Robert Pooley

Prayer Walking our Community

I just got back from our Prayer Walk at Coast.  We walked through several neighborhoods and appartment complexes near our Church. I so strongly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit leading us as we prayed.  I instructed our prayer partners to not just have a one way conversation with God but to take time to listen as well.  

As we started to walk, I felt really led to pray for the breaking of strongholds.  I began to pray for bondages to be broken, for people to be free from addictions, and then strongly felt led to pray for the spirit of deception to be broken over people's lives.  I believe many are deceived into believing there is no God, or God does not care about them.  I think many are deceived into thinking that they are capable of doing just fine without God.

As we rounded a corner and came into an appartment complex, I stopped and felt in my heart that God was showing me a vision of angels, dressed in full armor, ready to go into battle... and yet they couldn't because the order had not been given.  I was reminded of a book that I read many years ago called This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti, and how in the book, the angels were ready and waiting to work on the behalf of the people, but they were held back because people weren't praying.

So I prayed for God to release his angelic army into these neighborhoods, to fight the war in the heavenlies as we battle here on earth.  I am reminded that our battle is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12) but it's against the enemy that is making war in the heavens.

I believe that prayer is the key to reclaiming our neighborhoods, and freeing people from the bondages of fear, hopelessness, addiction, lust, and so much more.

Our next Prayer Walk at Coast is June 23 from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. 

Recommended resource: The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.  We also have a small group using this curricullum starting soon, contact the church office at 850-916-0346 for information.  

An Open Letter to Coast Community Church

Hey Coast Family!

I am so excited about our Easter services at Coast! We have an amazing morning planned... and I'm asking everyone to help us impact our community by doing four things.

1) Pray - Now I know that sounds like a no brainer... but the truth is we need this.  We need the presence and the power of God in our service in a mighty way. Without it we can't do anything.  See John 15:5-8  And prayerfully ask God... that people will hear the Gospel and be willing to respond!  

 

2) Invite!  I'm talking about going all out this weekend to invite people to church.  Take a minute and read Luke 14:15-23 and then ask God who you should bring. ALL OF US have friends and family members who are FAR FROM GOD... let's not give up on them, because God didn't give up on us.  Call and invite as many as you can!

3) Facebook - In case you haven't had a chance to do this, go here and like our Facebook page.  Then take our Easter graphic below and copy and paste it onto your Facebook page, along with our website www.coastcommunity.org and a Facebook invitation to Coast this weekend.  Try to take it viral... If you use twitter, please do the same thing.  If everyone does this we have the opportunity to reach so many people this weekend.  Here's the graphic.

4) Bring an amazing attitude with you to Coast on Sunday!  Let your joy, and exuberance shine as we celebrate the greatest event in all of history... the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!   Praise God with all your heart!  Welcome our guests.  Say hello to as many people as you can.  Pitch in and help... if you see something that needs attention, join in and help us. Get to Church early and take the front, not the back seats.  Try to fill the parking spaces in front of the church first and not the back first. Remember to smile.  Bring your joy to God's house, because it really makes a difference!

That's it!  Man, I love this Church!  And I can't wait to see what the Lord does this weekend at Coast in our Easter Services!

Cya there!

Pastor Robert

Greater Things

Starting day two of the #GreaterThings Compassion Conference.  The speakers are amazing.  Last night we heard from Tommy Barnett and Joyce Meyer. Today, people like Miles McPherson, Christine Caine, Mark Batterson, Matthew Barnett and Dino Rizzo.  Last night was open to the general public and Healing Place was 90% full.  But here's the reality:  A major conference on compassion and ministering to the poor, the hurting, the broken... and only 800 people registered. 

Joyce Meyer said last night if the speakers had been talking about the top 12 secrets to growing your church to Megachurch status, the place would've been packed.  

Its a little sad to me to see such a small response... but then I started thinking of Gideon's small army... God can do a lot with a small group of people who are radically comitted to His purpose.  

I am believing God is going to give us some new ideas to make a difference in our community... and  ministering to those who are boken and hurting.  God does not dispise small beginnings.

Coast Info

Hey Everybody!

Its going to be a great weekend at Coast as we start our new series...

This week, one service only at 10:30 AM.  So sleep in, and join us for the 10:30 service. We will have the coffee waiting for you!!  This week we will tackling the topic, "I Quit Making Excuses!"  Think about this!  This will be the last time New Year's day is on a Sunday till 2017...  What better way to kick off a New Year!  Make 2012 special by putting God first!  And... invite a friend.

Also, if you are interested in making an end of the year contribution for your 2011 taxes or to give your Giving to Christ at Christmas offering, you can give online at www.coastcommunity.org and click on the giving tab.

Finally, if you are on Facebook, like the Coast Facebook page here.  If you are on twitter, follow us @Coastcommunity.  And if you have texting, then text (all one word) JoinCoast to 69302 for weekly updates.   If you are interested in listening to your favorite messages, or messages you have missed, go to www.coastcommunity.org and click on the messages tab.  Share the Coast website with your friends.

I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in 2012... Click here for a great video to help you remember that God is creating something beautiful in your life.

Awakening - 21 days of prayer, fasting, and personal devotion

January 15th - February 4th 2012

Starting on January 15    th, Coast Community Church will be joining with other churches across the nation for a season of prayer and fasting; a spiritual journey that will set the tone for our effectiveness throughout the year. The name of this campaign is...

Awakening: 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting

Many of you have already established times of prayer and fasting in your life and have experienced the powerful impact it has had. As a church, we have seen increased salvations, breakthroughs and miracles as we chose to put God first at the onset of the year. This year, we are uniting with several other churches to pray and fast together, aligning ourselves with the power and favor of God. Just imagine what can happen if the Body of Christ unites behind this purpose that is so close to the heart of God. What a powerful way to start off the year. If you have a desire to pray and fast, this is a great way to do it.

The fast begins Sunday, January 15th and ends Saturday, Februay 4th.

Fasting Resources

This info is for the individual participating in the 21 day season of prayer and fasting. We are so glad you’ve decided to set aside this time and start the year off seeking God in a powerful way. Our goal is to provide you with resources and links that will help you have a successful season of prayer and fasting.

The resources on this page will be updated periodically, so be sure to check back often.

We are suggesting that you consider joining us in a 21 day Daniel fast...  This a partial fast that allows you to eat things like fruits and vegetables, but not sugar, or meat or bread.  For info on what a Daniel Fast is you can click here and here.  Note:  There is a lot of info on fasting on this site. so take some time and really look it over.  There is also a cookbook available for downloading online.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Fasting by Bill Bright

Never fasted before and don’t know where to begin? This guide written by Bill Bright provides a practical guide on prayer and fasting.  

Download

Prayer Requests and Testimonies

During this season, our church staff would love to believe and stand in agreement with you in prayer.  Please let us know any that come during your time of prayer and fasting atCoast31@aol.com

 

 

 

 

Additional Links on Prayer and Fasting:

 

 

 

 

• Jentezen Franklin – Fasting
• Bill Bright – Campus Crusade for Christ (7 Basic Steps to Successful Fasting)
• Daniel Fast

Articles on Prayer and Fasting:

• Is Fasting Appropriate for Christians?by Billy Graham
• The Purpose and Power of Fastingby Dale O’Shields
• The Power of Prayer and Fastingby Marilyn Hickey
• Why Fast?by Melanie Stone
• Fasting and Eating Disordersby Kerri Weems

Books on Prayer and Fasting:

• Fastingby Jentezen Franklin
• Hunger for God – Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayerby John Piper

 

 

 

Some Christmas Weekend Thoughts

• What an amazing weekend!
• Someone said once, Tell God your plans and watch Him laugh.  Even though we started talking about Christmas and doing preliminary planning back in July, the last 24 hours were a blizzard of rushing, stressing and ultimately trusting God.
• Our former worship leaders, the Hodges, were to be in town this weekend to do worship and some creative stuff for our two Candlelight Communion Services and our Sunday morning Christmas service. Got a call this week, Beth had sprained her ankle and Gary was sick as a dog. They were stuck in Orlando where they had been raising support for the missions field...  and so they were not coming.
• The Hodges are so faithful, so I knew they were really sick, but what to do? 
• Sooooo Friday became a blur to me as we went to work completely redoing all our plans for the weekend... and guess what happened?  God showed up!
• Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services were special, and powerful and Christmas was alive in our hearts... especially the idea that "God IS with us!"
• By the way, the Hodges are still under the weather, but feeling somewhat better, if you want to find out more about them and their ministry, go here.
• Somewhere between services we opened presents and stockings.  I am blessed with an amazing wife, a beautiful daughter and an awesome future son in law.
• After church, we had lunch with great friends.  I can't tell you how amazing it is to have the friends I have... people that I love laughing with, and hanging out with, and generally just enjoy doing life with them.
• Our Coast Dream Team, our volunteers, pulled out all stops to make today amazing, from our office staff, to our Splash Zone and Surf Factory Children's Ministries, to our First Impressions teams, our tech teams, our worship team and so many more.  We have the BEST folks... and I am blown away by their servant hearts.
• I ate too much this weekend!  Not complaining, not apologizing... just stating the facts!
• The family did our traditional Christmas trip to the movies and saw the movie, "We bought a zoo."  Highly recommended.  Written by Cameron Crowe... His stuff is always great!
• By the way, if any of you know Cameron Crowe... would love to sit down and talk with this guy. :)
• I am some kind of tired...  I think I may be in hibernation the next couple of days!
• Pastor Scott worked his fanny off this week to make this weekend happen, and so did his wife Sherri... They are an inspiration!
• I love our Coast Family!
• Just in case I didn't get to tell you... Merry Christmas!

A quick message to our Coast Family

Hey Everybody... its the week of Christmas... and it's going to be an amazing weekend at Coast!  I am so pumped about our Christmas Eve Candlelight services and our Christmas Day Worship Experience! And here's where you come in... can you take the time to invite someone to Christmas Eve and to Christmas Day at Coast?

Take the time and think about who you can invite this weekend.  Do it by Facebook... do it by twitter... send them a candy gram... knock on their door, leave an invite cake and run... whatever it takes!  But invite someone!  

The Christmas Weekend Experiences that we have planned, 2 Candlelight Communion Services on Christmas Eve and then a separate Christmas Worship Experience on Christmas Day, will with God's help, be a powerful way of making Christmas Eve and Christmas Day powerfully come alive for your family. 

Christmas Eve is always an intimate special service that touches my heart and gets me ready for Christmas... but this year is very special, because Christmas is on a Sunday.  so we have planned a very special Christmas service for you and your family and invited friends.  We are doing one service only, at 10:30 AM, so you will want to get there early.

So take the time, get a person in mind, and invite them to join us this weekend at Coast! You just might change their life forever.

What's happening at Coast!

Hey Everybody,

I know this is the busiest time of the year... so here's a few headlines.

"Giving to Christ at Christmas"  You can read about it here.

Our "Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest" is this Sunday...  Really looking forward to seeing what everyone does... Wear your most colorful loud Christmas sweater. This is going to be fun!!

Speaking of Sunday, we continue our series "All I want for Christmas is..." this week, and I will be talking about joy.  This is a perfect Sunday to bring a friend!  Why not stop right now, think of someone you can invite, then pray, and give them a call. I'm really looking forward to bringing the word this Sunday!

Important - Christmas and New Years Schedule:  We will have two Candlelight Communion Services on Christmas Eve. The times are 5:00 and 11:30.  We will have one very special Christmas service on Christmas day.  The Christmas service will be at 10:30 only and will be a short but powerfully impacting service.  What a perfect day to worship Christ and put Him first.  He IS the reason for the season!  New Year's day, which is also a Sunday this year, will also be one service only at 10:30.  Get there early, we will be kicking off a brand new series called "I Quit."

Finally, you are probably seeing a lot of new faces at Coast. So we need your help in several ways... First, try not to take the back row seats in the auditorium... first time guests prefer them... Try to get to Coast early and take the front seats.  Secondly, use the "3 Minute Rule."  The 3 minute rule says, that for the first 3 minutes after a service ends, talk only to someone you don't know... then after that, feel free to visit with anyone you want. Thirdly, when you arrive at Coast, we need your help with parking.  Try to park in the spaces in front of the building on either side first.  This allows the back area for our guests.

Alright, if you made it this far... thanks...  Its going to be an amazing Christmas season at Coast. Can't wait to see you there!

Pastor Robert