Members of All Saints, Milford on Sea, left their church building behind on a sunny Sunday morning in August to host “Blessings on the Beach”.
Instead of a formal service, the congregation served tea, coffee, and hot dogs to spark conversations about life, faith, and Jesus with anyone passing by.
Vicar of All Saints and St Mary’s Rev Tasha Anderson explained the motivation: “As a church, we have intentionally spent this last year looking at what we call ‘Living Out Luke’.
"We’ve been going through the Gospel of Luke, not for us to know more, but with the intention for us to learn to live out our faith better within everyday life."
For Rev Anderson, it was about being present rather than performing: “We decided we that we weren’t going to do church in the church building, we were going to be church out on the beach, talking to anyone and everyone who comes by and sharing faith. It’s an opportunity to really live out our faith in a way that reaches out to our community.
“We know times are difficult and tough for many, so I hope there’s something here where people see a light shining, hope shining, people who care and want to listen, who are ready to pray and believe in a God who answers prayer.
“If some of that can rub off on those who maybe have had negative experiences of church or no experience of church or faith, then that’s a good step forward for us.”
Sam Dinsmore, a curate, said the aim was simply to be visible in the town they love: “We have this massive resource of the seafront, we have all these visitors who come down every summer, so we’re trying to meet them where they are and just bless the town we live in.”
The event included offers of prayer, activity sheets for children, and free copies of Luke’s Gospel and “Try Praying” booklets.
For some, it was a chance to take a first step in faith.
Annabelle Taylor, churchwarden and leader of the pastoral team, noted that many people felt more comfortable writing down prayer requests than praying aloud, and she saw even small steps as significant.
The initiative also built on recent teaching within the church as All Saints has been hosting the Talking Jesus course, designed to enable Christians feel more confident about sharing their faith with neighbours, friends, and colleagues.
Blessings on the Beach was seen as a way to put that learning into practice in a real, public setting.
For younger members, it was a chance to share their faith in simple ways.
Seventeen-year-old Isaac Pinnell described it as “an incredible opportunity to evangelise to people, to have them just come along, offer them a sausage and to be able to talk about Jesus".
"We can invite people to come along to church, plant seeds and share the gospel," he said.
Rebecca Webb, who leads families and schools work, added: “I think it’s so important that we get out into the local community, that we are visible and seen and the beach is just a beautiful place to celebrate God’s glory.”
Event organiser Kate Pinnell, who oversaw catering, noticed that the informal format helped break down barriers: “Sometimes we expect people to come up to church and cross over the threshold, but we can just bring church to them.
“It’s such a good witness and conversation starter because people say, ‘why are you doing this’ and ‘what’s this all about?’ I think some of the local people thought, ‘where’s the service?’ but we’re just being here today and having good conversations because with a service, sometimes people come and watch and then they go away without engaging.
“Today it’s lovely to see people just chatting to each other, the fellowship of the church family, but also holiday makers and beach hut neighbours too.”
The event also provided a platform to share information about upcoming services and the return of the church’s children’s holiday club – the first in several years.
They are not the only church to have made the most of the beach and the good weather Britain has enjoyed this summer. Just down the coast, Bournemouth Beach saw a similar act of witness when five churches recently joined together to baptise 92 people in the sea near Boscombe Pier.
Hundreds gathered to witness the seaside ceremony, turning the shoreline into a festival-like celebration of faith.
Senior minister at Lansdowne Church, Peter Baker, called it a picture of the church “alive and kicking.”
He said the baptisms symbolised both individual transformation and a quiet revival in the town since the Covid pandemic.
Taking part in the baptism was 35-year-old Liam Brownen, a resident of Ringwood, who testified that his faith had freed him from addiction.
“The second I gave my life to Christ I was instantly relieved of the bondage of addiction,” he told BBC News. “It means everything to me. I owe my life to Christ so to be baptised in his name is unbelievable.”
