Over the past two summers, we’ve been trying a simple idea that we’ve called Seabreeze in the Park. Instead of asking people to come to the Seabreeze campus, we invited them to a park in their neighborhood to check out a simple church service.
Last summer, we held Seabreeze in the Park at three different neighborhood parks. We learned a ton, met lots of people, and saw God use those gatherings in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
So this year, we doubled it. Six services. Six parks.
Although the first park service wasn’t until May 31, the work actually began back in March.
Tudor (Seabreeze’s Student Pastor) and I took turns leading the six events. Each of us worked with one of two core teams who carried the bulk of the effort through the summer. For months, these teams identified neighborhoods, planned logistics, prepared door hangers, organized prayer walks, recruited volunteers, figured out equipment and supplies, communicated with residents, and worked through all the details required to bring a church service into a neighborhood park.
And then there were the Seabreeze volunteers.
People from Seabreeze showed up for each event to distribute door hangers throughout the surrounding neighborhoods. Others prayer-walked the areas before the events, praying specifically for the people who lived there. On the day of the events, teams arrived early to set up, welcome guests, help with kids, serve food and shave ice, facilitate worship, and connect with people.
In total, 254 unique Seabreeze volunteers helped across the six different Seabreeze in the Park effort this summer!
We started at Glen View Park on May 31 and finished three months later at Lark View Park on August 30. In between were Moffett, Gisler, Lake View, and Harper Parks.
Every park was different. Some were Sunday mornings with coffee, donuts, worship, a message, and shave ice afterward. Others were evening gatherings with tacos, worship, a message, lawn games, and plenty of time to hang out.
Some parks drew larger crowds than we expected. At Gisler Park, 121 total guests attended, making it our largest gathering of the summer. Other parks were smaller and created opportunities for longer, more personal conversations. Regardless of the size and number, we saw God at work.
By the end of the six events, at least 324 total guests had attended, including 254 adults and 70 kids. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Church in the Park 2026
At every park, there were connections and stories that could only have been orchestrated by God.
Some Seabreeze volunteers who helped out at Glen View had first encountered Seabreeze through one of these park events last summer. This summer, they served at the same kind of gathering that helped them take their own first steps.
At Gisler Park, a young woman connected with one of our young adults and attended Impact (our college group that meets on Sunday nights) that same night and went to a worship service at Seabreeze the following week.
At Lake View Park, Tudor met a father and his college-aged daughter who had questions about how to begin reading the Bible. He talked with them, gave them a Bible, and helped them identify a place to start.
At Moffett Park, one of the guests who attended on Friday night showed up at Seabreeze the very next Sunday.
One of the stories we heard over and over was how a guest had prayed, asking God to show them where to go to church or to help them in some way, only to see the Seabreeze in the Park door hanger or flyer. Only God could orchestrate that!
Starting spiritual conversations was relatively easy because people were coming to a church service. Simply asking, “What got you to come to this?” started great conversations with lots of guests.
There are undoubtedly many stories we still don’t know.
Another encouraging part of the summer was watching the process improve with every park.
Early on, there were plenty of questions about setup, equipment, sound, and logistics. By the later events, we had simplified things dramatically. Setup became fast and efficient. At one event, the team was ready to go within 20 minutes of arriving.
That mattered because the less energy we spent “pulling off an event,” the more energy we could spend on people.
A special thank you goes to the two core teams who carried this effort throughout the year, a total of 27 people. This was a big endeavor. The two teams did a great job owning the details, solving problems, praying, adapting, and helping make each event better than the one before it.
And a thank you to every Seabreeze volunteer who played a part. Thank you to the people who walked neighborhoods, hung door hangers, and prayer-walked. Thank you to those who showed up early to set up, served food and coffee, helped with kids, welcomed guests, started conversations, and stayed late talking with people.
It really took a lot of people to make this happen.
Seabreeze in the Park isn’t about how many parks we can do a church service in. It’s about bringing the hope and practical truth of following Jesus into the places where people already are.
The six services are over. Now we’re praying for the ripple effects. We’re praying that seeds planted this summer will grow this fall and beyond, that conversations will continue, and that many of the people we met will take more steps toward God.
We’re grateful for what He has already done, and we’re excited to see what comes next.
