Coastal, Portrush
North EASTERN district
Coastal, a Pioneer Mission Project of MCI, was born out of the desire of a few families together to cultivate a fresh Christian community in Portrush, for Portrush and the surrounding area.
Beginning with family brunches held in homes, prayer and worship evenings, and occasional meetings, intentional Sunday gatherings started in June 2023.
From its beginning, it has been a surprise who God has drawn near. Predominantly made up of families with young children, with a smattering of students, older people, and asylum seekers in the mix, there is a recurrent theme of those who have been wandering faith-wise, looking for community, looking for somewhere to live out faith in the everyday together, inviting others in along the way who have questions about this whole faith thing.
In Acts, Luke describes the early church meeting in the Temple and around tables. Early in their journey as a community, they heard this word to “extend the living room”.
So, seeking to follow these invitations, the first three Sundays of the month they gather for an informal service, consisting of worship, prayer, communion, interviews, stories, and teaching.
The fourth Sunday of the month is designated as Table Sunday, where they scatter to a different location, eat together and maybe reflect on a prayer, passage, or question.
In doing all of this they seek to preserve the living room feel—informality and intimacy, family and faith all wrapped into one space, cultivating presence, curiosity and hospitality.
Coastal celebrated their first year gathering on 9th June 2024, sharing stories of God drawing people near, finding family and home, receiving care for newborn children, experiencing their first ever Christmas dinner, genuine friendships blossoming, and people encountering God in fresh ways.
It’s nothing new, and it’s nothing special; rather, it’s the simplicity of opening homes to one another, being attentive to one another and to the voice of God, and cultivating an obedient spirituality that embraces the everyday small moments of encounter that are available to us all.
And best of all, it feels like God’s just getting started.
