This article was originally published in the July 9, 2013 print edition of the Scuppernong Reminder

Many people experience church in the pews or auditorium of confined buildings. Hymns and sermons come down from the tops of pulpits and from the mouths of a collective body standing together in unison.

The Great Commission calls for believers to make disciples of all nations

This requires a little bit of creativity.

A group of people called Maritime Ministries has been utilized a unique approach to spreading the Gospel. They are a inter-denominational Christian ministry carrying the Gospel to the nations using boats and small ships through the doorway of God’s will and divine opportunity.They function as a non-profit ministry, working alongside churches and other organizations. Their work is to evangelize, disciple and extend God’s love through practical outreach to people on or near the water and as He directs.

They function as a non-profit ministry, working alongside churches and other organizations. Their work is to evangelize, disciple and extend God’s love through practical outreach to people on or near the water and as He directs.

Mike Berkeley, a Maritime Ministries UK official, discussed the work of one group that has been traveling through eastern North Carolina recently.
“The team came together in Richmond VA where Maritime Ministries has a small base and sailed the boat ‘Praise the Lord’ down to Elizabeth City arriving June 20th. From there they went to Manteo, Ocracoke Island, and Swan Quarter, before arriving at Belhaven for the July 4th celebrations,” he said.

 The Eastern North Carolina team has connected with local churches as they travelled and have used the performing arts to present the gospel message in songs, skits and personal testimony. The trip finishes this weekend when they will head back to Richmond by road. The boat will head back to the Chesapeake Bay where it has several commitments.

 Maritime Ministries has been in operation just over 20 years and the founder, Roy Armstrong, from Richmond started the ministry because he wanted to reach out to people who cruised on the ‘Inter Coastal Waterway’. Roy spent some time as a delivery boat Captain and had some experience meeting various people as they travelled the waterways, many of whom seemed to be searching for some kind of reality in the midst of ‘life challenges’. The ‘PTL’ was given to Roy with the express purpose for use in Christian Ministry.

Over the years MM has done various program with teams like the one that has just finished or with youth groups taking people out to experience the adventure of living. They have also been involved in practical expressions too and in the early days arranged and delivered medical equipment to several locations which had a need.

“About 17 years ago we had an opportunity to work in the Bahamas and until recently we have had personnel working full time developing links with the local churches and reaching out to those in need. Presently we are working toward recruiting Swedish Christians to join us in the Islands in the winter of 2015 to further explore needs and opportunities in that location,” said Berkley.

 Maritime Ministries currently has three boats as part of Maritime Ministries. The ‘PTL’ is the largest at 47 ft and we also have ‘the More Beyond’  at 32 ft which has just come back from the Bahamas and the ‘Paloma del Mar’ also 32 ft which is stationed at the Mid-Atlantic Christian College in Elizabeth City where Dan Smith is exploring ways of utilizing the boat with students who might be interested in some kind of maritime ministry expression in the future.

 “Over all as a ministry we want to present the gospel to people who live on the water or who reside in coastal communities both in the USA and further afield. Where possible, we connect with the local church if we can. We also use time aboard with teams to mentor and to educate about missions worldwide and to help people grow closer to God,” said Berkley.