The Heartbeat of the Ship
Every ship is full of men and women who work all day-every day-serving others. They spend up to 10 months on board ship before returning to their homes and families. Many are Christ-followers, but they have little personal time for worship, Bible study, or Christian fellowship. High Seas Ministries is dedicated to serving them, as they so graciously serve others. The question is, how? Their schedules overlap, making it difficult if not impossible to find a time to meet in a large group. The answer: Ministry focused on individuals as God presents them and their needs to us.
Crew Member Highlight
Meet Luis, Guest Relations Officer for the ships of Royal Caribbean. We first met Luis on Navigator of the Seas in April 2013. Then, in November 2013, we found him sailing with us again, this time on Independence of the Seas. We connected with him a third time on Vision of the Seas in 2014. The photo at the left was taken at our happy reunion on board Independence. Luis shared with us that he is a Christ-follower. He was true to his Guest Relations training as he went above and beyond to make sure High Seas Ministries had everything we needed to serve the passengers and crew during our cruise. Thank you, Luis, and we hope to sail with you again soon!
Reaching Out to Crew
The crew wristband ministry we began in April 2014 has become somewhat of a signature for HSM. In November 2014, we offered our dining room waiter on Serenade of the Seas a wristband. His eyes widened as he asked: “Is this YOU?” We weren’t sure exactly what he meant by that but answered, yes, we are High Seas Ministries. He told us that the crew Bible study on Serenade is called the “High Seas Ministries Bible Study” because a fellow crew member had come from another ship where he had been given a wristband.
The wristband ministry has also created opportunities for guests attending the daily Bible study to participate with us in ministering to crew. Each day they pick up handfuls to take to the crew members they have come to know on the voyage. We work as a team to shine God's light into crew members' lives. Each day in Bible study we share our crew ministry efforts and pray for those with pressing needs.
The wristband ministry has also created opportunities for guests attending the daily Bible study to participate with us in ministering to crew. Each day they pick up handfuls to take to the crew members they have come to know on the voyage. We work as a team to shine God's light into crew members' lives. Each day in Bible study we share our crew ministry efforts and pray for those with pressing needs.
In 2015, we learned of the availability of free tracts in a variety of languages produced by World Missionary Press. These are palm-sized messages about God's love and the salvation Jesus brings. We began using them and sharing them with guests to pass on to crew members. On each cruise, we notice more and more of the guests in our Bible study taking these to share with crew.
Still, we want to do more. We want to provide crew the same kind of Bible instruction—or something close to it—that we give the guests. Thanks to some members of our HSM family, the Shatzers of Florida, we have found a solution to that problem. They created booklets that tell the overarching story of the Bible--the same story we focus on in our guest Bible study. These booklets are lightweight so we can transport them in bulk to the ship. Like our study, they tell the complete story of the Bible but in a more condensed and graphic form. They are perfect for crew members with limited time, and, in some cases, a low comfort level with reading English.
Guests join us in sharing the wristbands, World Missionary Press tracts, and Bible Booklets with crew members. Together we are reaching more of them on each voyage. We rejoice in God's good work!
Still, we want to do more. We want to provide crew the same kind of Bible instruction—or something close to it—that we give the guests. Thanks to some members of our HSM family, the Shatzers of Florida, we have found a solution to that problem. They created booklets that tell the overarching story of the Bible--the same story we focus on in our guest Bible study. These booklets are lightweight so we can transport them in bulk to the ship. Like our study, they tell the complete story of the Bible but in a more condensed and graphic form. They are perfect for crew members with limited time, and, in some cases, a low comfort level with reading English.
Guests join us in sharing the wristbands, World Missionary Press tracts, and Bible Booklets with crew members. Together we are reaching more of them on each voyage. We rejoice in God's good work!