Written By: Aidyn Fischli
Photos By: Andrew Jakus
This year, Wisconsin launched its first Christian Surfers (CS) chapter based in Sheboygan, located on the western side of Lake Michigan. Many surfers may know the name Sheboygan as the hometown of Chicken Joe in the 2007 hit animation “Surf’s Up,” but the city is one of Lake Michigan’s biggest surfing hubs. Coined the “Malibu of the Midwest,” Sheboygan receives consistent, freshwater waves year-round.
Kyle Sullivan, the CS Northeast regional coordinator, spent four years living in Wisconsin during Bible college. At the time, he had no idea there was surf on the Great Lakes. He had sold all his boards and wetsuits before moving inland.
But after launching a Michigan chapter on the east coast of Lake Michigan two years ago, Kyle knew a Wisconsin chapter on the lake’s west coast had to be next.
The Start of A Dream
Andrew Jakus grew up in the surf and skate industry, but as he came to know Jesus, his views on the sports started to change.
“When I first came to faith, I was primarily in skateboarding, and when Jesus got a hold of my heart, I found zero fellowship or community in it,” says Andrew. “It was a very isolating thing, honestly, as much as I wanted to share my faith with people, and I wanted them to have the hope that I had, it was not well-received. I was very much alienated by it.”
The Lord started to show Andrew that board sports had become an idol in his life, and in obedience, he decided to take a step away. But after a decade away from the surf and skate community, he was approached with the opportunity to buy a friend’s surf shop in Sheboygan.
“I was like, ‘Oh, absolutely not.’ I felt as if that would be a backslide — why would I fall back into what God had identified as something I was not being faithful with?” says Andrew. But when he shared the details with his wife Hannah, she had a different response. “As my wonderful wife, who is far wiser than me, said, ‘Why are you being so close-minded? Why would you not instead take a season to pray about it and see if this maybe is where God has us?’”
After a year of prayer, Andrew and Hannah bought EOS Surf Shop. Andrew started to reenter the community he originally distanced himself from. “It was really building excitement over and over again in my heart for wanting to use surfing as a way to reach people for Jesus,” says Andrew.
The Start of a Chapter
When Kyle met Andrew at the Great Lakes Surf Festival, he told him about Christian Surfers and the idea of starting up a chapter in Wisconsin.
“I didn’t have a surfboard. But there were waves that day, and so he let me use one of his surfboards,” says Kyle. “We got to talking, and I heard a little bit more of his story, and I was like, ‘Dude, you should really pray about starting a chapter in Sheboygan.’”
Still unsure about pursuing a future with Christian Surfers, Andrew decided to join Kyle and a group of other surfers for a CS surf mission trip in Barbados.
“In the time that we were there, it was just an incredible season and incredible time of walking very intimately with the Holy Spirit,” says Andrew. “He just more and more started to stir excitement for using surfing as a tool of evangelism. While I was there, God just started bringing more and more people to my heart and to my mind in our surf community.”
The Chapter Launch
At the end of the trip, Andrew had a list of 33 names of community members who loved both Jesus and surfing. When he got back to Wisconsin, Andrew started to call them up one by one.
“I spent about two weeks calling each one of those people and just saying, ‘Hey, this is what God’s putting on my heart.
I just wanted to see if this is something that you’ve ever thought about. If this is something that you’d be interested in being a part of,’” says Andrew. “Probably over half of them had responses along the lines of ‘That’s wild that you’re calling me right now because this is exactly what God’s been putting on my heart.’”
The chapter launched its first annual Wisconsin Campout in October of 2025. With 36 people from both the Wisconsin and Michigan chapters, the group braved freezing temperatures to spend time together surfing and worshipping.
“It’s really cool to see the way that God has already provided so many people who love Jesus and love surfing,” says Andrew. “I couldn’t be in a lineup of 20 people without 18 of them talking to the Lord.”
Moving forward, the chapter has exciting plans for 2026. CS Wisconsin hosts evening bonfires on the first Sunday of the month, as well as breakfast bonfires every third Tuesday.
To learn more about the Wisconsin chapter or the Northeast region, click here.