Greg Surratt

A note from Greg - March 27th, 2008

Easter was incredible. Record numbers of people worshipped together. Check out Geoff's blog for some cool pictures and a great recap of the day.

The most exciting thing about this Easter, however, wasn't about numbers; it was about changed lives. A friend shared a story about a new Seacoaster he met this weekend. His story probably sounds a lot like some of yours.

Invited by a friend, he stepped into Seacoast as someone who had not been connected to God in a long time. As he watched you worship, he knew something was different about this church that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Over the next few weeks, he would watch with a nervous anticipation as people responded at the cross, lighting candles, receiving prayer, and taking communion, but he wasn't quite ready to move.

On Easter Sunday, for the first time, he took that journey to the cross, connected with God, and watched as a painful part of his life dissolved in the water before his eyes. Stories like these still remind me that we will continue to be amazed that God can do more than we ask or imagine.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend.


PS - If you attend Seacoast Church Don't forget our Reflect series beginning in 2 weeks. You will want to make sure you pick up a Reflect study journal April 13. If you're not part of a small group, consider joining one now!

Thinking about yesterday...20 years ago

I remember the morning after...20 years ago...our first service as a church...in what is now a Volkswagon dealership...it was a movie theatre then:

"What a day...God you are awesome...people actually showed up...I wander if we communicated clearly?  What are we going to do next week?  Will anybody come back?"

Some things never change!

It's been an incredible ride with some with some wonderful people.

Amazed that God still uses us...what a priviledge.

For an update on what happened yesterday (Easter 2008) and some pictures click here.

A note from Greg - March 20th, 2008

What a weekend we have coming as we celebrate Easter together. We will have 34 worship experiences at 12 campuses and expect to have about 13,000 Seacoasters worshiping. I wanted to give you a couple of ideas that will make Easter a better experience for you as well as give us the much needed room for your friends and family that you have invited.

• In Summerville, will you consider attending the 8:00 service? We are expecting huge crowds      as we have our Grand Opening in our new building and need several hundred people to commit to attending the 8:00 service.
• How about checking out the James Island campus? We will be meeting for their first service at the James Island Charter High School on Fort Johnson Road, and it is going to be a remarkable day.
• In Asheville, this will be the first weekend we will be having two services. We will now have the room for you to invite a friend - Easter is a great weekend to start!
• At Long Point, will you consider attending one of our Saturday or Sunday afternoon services? We are expecting an amazing turn-out and the 4:30 p.m. services on Saturday and Sunday will be a great place to attend if you are a regular Seacoaster.
• At all of our campuses, if you are not already committed to serve for the weekend, why don't you   contact your campus and find out where you could help? We have a lot of guests coming and we want to be the best hosts that we can!

This weekend we will be exploring the Luke account of the Easter story and how we can find life in the most unexpected places. There will be a lot of people attending church this weekend who do not normally attend, so please pray with me that they find life and that God moves in their lives this weekend. We have a special time of response planned that I think will move many of us closer to God, and for some this will be the weekend they begin a relationship with Jesus. I cannot wait!

Also, I want you to remember that in just a couple of weeks we start the "Reflect" series. If you have not joined a small group yet, this is a great time to do so. You can start by visiting www.seacoast.org.