South Coast Beach Project Going Strong

It’s summer, and that means a new cohort of young adults is living and working in Port Dover, Ont. They are participants in the SOCO (South Coast) Beach Project, a ministry seeking to help women and men between 18 and 29 years of age discern where God is at work in their lives.

Now in its fourth year, the SOCO Beach Project invites six or seven young adults each summer to live, work, and learn in fellowship with one another in a supportive Christian community from early May through mid-August. Participants live and cook together, learn budgeting and life skills, and explore God’s world and calling through one-on-one mentoring. Each person takes a summer job in a field such as agriculture, retail, food service, and childcare, and their participation in fundraising throughout the summer helps to cover the costs of the program. The ministry is an ecumenical initiative in partnership with Resonate Global Mission.

Willemina Zwart, a minister with experience in both campus ministry and congregational ministry in the Christian Reformed Church, started the initiative, drawing on her experience from 25 years ago when she worked on staff for the Ocean City Beach Project with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. “Little did I know at that time that God would ignite a dream for a beach project on the south coast of Ontario in Port Dover years later,” said Zwart. “Even more so, that within four years of my following this call . . . God, by the generosity of his people, would provide a permanent house for SOCO.”

In SOCO’s beginning years, participants stayed in rented cottages available in the summer months. Now, with a permanent house available for the program, Zwart suggested, “This opens up further possibilities for young adult discipleship and leadership formation throughout the rest of the calendar year – scope for further ministry imagination!”

The program is growing in other ways as well. An annual summer camping retreat on the third weekend in July invites other young adults to share in fellowship with SOCO participants and to get a taste of the summer experience.

One focus of the program is to foster a sense of place. Willis Sloan, 26, a participant in this year’s program, observed, “Theology of place refers to the spirituality of getting to know a physical location and environment. This theology encourages us to get to know our neighbors, the town, and everything in it.” He noted that going to the beach, getting ice cream from a local shop, and enjoying meals from small local restaurants can be a blessing and a way of showing care. “God taught us to love and care for our neighbors and for all of creation. . . . You get to know the area because you cannot love what you do not know.”

Dan deGelder, 23, of Aylmer (Ont.) CRC agrees, saying that a highlight of his summer with the SOCO Beach Project has been enjoying the town of Port Dover with the group.

Balance is another focus of the learning program: balancing social time and solitude, work and rest, responsibility and grace. “One of my top takeaways this summer is how critically important it is to make time for God,” said deGelder. “It has been an exceptionally busy summer – but no matter how busy life gets, I know God will be there for me.”

Janelle Domingo, 22, said she has enjoyed kayaking, roasting marshmallows on a campfire, making friends, exploring the town, and growing in faith – but the summer has not been all fun and relaxation. Domingo grew up as an only child in a big city, so adjusting to having a roommate and a house full of people and adapting to the culture of a small town were challenges she faced by leaning into her community and God, she said. One takeaway from the summer, she added, is that “slowing down is productive. Port Dover allowed me to slow down; the environment and pace of life is a lot slower than in the city.” Another takeaway, she said, is that “healing is not linear, but Jesus is with me through it all.”

Leah Beldman, 22, plans to study for a master of divinity degree after this summer. In a sermon she presented at a worship service led by SOCO participants, she described an experience she had with the theology of place. She was sitting in downtown Port Dover pondering a list of questions about evangelism, she said. And as she ate ice cream from a downtown shop, residents of a group home arrived. “They chatted with me and made me feel so at home in the space,” said Beldman. “Their joy and warmth revealed Jesus to me so clearly. Something I drew from this experience was that our places are oftentimes areas where Jesus already is.”

Reflecting on what he has learned this summer, deGelder added, “The SOCO Beach Project enables us as young adults to have hard conversations, grapple with conflicting thoughts, learn from one another, and ultimately equip us to go out in the world as imagebearers of God.”