Surf church: Salt, sand and Scripture

Captain Nathan Loxley (St Ives) talks Surf Church with George Tanton.

St Ives Corps is not a conventional Salvation Army church. Instead of congregating in the worship hall on Sundays, members are riding waves on Cornwall’s exquisite coastline, expressing their faith and fellowship through a shared love of God, surfing and the outdoors.

Surf Church, now in its seventh year, is led by corps leader Captain Nathan Loxley.

‘St Ives is a town full of Methodist chapels,’ he explains. ‘There are so many churches here, so we don’t need to recreate that.

Opting to create a completely revised vision of church, Nathan was inspired by a conversation with the dads on the school run.

‘The reception’s been really positive,’ he continues. ‘Some people have come who are completely new to faith or who have tried conventional church in the past. They are blown away and say, “I didn’t know church could be fun!”’

Every week, about 30 people of all ages attend.

‘Around the world, surfing is one of the fastest growing sports,’ Nathan continues. ‘We’ve got a great surf spot on our doorstep, so that’s where a lot of community is forming and a lot of relationships are happening.’

‘People tend to let their guards down and often are quite open to being challenged in their thinking,’ Nathan asserts. ‘We read the Bible, have a short message and then have open prayer. We might pray on the beach, but often that’s not the end of it. We’ll be talking in the sea, we’ll be praying in the sea.

Conversations at Surf Church regularly touch upon caring for creation.

‘The Cornish coast is the most beautiful place in the world,’ Nathan proclaims. ‘You can’t not talk about the Creator when you’re somewhere that’s so beautiful. How could this place come to be by accident?’

While Nathan has not encountered sharks in the water, his congregation has included other inquisitive aquatic life.

‘We’ve had plenty of seals!’ Nathan laughs. ‘You’re on a board and a seal pops up next to you! That’s always fun. We’ve also had dolphins come to Surf Church before. That was cool. And a couple of weever fish. They have spikes that poison you if you step on them. They’re not so fun.’

Nathan contemplates how surfing is similar to faith: ‘You’ve got to have patience, and you’ve got to be able to wait. When waiting for the right wave, it’s all about waiting for the right moment and being able to sit in peace. So much of this points towards faith in a way that seems to open doors for people.’

The corps also operates a midweek football match for local men seeking to let off steam.

‘Sport is helping us reach men in ways that other ministries struggle to,’ says Nathan. ‘The club that we have built is based on Christian values and people want that. They want to play football in a community where, if you kick the ball off the pitch, no one shouts at you, or if someone fouls you, you stand up and shake hands.’

Sports ministry is particularly impactful in a town like St Ives. While it is a scenic holiday hotspot, there are also socio-economic problems in the area.

‘About 38 per cent of children in one of the wards in Cornwall live below the poverty line,’ he explains. ‘Cornwall still has the highest average suicide rates compared to the rest of the country. In St Ives, everyone knows at least one or two people who have taken their own life. Housing is also a huge problem and most of the jobs only offer a basic living wage and are solely reliant on the tourist season.’

Consequently, initiatives such as Surf Church offer not just a taste of Christian fellowship, but also a change of perspective.

‘Cold water therapy is obviously good for mental health,’ he muses. ‘People talk about that a lot.’

There are plans for the Surf Church initiative to grow across the territory in the future. Nathan hopes that more people will catch the wave: ‘The kind of culture we are trying to cultivate is one of a pioneering spirit.’