A Van With a Mission: Reaching Surfers Across Taiwan

In Taiwan, ministry to surfers happens wherever the waves break—and often those beaches are scattered hours apart. That’s why transportation isn’t just helpful for YWAM Yilan and Christian Surfers Taiwan—it’s essential. Their van is the backbone of their ministry: getting leaders, surfboards, outreach teams, and youth to beaches, churches, and events all over the island. It’s how they show up, stay connected, and build trust in the surf community.

This year, the need for a new van became urgent. Their old 1996 VW had been pushed to its limits with constant travel to ministry sites, assisting visiting outreach teams, and transporting people and gear for events. Without a reliable van, their ability to disciple young riders and share the gospel would be severely limited.

With help from a $2,500 grant action sports ministry grant from JSAW, they were able to meet their fundraising goal and purchase a new ministry van—an investment that is already transforming what’s possible.

A Vehicle That Moves the Gospel

The new van is now used to:

• Travel to beaches where most ministry happens

• Bring surfboards, wetsuits, and gear for lessons and outreach

• Transport youth from local churches learning to surf

• Host visiting outreach teams and volunteers

• Visit new surf communities around Taiwan to pioneer additional Christian Surfers groups

For this ministry, the van isn’t just transportation. It’s how they reach the people God has called them to serve.

Relationships That Lead to Transformation

Through events, surf lessons, and regular presence at the beach, over 100 surfers and surf-community youth heard the gospel this year. While no new commitments to follow Jesus were recorded yet, the seeds of faith are being planted through consistent, relational ministry. Meanwhile, 23 young surfers—8 guys and 15 girls—are engaged in intentional discipleship, learning what it means to follow Jesus in their daily lives and surf culture.

Ministry Highlights Across Taiwan

With reliable transportation, the team saw several key wins:

• Deeper engagement with non-believing surfers, building trust and opening doors for spiritual conversations.

• Local churches are now bringing their youth to learn surfing—something culturally significant and a major breakthrough for outreach.

• A round-the-island prayer trip allowed the team to visit every major surf town, pray with locals, build relationships, and share vision. Many locations have no active ministry reaching riders—something the team is now praying and planning to change.

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The One Big Challenge: Workers

The opportunity is huge, but the workers are few. The team is operating at full capacity and praying for more leaders to join them so they can expand into the many open surf communities across Taiwan.

A Story of Encouragement

One of the most inspiring stories this year came from a surfer couple who visited from another city. They shared that traditional evangelism approaches they’d experienced in church felt uncomfortable and didn’t fit surf culture. But after spending time with the YWAM Yilan / Christian Surfers Taiwan team, their perspective changed.

They saw a way of sharing the gospel that was real, relational, and relevant to surfers. It encouraged them deeply and helped them see how God could use their gifts to reach their community. They even attended the national conference, gaining vision and momentum to begin ministry in their home surf town.

If you would like to help support action sports ministries around the world, you can make a donation here: JSAW.org/worldwide