I have had one of the best weeks so far since I moved to Ft. Lauderdale almost 3 months ago. I don’t know about you but I get pumped up when I have the opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives. This week we have had 2 different outreaches so far with a third coming up this Saturday morning. We started the week off with a breakfast on Tuesday morning to the staff of Monarch High School, where Coastal Community Church will be meeting. It was so awesome to cater in Panera Bread and serve the teachers and administration. We made it to where they did not have to throw away a plate or come and get a refill of coffee, we were there to just serve. The reaction was overwhelming, they were blown away by our friendliness, helpfullness and servants attitudes, in fact some of them said they wanted to check out the church just because of the breakfast and how we treated them.
On Thursday morning we also had the opportunity to help new students move into Florida Atlantic University right around the corner from us in Boca Raton. I had no idea how many students attended this college until we showed up, but let me just say it was a ton. For 5 hours we moved in students to their new residence for the next 9-12 months. These were freshmen who were off to college for the first time, excited but yet scared at the same point about venturing off on their own. It was great to take what would have been 10 trips up and down flights of stairs to 3rd, 5th and 7th floor rooms and turning them into one with our team. We made it easy on them to get adjusted to their new surroundings and made a stressful task of moving in quite easy. It was great showing God’s love to students through the act of moving them into their rooms.
The best part about both of these days of serving was that in each case I convinced someone to come out and serve with us who did not really want to serve. At the end of both of these outreaches they would come up to me and be like, I felt like I had to come and do this but I am so glad I did, this was so much fun coming out and helping people and making a difference in their lives. The thing about being a Christ follower is that it is not about us but others. I love it in Matthew when Jesus says “I did not come to be served but to GIVE my life as a ransom for many.” I think that so many times we want God to do for us when really He is calling us to GIVE to others. I am so proud to say that at Coastal Community Church we are all about giving to others. We are about making Jesus famous in our community and showing people God’s love in a practical way through random acts of kindness.
If you would like to get involved in serving the community there is an opportunity to do that this Saturday, August 22 at 9am. We will be meeting at the Coastal Community Church offices located at 5760 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, Fl 33067. We would love for you to come out and show God’s love to others through some free gum and blowpops at Sabal Pines Park with us. If you would like to join us please meet at our offices and come share the love.