Surf before you worship at this church in Portugal. Their motto: 'We love waves, we love Jesus.'
https://apnews.com/article/religion-surfing-church-portugal-beaches-waves-430638bf18320dc0068253c9973c42f1
(video, many photos, more, at link)
Surf before you worship at this church in Portugal. Their motto: We love waves, we love Jesus.
BY LUIS ANDRES HENAO
Updated 12:36 AM EDT, August 29, 2024
PORTO, Portugal (AP)
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Its also home to a different kind of church located on its beachfront suburbs along the Atlantic coast near a fishing town known for some of the worlds largest waves. Parishioners attend in boardshorts, T-shirts, flip flops even barefoot.
They surf before they worship.
Surf Church was established by a Brazilian-born Portuguese surfer and ordained Baptist pastor to spread the Gospel in a once-devoutly Catholic country and top surfing destination where about half of young people today say they have no religion.
In less than a decade, it has grown from a few families to dozens of parishioners representing more than a dozen nationalities from across the world. Their motto: We love waves. We love Jesus.
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