ON THE WATER:

Stan Bryson had become jaded by the way local Christian-based events shoved Jesus at nonbelievers. Although he enjoyed sharing his beliefs with others, more and more he noticed the events he assisted were often laden with icons of Christian culture, and at the end of the day organizers quickly closed up shop and moved on.

After more than 20 years of working with Calvary Chapel members to produce amateur surf contests, Bryson was convinced more needed to be done to reach people at the core. Bryson, a steel-industry director and longtime follower of the Christian faith, wanted to offer people an investment; the stock he solicited had an eternal payoff.

“I personally was looking for an area where we could go deeper, beyond the contest and really get to know the people,” Bryson said.

So he began surfing the net, searching for programs that required more than a one-time encounter with those to whom he hoped to minister. In 2006, he encountered the website for Christian Surfers International. He called their Florida office and found “inspiration from above” to create his own chapter here in Orange County.

Not one hour before Bryson’s call, Brian Edwards, another Southern California surfer/businessman, had contacted the national office looking for the same information.

Edwards had been on a similar hunt for the last 18 months hoping to find a cause he could support.

“We both had a common friend we surfed with, but had never met before,” Bryson said.

Bryson got in touch with Edwards, and the Christian Surfers Huntington Beach Chapter was born. The group will celebrate its one-year anniversary next month.

Like many counterparts across the world, the group combines two passions: a love of the ocean and a firm belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Every other month Christian Surfers meets at the Santa Ana River mouth for about three hours of bitchin’ friendship ministry.

From 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday, the group will set up shop at the jetties and offer doughnuts, breakfast bars and coffee to anyone wanting to hit the waves while the surf is glassy.

“It’s more like a slow-cook kind of thing,” Bryson said about the ministry. “Surfers tend to be a tough group to reach. We try to be a consistent presence out there.”

At different times during the year group members travel to Peru, where they have adopted two families. There they spend time building homes, performing small housecleaning tasks such as gardening and, of course, surfing.

The ultimate goal is to represent, through example, their beliefs while out there in the waves. It doesn’t happen overnight, Bryson said. Many chapter members surf at the Newport jetty and have established relationships with a number of surfers on this competitive stretch of shoreline.

“We’re not trying to be in your face,” Bryson said. “Before I was a believer it really turned me off. We’re building a relationship and bringing God into people’s lives.”

For more information, call (866) 907-1847 or go to www.christiansurfershb.com.

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].