Ocean Beach Ministry

Florida Baptist Convention

"When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,  because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without  a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is  plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the  harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest  field.'"(Matt. 9:36-38, NIV)

An ocean beach is any area on the water's edge that  attracts sunbathers; watersports enthusiasts; seashell  hunters — those looking for a good time.

Why Minister?
Ministry is needed in ocean beach areas because of the high  concentration of people. Jesus' mandate is to go everywhere  teaching of Him. In this leisure setting where persons are  relaxed, away from work and home responsibilities and  reflective upon the gorgeous creation about them, sharing  about Jesus is a natural.

Relating in the World
As in every area of life, relationships are important in  the leisure setting. The Christian must take the initiative  to build meaningful relationships within the leisure  community. A balanced relationship with resort personnel  will open doors to ministries and build good relations  between the church and community.

As you approach management, relate to their needs. Seek to  gain an understanding of their goals and offer to help meet  these through the services you can provide to tourists and  employees. Avoid "church" language and spiritual clichés;  speak their language so that a clear understanding exists.  For example, offer a children's day camp rather than  Backyard Bible Club or a service rather than a ministry.  Make a list of "church words" and translate them into  everyday language. Be honest, but in the language they will  understand. Be accepting, courteous and appreciative.  Remember Christ's admonition to "love your neighbor as  yourself."

Steps in Beginning

• Elect a person, committee, or organization in the church  to take leadership in this ministry. 
• Survey the beaches in your area noting size, accessibility  when most populated and group type frequenting the area. 
• Talk with beach authorities, parks and recreation  directors, aquatics directors or lifeguards, to determine  services currently offered on site. Ask what needs are  perceived for that location. 
• Meet with the committee to brainstorm ideas for ministries  to meet the needs. 
• Determine materials, financial, and personnel resources  needed to carry out the ministry. 
• Write a ministry proposal describing the name of the  project, to whom it is directed, time allotment, and the  responsibilities of the beach authorities and the church. 
• Make a personal visit with beach authorities to share the  project proposal two to three months before the starting  date for the ministry project. 
• Recruit and train volunteers for the ministry project.  Include witness training. Provide a list of "do's and  don'ts" for the ministry. 
• Promote the ministry project at the beach as regulations  will allow—perhaps with distribution of fliers, posters in  local businesses, on radio or television, in local  newspapers or with a message plane. Promotional materials  should reflect quality, telling what, where, when and by  whom.
• Implement the ministry project as planned. Provide  supervision for the volunteers. Do everything that was  promised to the authorities. Be flexible, always  maintaining a positive attitude. 
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the ministry  project. Ask feedback from the beach authorities and  volunteers. Follow-up on any professions of faith or  recommitments to Christ. 
• Write thank you notes to volunteers and beach authorities.

Meeting the Needs
With each opportunity, determine the target group(s):  children, families, young couples, older couples, singles,  teenagers, concession workers, lifeguards, transients, or  street people. Whether the group is made up of locals or  vacationers may also need to be considered.

Sand and Surf Clubs
Mission Backyard Bible Clubs (BBC) conducted in a beach  setting have been coined Sand and Surf Clubs. The BBC or  daycamping materials may be used with modifications for  crafts, taking weather and wind conditions as well as sand  underfoot into consideration. These can be conducted daily  Monday through Friday for 11/2 to 2 hours. Include parents  in activities whenever possible. Always have adults ready  to share with parents during or following club meetings.

Worship Services
The beauty of the beach setting lends itself toward  worship. Worship services should be planned on Sundays at a  time suited to reaching the most people. A nice shaded area  is excellent or a covered pavilion, if available. The  location should be in a good traffic flow area, easily  accessible to beachgoers. Leadership attire must be casual  to encourage attenders to come-as-they-are.

Services should be 20 to 30 minutes in length while  incorporating music, scripture and prayer. Creativity must  be the key with joy and excitement always evident. No  "invitation" should be given, instead inviting all to  remain after the service and ask questions of what has been  seen and heard. This service can be targeted as a satellite  congregation and recorded as part of the Sunday School  count as a mission outreach center for the church.

Sunburn Unit
A booth or fun-wagon may be used as a sunburn unit. Liquids  to drink and necessary medications should be provided. A  nurse should always be on staff at this unit, with  volunteers to aid and help in witnessing opportunities. A  health kit or survival kit of some sort should be provided  upon departure of each patient including a New Testament or  Scripture portion with a tract and identifier for follow- up.

Free Water Giveaway
A booth to provide ice water free to everyone can be a  great witnessing venture for the beach. Keep tracts  available for everyone who stops. Be careful that this  does not conflict with neighboring businesses. Provide  umbrellas and chairs, at least some shaded area, to allow a  break from the heat. These will encourage visitors to  remain for a time in order that someone may share the  gospel with them.

One-on-One Evangelism
On most public beaches, solicitation is not allowed, thus  the giving away of materials is prohibited. One-on-one  evangelism is permissible. Individuals or teams of two may  stroll the beach and seek to start conversations that can  be directed toward Jesus. A natural beginning is the beauty  of God's creation. Be creative in your approach but natural  and loving. Be willing to listen in order to earn the right  to share. Genuine concern is all that will be tolerated in  this setting. A good tool is Dave Bennett's book Keep  Giving Away The Faith. Those who are bold enough to try  this method are in for a special blessing.

Entertainment
Free quality entertainment quickly draws a crowd on the  beach. This can be in the form of musical ensembles, youth  choirs, puppetry or drama. An associational or church  creative arts team can lead out in this area. The  performance should not be completely religious. In fact, 2/3  secular and 1/3 religious is a good proportion to maintain.  Prepare persons to be ready to mingle with the crowd of  observers and share Christ with them at the conclusion of  the performance.

Chaplaincy
A chaplain on the beach may be offered through the Parks  and Recreation Department, or whoever manages the area.  Lifeguards should be informed of the chaplain services  available and should readily recognize the chaplain  assigned. This requires exposure. Each chaplain needs to be  seen on his/her beach as frequently as possible. This  familiarity breeds relaxation for repeat local beachgoers  and for the lifeguard staff and other management. If beach  worship is not already in progress, the chaplain could be  an open avenue for such as well as opening opportunities  for entertainment, Bible study, evangelism, recreation,  etc.

Recreation
Recreation on the beach is limited only by imagination and  the creativity of the Spirit. Sand sculpting may be used  with a group as a conversation starter or as a contest.  Volleyball games work well at times when the sand is not  too hot. Ice water should be available to guests to  encourage them to remain while giving an opportunity for  sharing. Kite flying may be used as kites are made on the  spot and given to those who come to watch. Make use of the  time while they are flying the kite to share Jesus. Frisbee  throwing or touch football are good crowd drawers, when  beaches allow the use of balls and such. When these are  prohibited, invisible football is an excellent curiosity  builder. Beach runs or walks with age group divisions may  be developed as daily or weekly on going activities or as  contest events. Be creative! One can rarely be too bizarre  in recreation choices at the beach.

Sporting Events
Occasionally sporting events are held on the beach. These  may include lifeguard competitions, triathlons, beach runs,  kite flying contests or sailing competitions. Volunteers  are always used at these events. Being a volunteer could  open doors for future involvement in the event, as well as  immediate opportunities for witness. Perhaps the event  needs additional sponsors or free water and Gatorade to be  distributed at the conclusion of the competition. Make  available possible resources to the competition director;  being certain that quality follow-through will be provided  as offered.

Spring Break
Beaches are often frequented at Spring break time. Planning  should be done for the masses. Any areas listed above may  be offered in a concentrated form at this time, only in  larger grander fashion as the numbers on the beach rise!  Concentration should be given to one-on-one evangelism  throughout the time. Be sure volunteers are trained well in  advance.

Special Services

Hot Line For Youth
Counselors need to be recruited and trained well in  advance. Make available to counselors referral numbers for  any situation beyond their capabilities. Publicize the  phone numbers well through newspapers, on television, and  the chaplain at all special events (especially during  spring break).

Referral Or Resources
For Transients Many transients are on the beaches. Available resources and  referral agencies, individual or otherwise, should be  readily accessible to all leadership and volunteers in  resort ministry. Remember, Jesus directs us to care for the  whole man, feeding and clothing in His name, often before a  gospel presentation will be heard. Actions do speak louder  than words, as the old adage claims.

Coffeehouse
First secure a location. Hours of availability and location  must be well publicized. No fees should be involved, but  beverages may be offered at cost. Make the area attractive  and inviting to any and all who would desire to come.  Provide games with time for sharing with one another. Being  ready to share Jesus is a key. Recognize that this is not  always verbal, even though it should be at every  opportunity. Entertainment may be offered. Referral numbers  should always be available to all who will attend by  posting or handouts.

Evangelism The heart of leisure missions is evangelism. The leisure  setting is secular. People's understanding of reality is  what they can see and touch. Leisure evangelism is  communicating in the vernacular the message of the Gospel  to secular society. This requires an understanding of the  hearer's thought patterns. Our words are interpreted  according to his existing frame of reference.

Leisure evangelism involves being sensitive to the leading  of the Holy Spirit and earning the right to be heard.  Tourists or resort employees must realize that we as  Christians care before they will be open to the Gospel.  Personal openness, common interests and a listening ear  help build trust in relationships.

The first step in building a witnessing relationship is to  be friendly and sincerely care. Secondly, the Christian  must be at ease or "laid back." Next, the Christian should  listen to where the person is coming from — what do they  believe and why? Once we've taken time to truly listen, the  right to be heard has been earned. Then with a balance  between urgency and sensitivity, the Christian shares his  personal testimony. A low-keyed approach is preferable for  leisure evangelism. The task is to get the Gospel to all  who do not know Christ, recognizing not every person is at  the same level of preparedness. In obedience, we share the  Good News, and the outcome is left to God.

Summary
Prayerfully determine available resources and immediate  needs in the area. Don't be afraid to start small. It is of  utmost importance that integrity is always maintained.  Whatever is promised must be fulfilled. Be careful to find  the balance of all that can be done and done well. Good  planning breeds success. Be over-prepared, anticipating all  that could possibly occur. See the fields white for harvest  and ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into His  harvest field. Remember limitations exist only in lack of  imagination and creativity. Pray for open eyes to see —  then do it.

"Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has  sent me, I am sending you.'" John 20:21b NIV

Adapted from Resort Missions: A resource for the local  church published by the Florida Baptist Convention, Vol. 1,  No. 2 — Ocean Beach Ministry Copyright © 1989 by Florida  Baptist Convention. All rights reserved. Used by  permission.