Coast Evangelical Church

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Prayer

We acknowledge that we are powerless to change anyone's heart. But God is powerful and He can do anything!

Hi people,
Thanks for your prayer support! I know it’s impact will ripple throughout eternity…so get busy!
Chris

Download a printable version here

PRAISE GOD

• Praise God for growing our adult bible study groups (we’ve got 16 adults in a Wednesday night group and 4 ladies in our women’s bible study group on Tuesday arvo). Please pray for us to grow in maturity, godliness, knowledge of the scriptures, love for Jesus and passion for reaching the lost.
• Praise God for Dave and Min who are leading our music ministry! Pray for God to equip and sustain them.
• Praise God for Deb and Bruce who are doing a great job of looking after our catering. Ask for God to sustain them.
• Praise God for the great fellowship we’re experiencing as God draws together a new community.

ASK GOD

• We’re changing the service time from 10am to 5pm for summer (from 15th Nov) in an attempt to be more accessible to the young families who are involved with Nippers. Ask God for the transition to be a good one, with the result that more people come to Christ.
• Ask God to open the door to the local high schools so we can teach Scripture. (Praise God for the initial positive response we’ve had from the Principal at Forster High, and ask that as we approach Tuncurry High the principal will also be open to it)
• Pray for wisdom for the Admin Committee as they seek to finalise the budget for 2010, and ask for God to provide the resources for the mission. (We are looking at a budget of around $103,000 and will need plenty of God’s people to be generous!)
• Pray for Chris, Sharon and Caleb as they have 2 weeks holiday (26 Oct – 9 Nov). Pray for good time together and for refreshment
• Pray for Matt Jacobs and Chris Allan as they preach at Coast EC on the 1st and 8th Nov.
• Pray for wisdom (and leaders!) as we finalise plans to significantly expand our childrens and youth ministry next year (We’re hoping to start 2 new primary school groups, and 2 new high school youth groups). This will be biting off a lot, so pray for energy and many to step up to serve.
• Pray for our regulars to be bold at inviting their friends along to church, especially as we re-launch for summer and get stuck into John’s gospel together.

Hey people,

Thanks for your encouragement, support, generosity and prayers. This ministry would not be possible without your partnership.

Keep your eyes on Jesus,
Chris

_____________________________________

Download a printable version here

PRAISE GOD

• Praise God for drawing together a great core group of locals. Coast EC has now got 30 regular adults coming to the Sunday service. Ask for God to make our love for each other increase and to overflow in mission to the region.
• Praise God for the womens bible study group and the youth girls bible study group (’chicks’) that kicked off on 15th Sept. Pray for Sharon and Alicia as they lead these groups, and for God to use them to draw many women into deeper fellowship and maturity in their faith
• Praise God for raising up musicians! Pray for Dave and Min as they step up to lead us in praising God and encouraging each other through song.
• Praise God for the wonderful provision of a house for Chris and Sharon. Ask for it to be a great base for their family and the church.

ASK GOD

• Ask God to draw more people to Himself as we move the service time from 10am to 5pm for summer (in an attempt to be more accessible to the young families who are involved with Nippers).
• Ask God to open the door to the local high schools so we can teach Scripture. (Praise God for the initial positive response we’ve had from the Principal at Forster High, and ask that as we approach Tuncurry High the principal
• Pray for Tim Scott (pastor of the CCC church in Forster) and his 4 kids. Tim’s wife Cathy died unexpectedly. Pray for God to use her death for his glory.
• Pray for wisdom for the Admin Commitee as they meet Sunday 27th Sept to manage church finance issues and to draft a budget for 2010
• Pray for Alicia as she has two weeks of time off over the October school holidays. Pray that it would be enjoyable and refreshing for her.

Hi everyone, thanks for partnering with us in prayer!
Here are some prayer points for COAST EC. Printable version here

• Praise God for drawing people into fellowship. We’ve got about 25 adults and 10 kids who call COAST EC home; 8 boys coming to the youth group (Grommets); and 17 people coming to our home group / bible study on Monday nights. Pray for them to grow in maturity, and to partner with us in our mission.
• Praise God for the kids who’ve started coming to kids church (Coasties) as a result of contact made at the recent kids outreach program (Holiday Hang Out). Pray for God to also draw their families into the kingdom. Ask for God to grant Tom and Ali wisdom and energy as head up this ministry.
• Praise God for a good time of fellowship at the FIEC conference on 10-12 August @ Collaroy. Ask for God to use this network of like-minded churches to make a huge impact on our nation, and that many more Christ-honouring churches will be planted in the next few years.
• Ask for God to burden our hearts with a deep love for the lost that drives us to prayer and mission. Pray for wisdom and boldness as we seek to connect with many locals. Ask for opportunities and courage to share the gospel.
• Pray for Chris as he prepares to speak at St Matts (West Pennant Hills) Mission weekend (28-30 Aug).
• Pray for God to open the door into the Primary Schools (so we can run a lunchtime outreach group for kids in years 5-6), and into the High Schools (so we can teach scripture to year 7 next year). Pray for other ministers in the area to get on board with this so we can approach the school with a unified front.
• Chris, Sharon and Caleb are moving into the house they bought on 11th and 12th Sept. Ask for God to use this house as a great base for their family and the church. Pray for good connections with their new neighbours that lead to gospel conversions.
• Caleb (7 months old) is being dedicated to the Lord on Sunday 13th Sept. Pray for him to grow up knowing, loving and serving Jesus. Pray also for the family and friends who attend to be convicted about the truth of the gospel and their own need to respond.
• Pray for the women’s home group and the teenage girls home group to get established on a Tuesday afternoon (starting 15th Sept)
• Pray for Alicia (doing MTS) – for God to heal her from tonsillitis soon.

Hi everyone, thanks for partnering with us in prayer! Here are some much needed prayer points for COAST EC. Print friendly version here.

• Praise God for drawing people into fellowship. We’ve got about 25 adults and 10 kids who call Coast EC home; and 6 boys coming to the youth group. Pray for them to grow servant hearts and to get involved in serving.
• Praise God how Holiday Hang Out came together! We had a couple new kids join us to have fun and learn about Jesus. Praise God for the St Faith’s Mission Crew that came up and worked hard for the Kingdom. Pray that the kids that came (and their families) will be linked into Grommets and Coasties and keep coming to learn about Jesus.
• Praise God for good relationships with the school we’re meeting in (We renewed our lease until the end of the year)
• Praise God that he has provided regular work for Ali and Tom! Please pray that God will provide work for Stu really soon, and that Evan will find some part time work too (Evan is starting a Certificate in Aged Care in August).
• Pray for Coasties Kids Church, that the new kids that have been coming will keep coming. Pray that local families will use this great resource of kids ministry, and that Tom and Ali will have wisdom as they lead Coasties.
• Pray for the upcoming Christianity Explored Course starting Wed 5th August. Pray for people to attend and get saved. And also for those at COAST EC to be bold and have open doors to invite people.
• Pray for a good time of fellowship at the FIEC conference on 10-12 August @ Collaroy.
• Pray for wisdom for the Admin Committee as we meet on 2nd August to work through the finance issues.
• Ask for God to burden our hearts with a deep love for the lost that drives us to prayer and mission. Pray for wisdom and boldness as we seek to connect with many locals. Ask for opportunities to share the gospel.
• Pray for Chris as he prepares to speak at St Matts (West Penannt Hills) Mission weekend (28-30 Aug).
• Pray for God to open the door into the Primary Schools (so we can run a lunchtime outreach group for kids in yrs5-6), and into the High Schools (so we can teach scripture to yr 7 next year). Pray for other ministers in the area to get on board with this so we can liaise better with the school.
  
  

Hi friends,

Thanks for taking an interest in this church plant and supporting us. We know that ‘unless the Lord builds the house, the labourers labour in vain’. So please pray for the Lord to change many hearts!

You can read the prayer points below, or download a print friendly version.

Praise God for:

• The 15 adults and 7 kids who’ve started calling COAST Evangelical Church their home church since we kicked off 12 weeks ago.
• The new women’s bible study group that Sharon started 2 weeks ago. So far, 3 new women have joined.
• The kids that are regularly attending Grommets (year 5 & 6 youth group) – we had 6 there last Friday!!!
• The great opportunity Alicia Barnes (doing MTS) gets to share the gospel as she teaches two year 2 scripture classes at Forster Public School.
• His amazing love and provision for the church.
• For the regular work that Tom and Ali Brittle have received.

Ask God to:

• Provide jobs for Stu and Evan, plus more shifts for Tom. This is becoming increasingly urgent. Ask for continued motivation for these guys to apply for jobs, and for them not to get discouraged.
• Keep helping us understand and apply Colossians, and to support each other in living it out.
• Help us connect with many people in town – to build friendships, to love and serve them, and to have gospel intentionality with them. For boldness and wisdom.
• Open doors to the high schools (so we can teach Scripture to year 7 next year), and
  the Primary Schools (so we can start a yr5-6 SUPA club on a monday or wednesday lunchtime). We are trying to work with other pastors in this – ask for wisdom for Chris as he leads this process.

• Keep providing the finances (especially in light of the serious unemployment issues in our church).
• Help Alicia and Evan as they plan the Mid Year Mission (22-24 July). Please pray that this Mission reaches many unsaved year 5 and 6 kids in this region, and that they become linked to Grommets. Pray for the St Faith’s Crew who are coming up to serve, that they’d grow in godliness and maturity.
• Keep working in the core team as they head up their various ministries. That they’d have energy and wisdom as they serve, and be able to start training others to serve. Pray that they’d stay focused on Jesus and bathe their ministries in prayer.
• Refresh Chris and Sharon as they have a week off (28 June – 4 July).

Thanks people!

Hey people,

We’ve been going for 7 weeks now! Here’s some recent news and praise/prayer points…

The core group (all 7 of us!) have been working hard at building relationships through the soccer club, mother’s group and work places. Please pray for us to shine brightly as we live for Jesus, and for wisdom and boldness to share the gospel.

We’re praising God that several local people have decided to join the church! So far 2 families, and about 8 others have said they’re keen to call Coast Evangelical their home church. Many people who’ve been coming along are people who’ve fallen out from going to church in the last 6 years or so. Pray that they’ll get through their past pain, rejoin fellowship, and make a fresh start of serving Jesus.

We’re building a kids church and youth group around the children who have started coming. The kids are keen to invite their mates, and the parents are going to start inviting other parents and kids from the local schools. Please pray for heaps of kids to get converted and for them to bring their families to church too.

Praise God that our Youth group (yrs5-6) started two weeks ago with 3 kids regularly coming. Pray that they’ll keep coming, growing in their faith in Jesus and that they’ll invite their mates. Pray for Evan and Alicia as they head up this ministry. We’re planning a mid year mission to yr5-6 kids (July 22-24 July) – pray for the young team from St Faiths Narrabeen who are coming to help us.

Please pray that we’d be able to start a second home group / bible study group soon. We’re trying to round up a core for that, and one of the new ladies who’s joined the church is praying about hosting.

I met with some pastors and the principal of the Great Lakes College to talk about getting High School Scripture started next year. The proposal has now gone to the school board / P & C. Please ask for God to open this door, and for Him to raise up gifted teachers to share Christ with the 1600 students at the College.

Also pray for Tom, Ali and Stu – that they’d get regular jobs soon (and stay positive and motivated to keep looking).

Give thanks for the generosity of God’s people who’ve made this ministry possible so far, and ask for God to keep providing the funds and resources we need.

Thanks for your prayers and support

Chris
(and the COAST EC team)

Praise God for a great launch! It was a great day and we couldn’t have hoped for a better start. We had our first public service on Easter Sunday – and we were amazed that 100 people showed up. 80 were people on holidays or friends who’d come to support us (thanks guys!), and 20 were locals (which we’re praising God for!). A number of locals have already contacted me saying they’re keen to call Coast Evangelical their home church and to partner with us in our mission.

Please pray for good follow-up of locals and that God would draw a large like-minded core group together, and that we’d work to see Jesus glorified in the region.

Pray for energy for the core team who are serving in multiple ministries on Sunday to make it all work. Logistically, we NEED MORE SOLDIERS to make the public meeting viable long term. But that said, everyone’s very encouraged and keen to work hard.

Please also pray for more jobs for our core team. Forster has high unemployment (over 10% and growing) so it’s been really hard for the team to get solid work. (Most jobs are by word of mouth, and when you’re from out of town, you’re also out of the loop). So far Evan has a part time job at ALDI, Tom has some casual nursing shifts, and Ali has had a few casual shifts at an outdoor rec centre. That is all the paid employment we have. Myself and Alicia (doing MTS) are paid staff (we’re trying to raise our own external support). My wife Sharon is at home with our new baby boy Caleb, and Stu is still looking for a job.

Please pray for an open door to the high school to teach Scripture. I’ve had a positive response from 3 other pastors in the area who would be keen to see it happen, and I have the job of writing the syllabus. We’re meeting with the principal on 29 April.

We’re also starting a youth group called Grommets – for kids in years 5 and 6. We are hoping to kick it off in the next few weeks, but have a lot of connecting (and praying!) to do. Please pray for a great start, and that we can build from a solid core.

Thanks for your prayers guys. Stand firm!

Chris

02 6555 4093
chris@coastec.net.au