At Coastland Church, Encounter Jesus, Experience Community, Express Love

Coastland Church, located in Riverview, offers community members an informal, contemporary atmosphere that seeks to "Encounter Jesus, Experience Community and Express Love" to those around us.

Beginning in 2007, a vision to create a life-giving church based on simple acts of kindness began to take root. This seed was planted by Steve and Janie Sjogren of Cincinnati Vineyard. Based on the concept that “small things done with great love will change the world,” their dream began to sprout.

In 2009, Karl and Anita House moved from Toronto, Ontario, to help launch the vision of Coastland Church. What began as a group of only 14 people meeting in a single home quickly blossomed. Today, more than 125 people call Coastland their home church.

Gathering at 10 a.m. each Sunday, community members meet at The Regent in Riverview for worship services. Led by the Rev. House, Coastland Church invites everyone to join the weekly celebration.

“Everyone is welcome at Coastland," House said. “We don’t have a formal membership process. We just invite people to come and participate.”

Coastland offers activities for each age group. During the Sunday worship service, the church runs a nursery and Sunday school for young children. A student group is offered every other Sunday after the worship service, and for adults, small groups gather throughout the area during the week. Adult group meetings are held in Brandon, Bloomingdale, FishHawk Ranch, Apollo Beach and Wesley Chapel.

Concentrating on lots of neighborhood outreach, Coastland remains connected to the community it serves. According to House, the church partners with Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay several times throughout the year. It also offers free laundry days at local laundromats, hands out cold water during parades, organizes free grocery giveaways and volunteers time at Center Place in Brandon.

Coastland Church's leadership is comprised of a small team in addition to the Rev. House. Tiffany Crawford serves as the children and student ministry director; Matt Friesz serves as the worship leader; Jim Jernigan helps in the areas of finances; and Anita House helps organize the volunteers.

According to House, community members are what keeps Coastland thriving.

“The people are what make Coastland happen,” he said. “One of our values it that everyone gets to play, so we try to get as many people as possible involved.”

Visit the church's website for more information about Coastland Church and to learn how you can get involved.