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Christian Surfers is an interdenominational mission movement composed of members who believe in God amongst the global surfing community. It was founded in the late 1970s in Cronulla, Australia.
The movement, which is incorporated as a not-for-profit in Australia, also has chapters in over 35 countries worldwide including New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, Costa Rica, and Brazil. Christian Surfers have received recognition for their commitment to the international surfing community, organic faith initiatives, and compassionate activities such as tsunami-relief [1] and other aid projects, as well as providing chaplaincy [2] to the World Surf League. The Christian Surfers International website [3] is the primary source for information about the work of Christian Surfers globally.
CS (as it is often referred to) publishes the Surfers Bible, [4] [5] runs mission trips, camps and surf comps like the Jesus Surf Classic [6] and the Jesus Pro Am, [7] premieres films in conjunction with Walking on Water, provides a positive mentoring environment for young surfers, offers hospitality for traveling surfers, and undertakes numerous social action initiatives (in the countries listed above, and also abroad). [8]
At its core the movement's goal is that every surfer and every surfing community has opportunity to know and follow Jesus. [9] [10]
Whilst there are many members of the global surfing tribe who follow Jesus, some notable names are:
Bethany Meilani Hamilton is an American professional surfer and writer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off and who ultimately returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board, which was adapted into the 2011 feature film Soul Surfer in which she attributes her strength to her Christian faith. She was also the subject of a 2018 documentary, Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable, which discusses her marriage to Adam Dirks and how marriage and motherhood have affected her professional surfing career.
The Mentawai Islands Regency are a chain of about seventy islands and islets approximately 150 kilometres off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. They cover 6,033.76 km2 and had a population of 76,173 at the 2010 Census and 87,623 at the 2020 Census. Siberut at 3,838.25 square kilometres is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai, and South Pagai. The islands lie off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. The Mentawai Islands have become a noted destination for surfing, with over 40 boats offering surf charters to international guests.
Youth with a Mission is an interdenominational Christian training organisation.
Stephen H. Webb was a theologian and philosopher of religion.
Globe International Ltd. is an Australian footwear, clothing, and skateboard hardware company. It was founded in 1985 by three Australian brothers. Globe International's core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands, and distributed brands. The company's international offices are located in Melbourne, Los Angeles and San Diego, U.S.; Hossegor, France; London, U.K.; and Shenzhen, China. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Clifton James "C.J." Hobgood is an Association of Surfing Professionals(ASP) World Championship surfer. He has a twin brother, Damien. They both compete in top-tier professional surfing events around the world.
Monty Webber is an Australian surfer, artist, writer and filmmaker. His stories and movies address the culture of surfing.
Uganda is a religiously diverse nation, with Christianity being the most widely professed faith. According to the 2014 census, over 84 percent of the population was Christian, while about 14 percent of the population adhered to Islam, making it the largest minority religion. Anglicanism and Catholicism are the main Christian denominations in the country.
The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is a prestigious event in professional surfing held annually at Pūpūkea on Oahu in Hawaii.
Momentum Under the Influence is a surf movie distributed by Steelhouse Distribution and produced by Poor Specimen. It features all the best surfers in the world under 23 that surf places like Mentawai Islands, Australia, South Africa, France, Timor Island, Indonesia, Mexico, Hawaii and California. Surfers include CJ Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, Paul Roach Dan Malloy, David Rastovich, Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson, Ben Bourgois, Bruce Irons, Andy Irons, and Dean Morrison.
The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the World Surf League and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by IMG since 2000.
Cori Schumacher is a world champion surfer, social justice advocate, scholar, and a former American politician.
World Surfing Reserves (WSR) is a program launched in 2009 by the non-governmental organization Save the Waves Coalition aimed at protecting global surf habitats. The program proactively identifies, designates and enshrines international waves, surf zones and surrounding environments, protecting them from the threat of development.
Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew is an Australian world champion surfer, surf sports innovator, community advocate and politician. Bartholomew is the former CEO and President of the Association of Surfing Professionals and the creator of the Dream Tour format of professional competition surfing.
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In Christianity, an unreached people group refers to an ethnic group without an indigenous, self-propagating Christian church movement. Any ethnic or ethnolinguistic nation without enough Christians to evangelize the rest of the nation is an "unreached people group". It is a missiological term used by Evangelical Protestants. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization defines a people group as "the largest group within which the gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance." "Nation" is sometimes used interchangeably for "people group". The term is sometimes applied to ethnic groups in which less than 2% of the population is Evangelical Protestant Christian, Including nations where other forms of Christianity are prevalent such as Western Catholicism, Eastern Christianity or Lutheranism.
Margaret River Pro is an event on the ASP World Surfing Tour currently WSL World Surfing League.
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Rusty is an Australian surfboard and surfwear brand formed in 1985 by Rusty Preisendorfer. It also operates in the US under the name Rusty Surfboards.