Clover Pass Community Church

CBN.com Ketchikan, Alaska -- during the winter, it’s known as the dog-sled capital of the world, and in the summer, it’s a tourist haven and prime cruise line destination. Year round, it’s home to Clover Pass Community Church, America’s Church of the Week.

Clover Pass emphasizes outreach and evangelism. Capitalizing on its location, this church has a ministry right at its doorstep… or should I say right at its dock.

"We have the opportunity to minister to sailors and crew, people who come from maybe 60 different nationalities," says Mike Cooke, associate pastor at Clover Pass.

From May through September, 28 cruise ships a week pass through Ketchikan, bringing a total of 750,000 tourists and 20,000 crew members into port.

Most people who’ve taken a cruise would tell you it’s the vacation of a lifetime -- everyone, that is, except for the crew. Most crew members work more than 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and many of them share cabins with up to three other people. Now, a job like this is bound to take its toll on your physical life, your spiritual life, and your family life.

"It’s tough," says Raymond, a crew member from the Philippines who has worked in the cruise industry for 15 years. "It’s really hard because I have my wife and four kids back home. I’m away for a year at a time. It’s hard because I don’t see my kids grow."

"I work in the morning, lunch, and dinner. Our break time is just in between meal hours, and then after dinner we are still doing, like, for me, paper work," says crew member Toto from Indonesia. Toto has been away from his family for 25 years.

Mike Cooke is familiar with the challenges Toto and Raymond face. That’s why he has taken on the role of "pastor" while their ship is in port.

"As a pastor it’s really no different in ministering on board a ship than a church because you’re going to get the same issues, the same type of people," he says. "Therefore, we need to speak into that to minister to these people."

"Pastor Mike always greets me when I go to Ketchikan, and he always encourages me, lifts up my spirit, and shares the Word of God," says Raymond. " He is always there."

Pastor Mike leads daily Bible studies and spends one-on-one time with the crew. Some crew members visit the Clover Pass coffee house for encouragement and then lead their own studies when the ship sets sail. Right now, four crew members are enrolled in a distance Bible school.

"When these ships leave here at the end of the season, a lot of them go to Asia or Latin America, and there is the potential to plant churches," says Mike. "These guys could plant churches. My goal is to provoke them to action."

Pastor Mike’s "provoking" is working. One crew member has already become an evangelist in Jamaica, and another planted a church in Trinidad. Pastor Mike hopes the coming years will yield more church plants all over the world.

Clover Pass Community Church has a big vision. It’s America’s church of the week because it’s doing something about that vision and enjoying every minute of it.

"There is a joy because it’s not just simply receiving the gospel. It’s putting it into action and going out there and doing it," says Mike. "We’ve got to be doers of the Word, not just simply hearers. We have an opportunity, especially here, to reach all different parts of the world. Why no take that opportunity?"