With closed churches, open beaches, California surfer ministry hits the waves

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Staggered on the sand of Newport Beach in Southern California, a mixed crowd ranging from 5 years old to 60 is partitioned out in clusters set 6 feet apart, everyone wearing a swimsuit and a surgical mask.  A small boy struggles to pull on a too-large wetsuit with the help of his mother, occasionally losing his balance and hopping around one-legged.

Brian Olsen makes his way to the front of the group and bows his head slightly in prayer as slow waves drift up the shore. 

While most churches remain closed in California after a spike in COVID-19 cases and a reversal of reopening plans, most beaches remain open with few restrictions.  Saddleback Church, an evangelical megachurch with 11 locations worldwide, remains closed to in-person services, but its “surfer ministry” resumed operations at the beginning of August largely unhindered.

According to a document released by the California Department of Public Health on July 29, churches are allowed to re-open, with restrictions: congregations must not exceed 100 congregants or 25 percent of their normal capacity, whichever is lower. Worshipers may not sing or chant, and churches are legally responsible for implementing and enforcing numerous restrictions, which are detailed in a 14-page document. 

Read: Americans Support COVID-19 Restrictions On Churches

Given the hurdles to reopening and the health risks incumbent of in-person gatherings, many churches have kept their doors locked and their online platforms active, providing a unique opportunity for smaller, more unconventional outreaches.

A surf instructor teaches a child to surf on a long board. Photo courtesy of Brian Olsen.

After a prayer and a testimony, participants make their way to the water with soft-top longboards and wetsuits— donations to the ministry from several stores, including Costco and the surfer brand Billabong.

What started as a small group for surfers over 10 years ago has bloomed into a robust community outreach operation that offers free surf-lessons on the first Saturday morning of every month. On a recent Saturday, 20 people gathered, about average attendance before the pandemic.

“People come to enjoy the free equipment and the patient instructors, and they get this super authentic, relational experience,” said Olsen, one of the ministry’s co-leaders and surf-instructors. “We like to be more show than tell with the Gospel.”

After several years of meeting on the sand and combing through scripture, holding prayer meetings, and fostering community, one of the members of the original small group suggested a new vision for the tight-knit clan focused on outward service and community engagement.

With surfing as a common thread of interest in the broader, Southern California community, they saw a new way to engage with those who might not otherwise walk into a church. Instructors come to share their skills and their stories with members of the community, about half of whom, on average, come from outside of the church.

With other ministries shuttered or heavily restricted and most summer camps canceled or moved online, the surfer outreach is a vital tool to maintain in-person, community contact in a safe way, Olsen said.

Relationally focused, the ministry has a track record of bridging the gap for people who have been to church without really connecting, an important skill in a virtual world.

Participants stretch on the beach. Photo courtesy of Brian Olsen.

“If you encounter our church for the first time online, you might not get that connection. We hope you will. But it’s not the same as a face-to-face thing,” Olsen said. 

In 2008, Tomas Snider attended a Saddleback Church campus for the first time by a casual invite from a friend. The son of a Buddhist mother and a Catholic father, Snider was open to religion but generally disconnected from it. He quickly learned of the surfer ministry.

While he did not embrace the church or Christianity, he remained involved in the Saturday meetings. Raised in Oahu and a lifelong surfer, Olsen and the rest of the team “spoke [his] language,” Snider said. The extra wetsuits and boards provided an opportunity for him to share his passion with his children and get them out on the water.

After four years of casual involvement, Snider went through a divorce in 2012. At a crossroads with church, Snider then decided to fully invest himself. He made a commitment to Christ and was baptized that year. Quickly after, he began to help lead the surf lessons. 

In the water, Snider focuses on the relational aspects that ultimately brought him in. Starting with small talk, he asks participants about work, school and hobbies, eventually drifting to the topic of religion. With questions about their belief in God or feelings about Christianity, Snider opens the dialogue through casual conversation, hoping to maintain an “easy” and “no-pressure vibe.” When the questions come back to him, he is able to share his own story. 

“I am just thankful to have this skill set and this sport that I love, and being able to share it with others,” Snider said. “And also, to kinda work for God, to just maybe introduce some people to Christ.”

Liza Vandenboom is a student at The King’s College, an intern at Religion Unplugged, and a religion columnist for the Empire State Tribune. She is also a finalist for the 2020 Religion News Association Russell Chandler award in student reporting.