My wife and I have been part of a Christian mission for 42 years (and counting). The mission’s name is “Operation Mobilization” (or OM for short). One distinct feature of this international (over 100 countries) and inter-church (missionaries from many denominations) mission is that it has ships – ocean-going ships. Over its 77-year history, OM has used five different ships. Let’s take a closer look…
LOGOS and DOULOS
These five ships are part of “God’s Navy”. The first one was called “Logos”. This is a Greek biblical term meaning “the living Word”. It’s one of the names for Jesus. OM bought this ice-breaker (originally called the “Umanak”) in 1970 after it retired from service between the Faroe Islands and Britain. They transformed it into a Christian bookship and recruited a team of about 50 to man (and woman) it. It was a bold experiment which God blessed. Logos visited 408 ports in 108 countries during its 17-year ministry. You could say this former ice-breaker broke and melted the ice of frozen hearts with the love and warmth of God’s living Word. Its service came to a sudden end when it was grounded in a storm off the tip of South America in 1988 and had to be abandoned.
In 1977, Logos was joined by the “Doulos” which means “servant” (another name for Jesus). This was a bigger ship with a crew of over 200 believers from around the world. Heading to the scrapyard, OM bought and refitted it for its ministry purposes. For a while, the Guinness Book of Records listed it as the “oldest passenger liner afloat” (we prayed fervently that it would stay afloat!). My wife and I had the privilege of serving on this ship for two years, visiting ports in Europe, Africa and Asia. It was “the world’s largest floating bookshop” with its Christian and educational books in many languages. It was sold in 2010 and converted into a hotel now located in Indonesia. During its 32-year Christian lifespan, it visited and served over 600 ports in 108 countries. Recently, we attended a dinner for international students in Thorold. We met two people from India at our table and learned that they had visited our ship years ago in Mumbai.
LOGOS II, LOGOS HOPE and DOULOS HOPE
Then came the “Logos II” (sounds a bit like a sequel). It had been a ferry and was purchased in 1988. It too became a bookship and its international crew (of about 200 believers) also went out into the port cities (and beyond) to provide material and spiritual help to many. During its 20-year ministry, it visited 350 ports in 81 countries.
The next ship was purchased in 2004 and re-christened the “Logos Hope”. It was OM’s biggest ship with a crew of about 400 from about 60 nations. Its purpose was similar to the others bringing “knowledge, help and hope” to each one who visited in each port. So far, it has visited over 250 ports in over 80 countries and its mission of hope continues.
OM’s latest (and smallest) ship is the “Doulos Hope”. It was purchased in 2023 and has a crew of about 50. Being smaller, it can navigate the river systems of Asia (e.g., the Mekong) in order to penetrate further inland. So far, it has visited 10 ports in five countries and continues to serve.
The OM ship ministry has now entered its sixth decade having welcomed over 49 million people on-board one of its five ships in almost 500 different ports in more than 150 countries.
God’s Sailor?
So, have you ever considered becoming one of God’s sailors? After serving three years in France, my wife and I visited the Doulos in Belgium in 1984. We had heard a lot about the OM ships but never seriously considered serving on one. That brief visit changed our perspective. We were amazed by the diversity and creativity of this ministry and its people. Ship leaders told us that they were praying for Francophones for the planned visit to West Africa. When we told them we felt God was leading us to the ship, they asked us to join one of the “line-up” teams that went ahead of the ship by three months. During that time, everything is “lined up” for the ship visit (e.g., permissions, programs, publicity).
Our first line-up port was Abidjan, the biggest city and commercial centre of Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Like John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, I became “Rob the Baptist,” helping to prepare the way for a Christian ship named after the Savior. The next two years were full of spiritual challenge, stretching, growth, learning and discovery as we “served” the “living Word” bringing “hope” to many.
More about that next week.
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor and missionary.
