A Chaplain for the Seafarers
Every week, Bill steps onboard cargo ships at the Port of Vancouver with a simple purpose: to bring encouragement and the hope of the Gospel to seafarers from around the world.
As a Workplace Chaplain with BetterIt Workplace Chaplains, Bill serves as a port chaplain. He visits cargo ships while they are docked, spending precious time with the men and women onboard. These seafarers are often far from home, living and working at sea for months at a time, separated from family, community, and familiar rhythms of life. For many, a friendly visit and a reminder that God sees and loves them can make an eternal difference.
Port chaplains like Bill step into this unique ministry space to share God’s love and the Good News of Jesus Christ, sometimes in a conversation, sometimes in prayer, and sometimes simply by being present and listening.
Stronger Together
Bill rarely goes alone.
“When I visit cargo ships, I usually have a partner who joins me,” Bill explains. “I have found this to be a more fulfilling and impactful experience than me being ‘the lone ranger.’”
This posture of collaboration is more than practical. It’s deeply intentional. Visiting ships in teams allows chaplains to combine strengths, share responsibility, and remain spiritually attentive. Since chaplains never know who they will meet, each visit brings the unknown. Bill, himself, has met seafarers from 26+ different countries!
“Since we never know who the Lord will bring before us, the presence of a partner encourages us,” Bill says. “We are able to pray for each other, strengthen each other, and share with each other.”
While one chaplain speaks with a seafarer, the other quietly prays. Then they switch roles. Together, they rejoice when they meet a fellow believer onboard. Those moments feel like family.
“That’s what heaven will be like!” Bill adds.
After each ship visit, the team takes time to pray again, asking that the seeds planted would be watered by the Holy Spirit, germinating, growing, and bearing lasting fruit.
This picture of shared ministry reflects something important: the Gospel is often most visibly alive when it’s lived out together.
An Impactful Encounter Onboard
On one particular visit, Bill and his ministry partner stepped onto a ship where they met Captain Noel, a Filipino ship captain leading a mainly Filipino crew.
“We were very encouraged and touched to hear that he was holding Bible studies onboard his ship,” Bill recalls.
Captain Noel shared how he came to faith in Jesus Christ and why those onboard Bible studies matter so deeply to him. Raised in a Christian family, he became a committed believer as a young adult and felt a growing urgency to share his faith with people who had not yet accepted Christ as Savior and Lord.
Since becoming captain over 5 years ago, Captain Noel has been holding Bible studies onboard all the ships under his command to give the crew an opportunity to know Jesus Christ personally.
As the captain, his leadership carries weight, and as Bill noted, that likely helps with attendance. But what was clear was his heart: a shepherd’s desire to care for the spiritual well-being of those entrusted to him.
Activating Leaders: A Game Changer
For port chaplains, time is short. Bill estimates they often have only one to two hours to connect with a ship’s crew before moving on. Once the ship leaves port, they may never see those seafarers again.
That limitation makes leaders like Captain Noel incredibly significant.
These intentional moments of listening, praying, and encouraging are a key part of Bill’s chaplaincy work and help create space for lasting gospel impact.
“When there is a Christian seafarer onboard a ship who is willing to hold regular Bible studies with his crew, this is a game changer,” Bill says.
Captain Noel lives and works alongside his crew 24 hours a day, often for contracts lasting up to nine months. He is present in moments of stress, celebration, fatigue, and routine. In his role, he embodies what it means to be salt and light, bringing a godly influence into daily life at sea.
This is why Bill and his fellow chaplains intentionally look for opportunities to activate leaders, not only captains, but any Christian seafarer willing to share their faith.
“We’re always praying for and encouraging all Christian seafarers, not just captains, to share their faith … just as Captain Noel has been doing,” Bill says.
Before leaving the ship, Bill and his partner asked Captain Noel if he needed any additional resources. They provided him with a solar-powered audio Bible and Tagalog New Testaments, part of the practical resources they regularly share to equip seafarers for ongoing ministry onboard, and arranged for even more resources to be delivered later that evening.
They ended their time together in prayer, asking for the Lord’s blessing over Captain Noel and his onboard ministry.
“We thank and praise the Lord for our divine encounter with Capt. Noel,” Bill reflects. “It was a real blessing and encouragement to us and the seafarers’ ministry. May the Lord continue to bless him and use him in a mighty way for the Kingdom!”
Seeds That Keep Growing
Sometimes the most powerful expressions of the Gospel aren’t found in grand events or large crowds, but in faithful obedience, through chaplains like Bill who show up, listen well, pray faithfully, and point others to Christ, and through leaders like Captain Noel who carry that Gospel into everyday life at sea.
Through his chaplaincy, Bill brings encouragement and the hope of Jesus to those he meets, trusting God to multiply that impact as leaders are activated and equipped to serve right where they are.