.
Youth…
Thank God for our youth weekend away. Almost 20 kids attended and they had a great time learning about persevering as believers. Pray that they will persevere to the end. We are starting a senior high youth group at the end of January. Please pray for us to keep building a solid core group of senior high kids, and for many from the solid rock mission to join the group. Pray for Andries, Jess and Ruth as they head this up.
Scripture…
Please pray that we can keep teaching yr 7 scripture next year and that we’d also be able to teach yr 8. Pray for wisdom for Chris as he works with other churches and liaises with the school, that God would open the door and that many students would come to faith in Jesus.
Finances…
Thanks to those of you who currently support us financially! Praise God for meeting all our needs so far! We are currently about 50% self funded. Pray for wisdom as our Admin Committee finalise our budget and for the next year and beyond (meeting 23rd Jan). As we grow, so will our expenses (like employing another pastor). So if you are currently supporting us financially, can you please keep it up? And if you’re not, could you please consider starting next year? Thanks. Please head to www.coastec.net.au/give/ for info on how you can give.
Dave McDonald
Please also pray for Dave and his family. They were about to head to Darwin to plant a new church, but he has just been diagnosed with cancer. More info here.
“I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
Pray for Dave and Darwin
Posted on December 11th, 2011
I just heard some sad news. Please pray. Dave McDonald was just about to plant a new church at Darwin as part of the same network CoastEC is involved with (the FIEC). He was previously senior minister of Crossroads church in Canberra and was all packed and ready to move, when he was suddenly diagnosed with serious lung cancer. He will not be going to Darwin, but will remain in Canberra for treatment. Please pray for God to heal him and comfort his family. Please also pray for the spread of the gospel in Darwin – that God would either heal Dave and send him, or raise up other church planters for that region. For more info, see this God-glorifying letter from Dave and his wife Fiona. And here for another update
Prayer Update (Oct-Nov 2011)
Posted on September 24th, 2011
Hi friends!
I have just come back from 2 weeks holiday and feel really blessed. I have a great family and it was awesome to spend some quality time together. A big thanks to Sam Hilton (Hunter Bible Church) and Connan O’Shea (Northern Lakes Evangelical) for preaching at CoastEC the last few weeks. Sharon and I were also blessed by the huge generosity of whoever paid for our time at Geneva Refresh (a 2 day conference in North Sydney, for couples who’ve planted churches). Now we’re back on the ground and excited to be serving Jesus in Forster where we are seeing God gather His people together and build His church. Please keep praying for us and for the spread of the gospel in the region.
Your brother, Chris (on behalf of CoastEC)
PRAYER POINTS…
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Baptisms…
We recently baptized 4 of our members down at Main Beach. It was an amazing day of testifying to God’s grace and celebrating the work He has done in their lives. I will never forget the hug that one of the blonde teenage girls (Sharon) gave the elderly Aboriginal man (Terry) when they were both coming out of the water having just been baptized into the same faith. God not only reconciles us to Himself, but unites us to each other. How beautiful is the gospel! (Watch a vid of Kayla’s testimony here)
Scripture…
We have just finished teaching the yr 7 students at the Tuncurry Campus. Praise God for the way the school worked with us, and for the positive response of the students (like Jordan, who shared with his teacher that he’d become a Christian). Pray now for the word that was sown to take root in their hearts and for many more to come to faith and get established in a church or youth group where they can keep growing,
A steady trickle…
Praise God for gathering more people to Himself! We have a steady stream of visitors checking us out, and a constant trickle of people joining the church. It’s brilliant to see new people welcomed so warmly, and now there are nearly 70 adults and 40 kids who call CoastEC home.
Need more leaders…
We are feeling stretched in regard to our ability to disciple the growing number of people. We basically need more people involved in leadership and discipleship ministries – for home groups (bible studies), youth ministry (especially guys) and children’s ministry. Please pray God would raise up more leaders for this work. Pray for us to identify local people to train or for other mature believers to move to town and partner with us. (Maybe you?)
Youth…
Praise God that ‘Dudes’ (youth guys bible study group) has kicked off. Pray for Evan as he leads, and for the guys to grow. Also praise God for the growth of Grommets (yr5-6). The girls have grown spiritually and in number. Pray for the boys community to grow too. Pray for good rest for leaders during school holidays.
Another Service…?
We’re currently meeting at 5pm (which is hard for those with young kids), so we’re praying about starting another service next year at Easter – which would take us to a 4pm and a 6pm timeslot. Ask for God’s wisdom and timing, and for Him to establish committed core groups for both services if it’s His will, so we can get the ball rolling. Pray also for wisdom as we work out the best venue (and for it to be made available to us).
Ministries…
Pray for Ruth as she oversees our ministries. Pray for new members of church to discover & use their gifts to faithfully serve God and build others up by finding an appropriate ministry team to serve on. Please also ask God to raise up someone to oversee our sound ministry.
Finances…
Praise God for meeting all our needs so far! Thank Him for the generosity of His people – both individual donors and partner churches (like The Point Community Church, Maitland Evangelical Church, EV church, Lakes Evangelical, Northern Lakes Evangelical and St Matts). What we are doing would not be possible without this support. Our goal is to become self funded, and we are about half way there regarding current costs. But as we grow, so will our expenses (like hopefully employing another pastor in 2013). Please pray for our Admin Committee as they work out our budget for next year and beyond, and that God would keep providing the funds we need. (If you’re interested in partnering with us financially, head here )
“I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
Prayer Update (Aug-Sept 2011)
Posted on August 5th, 2011
Hi People!
We’ve just finished a month of mission and it was great to see some new people at various events and church services. A team from St Matts West Penno (where I grew up and started going to church) came and partnered with us for Holiday Hang Out (where about 30 kids attended the program); the Solid Rock winter mission was great (and we connected with heaps of local youth through that); we ran a men’s bbq and a women’s coffee & dessert night which went really well and the gospel was shared appropriately; and the last couple of Sunday services were geared to visitors and well attended (and we tackled topics like ‘How can I believe in powerful and loving God with all the suffering in the world’ and ‘How can I actually connect with God?’). One of the things that encouraged me personally was seeing our people pray for and invite their mates so they could hear about Jesus. I am stoked to see God shaping us as a congregation that has a heart for helping others know their Creator and Redeemer. Anyway, there’s heaps going on, but unless God does the heart-work, we’re just spinning our wheels. So thanks for partnering with us in prayer!
Chris (on behalf of CoastEC)
PRAYER POINTS…
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Mission…
Thank God for the visitors who came to various events and heard clear messages about Jesus. Pray that the gospel would take root in their hearts and that they keep taking steps toward Christ. Please pray for us as we keep building genuine relationships with them, and that we help them get to know Jesus better and better.
Scripture…
Lessons for year 7 have started at the Tuncurry Campus. Please pray for the teachers to share Christ faithfully and for students to understand and respond with faith. Ask that some would get linked in to youth group where they can keep growing,
FIEC conference…
CoastEC is part of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. Thank God for great partners in the gospel, good fellowship & encouragement, and generous resource sharing. Chris and Ruth will be attending the annual conference in Collaroy from 15-17 August. Pray for safe travel, and good fellowship.
Ministries…
Pray for Ruth Shooter as she oversees our ministries. Please pray our ministry drivers (team leaders) – Karen, Sharon, Jeff, Brent, Leesh, Emma, Tom, Ali, and Steph – as they keep building their teams and refining their ministries. Pray for every member of CoastEC to discover & use their gifts to faithfully serve God and build others up. Ask that they’d find an appropriate ministry team to serve on, and ask that God would raise up more people to lead our growing kids church (coasties) and to serve on the sound ministry.
Slowly but steadily…
Praise God for the constant trickle growth we have with new people joining the church. We have just hit the 100 mark at the Sunday service (65 adults, 35 kids); God is gathering His people, and we’re just keeping up with our ability to disciple them. Pray for God to raise up more leaders for this work (either locally, or for other mature believers to move to town and partner with us).
Youth…
Andries & Jess are starting a new group for senior high youth we connected with at the Solid Rock café who are keen to grow in their faith (pray for the group to kick off well!). . Thank God for providing another youth leader (Alysse) and keep asking for another bloke to lead. Also thank God for the junior youth guys bible study group starting up (Dudes) and ask that Ev would lead well and that the boys grow solid. Pray for a Christ-centred culture to keep developing at both Grommets (yr5-6) and Wired (yr7-10).
Baptisms…
We are baptising some of our people on Saturday 3rd September. Pray for a great day of testifying to God’s goodness and celebrating the work He has done in our lives.
Another Service…?
Pray that God would give us wisdom as we consider starting another congregation next year at Easter.We are thinking about an earlier Sunday afternoon service that’s geared to our growing number of young families and children. Ask for God to establish a committed core group for us to get the ball rolling, and for wisdom as we work out the best venue.
Holidays…
Pray for Chris & Sharon to have a safe & refreshing break (5th–18th Sept). Thank God for the chance to attend Geneva Refresh for a few days (13-14 Sept) to connect with other church planters and be encouraged.
“I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
Prayer Update (July-August 2011)
Posted on July 8th, 2011
Hi friends!
I hope you’re all well. I am stoked about what God is doing amongst us here and I wanted to thank you all for your partnership with us. Your prayers, encouragement, friendship, emails, visits and generous giving have been a real blessing. We are fully aware of our weaknesses and know that unless God builds the house, we labour in vain. It’s an amazing privilege to be able to approach God’s throne of grace in prayer. (Thanks Jesus for opening the way!). So please ask the Lord to empower His People for godliness, ministry & mission, and to soften many hearts and gather in His elect as we proclaim the great news about Jesus to the 25,000 people living in our region.
Chris (on behalf of CoastEC)
PRAYER POINTS…
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Mission…
We are gearing up for a big month of outreach.
• For Primary School kids – Holiday Hang Out
- 11th-13th July (with a team from St Matts West Penno)
• For Youth & Young Adults – Solid Rock winter mission
- 15th-16th July (with the Solid Rock team)
• For Men – The Gospel According To Beer
- 22nd July (Fri night, BBQ)
• For Women – His All-Satisfying Love
- 26th July (Women’s Coffee & Dessert Night)
• For Everyone – Church Services – 24th & 31st July (topics: suffering, and connecting with God)
• Short Course – Christianity Explored (DVD and discussion) – 4th, 11th & 18th Aug
Please pray for our people to be prayerful and bold about who they invite to various events.
Pray for many to attend, for the gospel to be shared clearly, and for many to put their trust in Jesus.
Ask that we’d follow up people well, and that they’d find their place in the Christian community.
Scripture…
Lessons for year 7 will (finally) start at the Tuncurry Campus on 27th July (and then fortnightly for 5 lessons). Thanks for your prayers to get this door to open! It has been a hard slog, and I really appreciate the support!
Please pray for the teachers to share Christ faithfully and for students to understand and respond with faith.
FIEC conference…
CoastEC is part of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
Thank God for the partnership in the gospel, the fellowship, the encouragement and the resource sharing.
Chris and Ruth will be attending the annual conference in Collaroy from 15-17 August.
Pray for safety as they travel, and for a good time of refreshing and connecting with other pastors.
Ministries…
Thank God for Ruth as she oversees our ministries. Please pray our ministry drivers (team leaders) – Karen, Sharon, Jeff, Brent, Leesh, Emma, Tom, Ali, and Steph – as they keep building their teams and refining their ministries.
Youth…
Praise God for the growth at Grommets (yr 5-6 youth group). They’ve gone from 1 to 10 girls this year!
Beck’s enjoying leading the girls – pray she’ll grow strong friendships with them & know how to disciple them.
Thank God for how he’s been working through Chicks (our high school girls homegroup).
One girl gave her life to Christ this term, and the other 4 regulars are growing in their maturity in Christ!
Pray for wisdom for Evan and Alicia, as they work out how to recruit more leaders (Ruth has just joined the team)
Pray for the kids to transition up from Grommets to Wired (the high school youth group) at the end of the year.
Another Service…??
Pray that God would give us wisdom as we consider starting another congregation next year.
We are thinking about a 3:30pm service on a Sunday arvo that’s geared to young families.
Ask for God to establish a committed core group for us to get the ball rolling.
“I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
Prayer Update (May-June 2011)
Posted on May 20th, 2011
Hi friends! Thanks for your partnership in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ! We really value prayer support and fully acknowledge that ‘unless the Lord builds the house, the labourers work in vain’. Many in our region are lost and need Christ. We are weak, but He is strong. So please ask big! In Christ, and for His glory, Chris (on behalf of CoastEC)
PRAYER POINTS…
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Ekins family…
Praise God for the recent break we had up the coast with friends. It was a great week off, and we’re feeling refreshed. Caleb and Hannah are growing up fast! Caleb is a real action man and Hannah is starting to stand up (she even said her first ‘dad dad,’ the other day!) Unfortunately, we’ve also had lots of sickness and broken sleep, which is starting to take it’s toll. Please pray for health and some good rest.
Trickle Growth…
By God’s grace, people keep trickling into our fellowship. Pray we’d be a welcoming church, good at befriending & incorporating newcomers. Pray for wisdom as we seek disciple people in our home groups (bible studies) and help them find suitable ministries to serve in. We’re hoping to start 2 new home groups in the 2nd half of this year. Ask for God to raise up godly leaders, & for Chris to identify and train them well. Also pray for Ruth Shooter as she trains our people to share their testimony on 26th June.
Scripture…
Pray for wisdom and boldness as I work with other local ministers to get Scripture started at Tuncurry High. There are some who think the lessons we taught at the Forster campus are too Christ-focussed, are too evangelistic in asking kids to make their own decision to follow Jesus, and they also want the substitutionary atonement to be removed from the lesson about what Christ’s death achieved. These are serious matters and the lessons are under review. As a result, the lessons at the school have been postponed until 27th July. I am finding this very frustrating. Pray for me to be godly, patient, gracious, wise and courageous.
Youth…
Praise God for the solid youth core group that is being built up. The youth groups have also made a good transition to their new venue (the Guides Hall). Ask for God to sustain Evan, Alicia & Bec and also to raise up more leaders for this growing ministry (especially another bloke!).
Holiday Hangout…
Our kids winter mission is being run by St Matts Youth (West Pennant Hills) on 11-13 July. We are hoping to connect with and share the gospel with many primary school kids! Pray for good follow up and that many will receive Christ and link in to Grommets youth group for kids in yrs 5-6.
Finances…
Praise God for the continued generosity of His people. We are slowly growing to be more self-funded (currently about 35% of our expenses are being covered by locals; the rest is being graciously supplied by other individual supporters and partner churches). Our goal is to be at least 50% self funded by the end of the year. Please pray for us to get there, and that in the mean time the external support would continue.
Alternate venue…
The school hall we rent for our public gathering is unavailable on Sunday12 June and 10 July. Pray for us as we meet in Tuncurry Memorial Hall instead. Ask that it will work well for us, and will help us raise our profile in the town as we advertise our services in a fresh location for these days.
Another Service?…
Pray that God would give us wisdom as we consider starting another service to help us connect with even more people (we’re not sure when, but we’re thinking about a 3:30pm service on a Sunday arvo that’s geared to young families).
“I thank my God every time I remember you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”
Prayer Update (March-April 2011)
Posted on March 26th, 2011
Hi friends!
We believe in a Sovereign God who is powerful and willing to answer the prayers of His People for His Glory. Please approach the throne of grace boldly on our behalf! Thankyou again for your willingness to stand by us as we seek to bring Christ to the 25,000 people living in our region. In Christ, and for His glory,
Chris (on behalf of CoastEC)
Prayer Points…
Scripture… We need urgent prayer right now re: high school scripture. We have been working hard over the last 2 years to get Scripture started in the local high schools. We are praising God for opening the door to both Forster and Tuncurry campuses (we get to teach 5 lessons to year 7 students). We are almost finished our 5 lessons at Forster, and the first lesson at Tuncurry is scheduled for the 4th May. Sadly, there is serious opposition amongst the local ministers association to the syllabus that I wrote. One of their specific objections is to the lesson about ‘Why Jesus Died’. The have said they do not believe in the substitutionary atonement (that when Jesus died he was standing in my place, taking God’s wrath and judgment for my sin so I can be forgiven). They say this teaching is a denominational distinctive and we need to find a new syllabus that we can all agree on. A special meeting of the ministers association has been called to deal with this (13th April, 1pm). Thank God for the bold support of the Presbyterian and C3 church pastors who are willing to stand firm with me on this. Please pray for wisdom and courage for other ministers who should be taking a stand; and that as a result, the wolves would be silenced and the pure gospel is able to be presented in the local schools. This is a heavy burden, and much is at stake. Please pray.
Slowly Growing… God continues to gather His People. About 60 Adults and 30 kids now regularly attend the CoastEC church service, and 46 Adults are attending our Home Groups (bible studies). Praise God for drawing people together. Ask that as we grow in number we’d also grow in depth and maturity. Also ask that God would raise up more leaders to train for home groups so we can continue to cater for the growing number of people who are keen to join a group.
Another Service?… Pray that God would give us wisdom as we consider starting another service some time down the track to help us connect with even more people (we’re not sure, but we’re thinking about a 10am service and a Sunday arvo service on top of that…once we have the right core group and enough resources).
Staff… Praise God for the great start Ruth Shooter has made! Ruth is our Ministries Coordinator and also heads up Music. She has been establishing ministry teams with team leaders; helping us all be more focussed on certain areas of ministry, and helping new people to church get involved in serving. Pray for God to give her wisdom. Thank God for her energy, enthusiasm and the encouragement she’s already been to many.
Youth…
Evan, Leesh and Bec have been doing a great job! There are now 22 regular kids at our youth groups (15 at Grommets yr5-6; and 7 at Wired yr7-10). Unfortunately we had to find another venue, so please pray that the transition from the Scout Hall to the Girl Guides hall would be smooth. Also ask God to raise up more leaders for this ministry (especially another bloke), and that a new core group of year 5 kids would emerge.
Finances… Praise God for the continued generosity of His people. We are slowly growing to be more self-funded (currently about 35% of our expenses are being covered by locals; the rest is being graciously supplied by other individual supporters and partner churches). Our goal is to be at least 50% self funded by the end of the year. Please pray for us to get there, and that in the mean time the external support would continue.