Written By: Priscilla Burr
Photos By: Reed Burr
On the East Coast of Florida, some of the premier and more well-known surf destinations are Cocoa Beach (hometown of six-time WSL champion, Kelly Slater) and New Smyrna Beach (ranked among the top surf towns in America). Within the last two years, Christian Surfers United States (CSUS) has relaunched chapters in these areas.
“These two chapters are in some of the most important surf towns in Florida,” says Jacob Galura, Southeast Regional Coordinator. “NSB is a hotbed for competitive surfing, and the Space Coast is full of up-and-coming talent as well as the hometown of some surf legends. We have been praying for the Lord to raise up teams in both of these communities, and we are so excited to see these chapters start going for it this year. Immediately, we have seen doors open for partnership within the surf community and massive support from local churches. We are so expectant to see what God will do in Central Florida through these two amazing chapters.”
Christian Surfers United States (CSUS) sat down with leaders from both chapters to learn more about their relaunches.
New Smyrna Beach
While the New Smyrna Beach chapter has been around for a while, the chapter held a soft launch in the fall of 2024 with new leadership, Justin Laird and Hunter Lee, with the help of their spouses. Justin and Hunter started by assembling a team and partnering with a local church. In April of 2025, they held their first event, a bonfire, with more than 50 people showing up.
How often are your chapter meetings?
Hunter: “We’re trying to do a meeting at least once a month. We had a bonfire, we did a paddle out, and then we did beach cleanups.”
Justin: “The chapter does, however, have spontaneous surf meet-ups when the surf is good, and we will often meet up at a local restaurant for wings on Wednesdays. We have surf meetups a couple of times a week. It’s a great way to start the week.”
Where does your chapter meet?
Justin: “The inlet is one of the more prominent surf spots across the entire East Coast. So we usually meet there when it comes to group gatherings and bonfires. We meet at a place called Saphire Park, which has a big parking lot.”
How are you meeting the need in your community?
Justin: “We are finding that there is a decent amount of transplants here – people who move here. People are looking for not just a church, not just an organization to meet with, they want a community to keep them on the right path. Christian Surfers is like the bridge to that community – a bridge to church, a bridge to growing your faith and believing in the book we love called the Bible.”
What are your goals for this next year?
Hunter: “We want to try to be more consistent, even if nobody shows up one week. That’s going to be our goal to be successful in the next few years.”
Justin: “We want to do a mission trip every year. We’re looking at one in January to the Dominican Republic just for our chapter. We want an annual surf trip that we can invite the local community to. I think some surfers will be attracted to that, whether or not they are Christian.”
How can we be praying for your chapter?
Justin: “Pray that things keep going on the right path – that we keep growing and that we stay consistent. We kind of lost steam last year. We had a lot of great ideas, but with no real action behind them. Now, we are on fire, and we want to keep that fire burning. We also need prayer for God to soften the hearts of the surfers in this region.”
Hunter: “That the Lord will continue to provide for Christian Surfers because we use a lot of resources like the Surfers Bibles and magazines. We tend to give those out.”
Do you feel like surfers in your region are open to the gospel?
Justin: “They are open to it, but they are not going to church. If the surf is good on Sunday mornings, they are definitely not walking through the doors of a church. A lot of surfers are into worldly things, and they are looking for something. They are soul-searching. Whether they know it or not, there are people in the water who can help them. They are searching for something, so we can at least be a bridge and lead them in the right direction.”
Space Coast
The Space Coast chapter spans from Cape Canaveral to Indialantic, Florida. For the past eight years, the area has been without a chapter, yet it is the hometowns of world-famous surfers, Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach) and Caroline Marks (Melbourne Beach). The chapter officially relaunched on Sunday, March 1, with a leadership team of nine individuals, including Doug and Lindsay Hodak. On their first chapter gathering, a young boy came to Christ.
How did you get involved with CS?
Doug: “A couple of years ago, our kids got interested in surfing. I knew nothing about surfing. I started searching for where I could send my kids, with someone I trust, and Christian Surfers came up. We were living in South Carolina, and we got connected with Kyle Sullivan. But we never got connected with a chapter and kind of moved on. When we moved to Florida, my daughter was watching a surf show, Surf Girls International, and they mentioned Christian Surfers. So I started to look into it, and that’s how it all started. I reached out to the National Office, and they connected me with Jacob.”
Lindsay: “There are many people that we’ve met that have been very thankful that we’re back in the area.”
Where does your chapter meet?
Lindsay: “Currently, we are meeting every Sunday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. We meet at Paradise Beach. You’ll see the CS tent and flag if you are on the beach.”
Doug: “Our first meeting, we had 28. In our second meeting, we had 44. Our last meeting had a lot of teenagers but the majority of our group is in their 20s and 30s. We have also done two other events. We went up to Cocoa to a restaurant for free pancake day. We handed out calendar cards to let everyone know we were starting a chapter. We also did an event with Sober Surfers, where we set up our tent to meet people and pray with them. Every month, we are going to be at the ESA Central Surf competitions to pray with people.”
What are your chapter meetings like?
Doug: “We gather at the beach. We pray together, and then go out for a surf. For those who don’t surf, we walk the beach and hand out the little Costco water bottles and tell people who we are and what we are doing. At four, we do a Bible chat. So from two to four, it’s a type of evangelism. At four, under the tent, we introduce our team, what we do and our purpose. Then someone prays, and someone speaks for 10 minutes. We do stories of hope or discovery Bible lessons. Then, we ask five questions to engage everyone and pray. We always share the gospel and reintroduce the team, so if anybody has any questions about Jesus, they can go to a team member.”
Linday: “We also do free lessons. That’s been a big thing. We’ve got a lot of people coming back because we offer free lessons.”
What’s the heart behind your chapter?
Doug: “When our team first met, I told them this is an evangelistic opportunity for us here on the Space Coast to share the gospel. In every leadership meeting, we go through the mission statement of Christian Surfers. We have done training with team members on how to share the gospel and to give a one-minute testimony.”
What are your goals for this next year?
Doug: “We want to see our local chapter grow and be healthy, as well as our leaders. We want to get to a point where we can, at least once a month or every week, start something in Cocoa Beach this year. We want to do a fundraiser through a surf competition. We are also reaching out to local wave pools to see if we can get in touch with them and partner with them. And we want to build relationships with beachside churches.”
How can we be praying with you?
Doug: “We want to be able to connect with other surf businesses and to help get the word out about us in the surfing community. And for our team to continue to desire to make Christ known and to be bold in sharing their faith.”
For more information about the Southeast Region, click here.