April 29, 2025
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Canaveral Port Ministry is a ministry that serves seafarers (workers on cruise and cargo ships) when they are in port. Over the course of a typical week, the ministry will serve more than 2,000 visitors from 70+ countries. They are “reaching the world from our doorstep.”
In 2022, Port Canaveral was named the busiest cruise port in the world. When ships are docked, and crew members are allowed to disembark, Canaveral Port Ministry provides a place for them to go. It’s a home away from home for these seafarers who hail from all over the world. All the services are provided free of charge.
Some of the services the ministry provides are:
The ministry is staffed by 8-10 full-time chaplains, and it takes 20-25 local volunteers each day to perform all the duties. There are never enough CDL drivers to drive the larger buses. Summertime creates staffing problems as many locals are retired “snowbirds” who head north for the summer.
In 2022, Ingleside Baptist Church (Macon) sent a team of nine people (four adults and five youth) to CPM to volunteer for a week. A former youth pastor who had served in an internship there felt it would be a great mission opportunity for Ingleside. Lisa Call, Missions Minister at Ingleside, loved the idea, and in 2023, eight adults served for a week in June, and another group of eight adults served a week in July.
Everyone fell in love with serving there and what the ministry represents. A member of the July team joked, “We should just rent a house for the summer and send a new team each week next year.” In 2024, Ingleside rented a house for six weeks and sent more than 40 Ingleside members on week-long mission trips to serve at Canaveral Port Ministry. This was so popular and successful that next summer, Ingleside is planning to expand to send teams of eight volunteers each week for eight weeks in 2025. All eight teams are already full and are looking to add more teams throughout the fall of 2025.
One of the Ingleside team members, Russell Lewis, said, “What touched me deeply during my limited time serving in this worthwhile ministry was the level of commitment to the souls that passed in and out of the front door. The dedicated staff is sharing the gospel and helping others find the peace that only comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. They also demonstrate Christ’s love by pouring themselves into the lives of the seafarers they serve, and it is a truly remarkable thing to witness.”
Brantley Sims remarked, “Since I have a CDL, my primary involvement has been as a bus driver transporting seafarers to the shopping centers. My role allows the chaplains and full-time staff the ability to remain at the ministry, where they can build relationships with the seafarers and lead them to Jesus. God is doing mighty things through this ministry, and I feel blessed to be able to serve in any capacity for months and years to come.”
As the port grows, the ministry grows. The number of daily visitors to Canaveral Port Ministry has doubled in the last four years, and they welcome hundreds of people each day. They are currently in expansion mode, trying to raise $750,000.00 to purchase adjacent land for phase one of three expansion phases. Plans also include enlarging the building and parking areas to accommodate more crew members and their fleet of ministry vehicles.
Canaveral Port Ministry is supported by churches in Brevard County and surrounding areas, but any church or individual can make donations on their website, cpm.life.
