Perhaps Jesus’ favorite image of the church is that of a shepherd and the sheep. That image says a whole lot about how much we are loved, how carefully we are loved, and how we do better when we are together under the Chief Shepherd’s care rather than wandering and alone. This image cap-tures the purpose of Coastal’s “Flocks” ministry.

The flocks ministry has four goals: 1) To foster a deeper sense of belong-ing to Coastal; 2) To more effectively respond to the life needs of Coasters; 3) To move the Coastal leadership closer to the church for maximum communication; 4) To give newcomers an identifiable and personal way of connecting with the Coastal family.

Coasters are invited to be a part of one of three flocks, depending on their geographical location. One flock will be made up of Coasters from Braintree, Brockton, Holbrook, Abington, Rockland and Randolph. Another will cover Carver, Kingston, Pembroke and Plymouth. And a third will include Weymouth, Norwell, Hanover, Scituate and Hingham. Flocks will meet once every three months, the first Sunday evenings of November, February, May and August. Meeting in homes of Coasters who live within their flock area, flocks will graze (have dinner), meet new Coast-ers, be led in a devotional by a member of the Leadership Team, and then watch a short video of Pastor Don with a Coastal Update.

Flocks will have the opportunity to hear a testimony from another Coaster, pray together, and consider responding to the needs repre-sented within their ministry area, whether its helping households facing the challenges of illness and/or hospi-talization, single women with repair needs, births, deaths, moving, or even financial needs (in coordination with the Helping Hands Fund). The hope is that this ministry will keep Coasters connected, effectively enable us to respond to the needs of our church family, give newcomers a natural way to make new friends, and bring the leadership closer to the needs and challenges Coasters face.