(From our member at sea.)

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise from the end of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,
    the coastlands and their inhabitants. 

Isaiah 42:10 

“What is a Church on the Oceans (COTO)?”

Like many phrases, it can mean many things:

• 

  Very broadly, it could refer to the "Body of Christ" at sea: “Where two or more are together in My name, I am in their midst.” Many fellowships exist, have always existed, and will always exist, nameless or named in many ways. 

• It's the name of a book by Martin Otto (SCFS Hamburg), who had observed many existing on-board fellowships, churches, and Bible study groups. Several believers craved for a fellowship but felt ‘not qualified.’

• It's also the name of a subsequent seminar course conducted 4 times per year by SCFS Philippines in Manila since 2008, started together with OM (Operation Mobilization). Similar seminar courses are being pioneered in West Africa by mobile OM and local teams, introducing it among seafarers on their own ships and on Marine Universities. 

A Church of All Ages 

The church of Jesus Christ started in the 1st Century as one Body of those who believed that indeed Jesus was the Son of God who gave Himself as a ransom for their souls (Acts 2:41). No-one ever was good in God’s sight, not one, despite of trying, and therefore we all are bound for an eternity in darkness without God (Rom. 3:11,23). But God gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). 

So, these new believers took God’s word and promise for truth, and surrendered their lives to Him, leaving their old lives behind. That’s how the church started to grow! The good news spread over land and over sea and soon several cities had a church. The members were all new believers. They heard the Gospel because somebody preached it to them (Rom 10:14). 

However, divisions started to set in (1 Cor. 1). After 20 centuries, countless denominations exist. Many a seafarer asks me, “Are you Catholic or Christian.” I usually answer, “Was Jesus Catholic or
Christian?”. Most people adhere to the religion they happened to be born in. It is their assumed
identity. However, the majority of seafarers spend 6-9 months per year at sea, so for seafaring
Christians it is rare that they get to attend their home church. This is not how God designed the
body of believers to be. 

Even in Biblical times, being on ships meant business for God: think of Noah who built a massive,
sophisticated ship by God’s design, Jonah who demonstrated God’s power in the midst of a storm,
Jesus who taught and did miracles while on ships and Paul whom God used so mightily during
storms and when shipwrecked on Malta. 

In later centuries, the good news of Jesus Christ was taken overseas by people like Saint Brendan.
In more recent centuries, attendance at on-board church services, conducted by captains,
was often compulsory. One of these captains was John Newton, who played such an inspired role
in the abolishing
of slavery from the UK. 

During the last century, however, land-based churches and missions mostly ceased to send ministers
to commercial ships. Nevertheless, small, informal fellowships of believers continued to thrive.
Hebrews 10:25 exhorts to have fellowship even when it is hard, and this also applies to ships: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more
as you see the Day drawing near.” God has given each of us gifts which we should use in the church,
to build it up. (1 Cor 14:26). 

The advantage of a group of believers on a ship is, that the whole process of church splitting is at
once reversed, and “there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Col 3:11). The members don’t break with their
home church to form a new thing, they just come together to worship the Living God, study the
Word and pray together, support one another, grow in their faith and knowledge of the Word,
and live as a "living letter" (2 Cor. 3:3) to those around them on the ship. Indeed, the love and
respect for all crew grows as the fruits of the Spirit come into play: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). 

Still only a minority of commercial ships have such a church. Many believing seafarers do not
come together for various reasons. Sometimes they just don’t think about it or assume that
they can’t because they are not of the same denomination. They often do not understand why
there are such differences, or how to assess what is really different and what is not. In fact,
most seafarers lack knowledge of the Word and the Gospel themselves. The Church on the
Oceans seminars help committed believers to set up and maintain the church on their ship. 

“God did not give you the job on board just to earn money. As well as this He wants to
use you in building His Kingdom among your companions.”  (COTO flyer 2024) 

"I was very much blessed by attending the training course Church on the Ocean.
The teaching was dynamic, concise and practical in approach. The sharing and
iscussions were inspiring and touching. I experienced a lot of joy and was refreshed
by the Lord. My desire to lead others to Christ in fulfilment of the "Great Commission"
increased. It is very important for every Christian onboard to learn continually, to get
more equipped, to grow spiritually and to strengthen the personal relationship with
Jesus. This training course was a great help to me." Carbonel Pasca, 2nd Officer

 

 

SCFS Update on Church on the Ocean

SCFS Chaplains encourage the Christian seafarers to gather for fellowship and Bible study and help to facilitate the Bible studies. Recently Jae and Colin held five Bible studies over two days on ships in Dublin, and Jae also had the privilege of leading the first worship service onboard Yaya Goose, a big bulk ship.

 

Since June, the newly formed fellowship on MV Eastern Vanquish meet weekly
reading their way through the Old Testament from the illustrated study Bible.
Their Master, Rio,is also guiding them through the Gospel of John. On the 3rd
of November the crew had the opportunity to experience worship at a local church
in Drogheda. Sometimes a Sunday service must be on a Monday due to demands
of life at sea, such as navigating the densely packed shipping lanes of the channel
or adverse weather conditions.

More about the legacy of believers at sea, the free pdf book and the quarterly seminars by SCFS Philippines: https://resources4seafarers.com/church-on-the-oceans/

Or contact directly jessicacsegundo@gmail.com or +639206372685 / +639274766410 / +639187902706