Wild Faith: A Guide to Finding God and Community in the Great Outdoors
There’s a moment that happens by the sea.
You know it.
The wind’s doing that thing where it messes up your hair and somehow clears your head at the same time. The tide is halfway out. Gulls are arguing about chips. The horizon just keeps going. And something in you loosens. Shoulders drop. Breathing slows. The noise inside quiets down enough for you to notice it’s been noisy for a while.
And right there—without a stained-glass window in sight—you feel it.
This feels holy.
For a lot of people, this is where God makes sense. Not in pews. Not in programmes. Not under fluorescent lights. But here. On a beach. In a forest. On a paddleboard drifting a little further than you meant to.
If that’s you—if you’d describe yourself as spiritual-but-not-religious, curious-but-cautious, open-but-done-with-institutions—then you’re not broken. You’re normal. You’re paying attention. Some people call this Wild Faith.
This is the heartbeat behind Ocean Church. We are an Outdoor Church in the UK, rooted on the Dorset coast around Poole and Bournemouth. We’re part of a growing wild Church movement, but more than that, we’re people trying to live faith as a way of life—salt-stung, wind-shaped, shared around tables, campfires and kayaks.
So grab a coffee. Let’s talk about why the wild keeps calling us—and why God so often meets us there.
The Theology of the Wild
Why God keeps showing up outside
Long before anyone built a church, God was already outside.
Walking in gardens. Speaking from burning bushes. Meeting people in deserts, storms, mountains, and fishing boats. Jesus does most of his teaching not from behind a lectern but while walking, eating, climbing hills, crossing water.
There’s an old idea called “thin places.” It comes from Celtic spirituality, and it’s the sense that in certain places the veil between heaven and earth feels… thinner. Easier to breathe through. Less defended.
Maybe it’s because they’re edges. Land meets sea. Solid meets fluid. Control meets surrender. You can’t dominate the ocean—you can only respond to it. Which already puts you in the right posture for prayer.
There’s also the ancient idea of the “Book of Nature.” Alongside scripture, creation itself tells the story of God. The psalms are full of it:
“The heavens declare the glory of God…” Psalm 19:1
Not explain. Not argue. Declare.
Nature doesn’t try to convince you of anything. It just is. And in being what it is, it points beyond itself.
Theologians like Augustine talked about this centuries ago. Modern thinkers keep circling back to it. And honestly, I reckon surfers feel it everyday. I know for me, the most spiritual place I can be is among the waves.
Out there, you’re small—but not insignificant. Held—but not controlled. Known—but not managed. The apostle Paul speaks about it. He says
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people were without excuse.” Romans 1:20
That’s theology you can feel in your body.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Thin Places or Coastal Spirituality]
The Three Rhythms
Faith as habits, not hype
At Ocean Church, we’re not just trying to run events that you attend. We’re trying to practice a way of life you can actually live.
Our programme is pretty stripped down so we can focus on three rhythms. Simple. Repeatable. Human.
Not rules. Rhythms.
Rhythm 1: The Table (community and food)
Eating together like it matters
A surprising amout of important things in the Bible happen around food.
Jesus eats with friends. With enemies. With people everyone else avoids. He cooks breakfast on a beach after the resurrection. He turns meals into moments where people feel seen.
Eating together slows us down. It puts us eye-to-eye. It reminds us that faith is physical—hands passing bread, mugs clinking, kids interrupting conversations.
In a culture obsessed with speed and productivity, shared meals are quietly rebellious.
At Ocean Church, this might look like:
Beach breakfasts after a cold-water dip
Fish and chips eaten off car boots
Soup flasks passed around on a windy headland
BBQs where nobody’s in charge and everyone brings something
This is church.
Not the talk about love—the practice of it.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Eating Together / Table Rhythms]
Rhythm 2: Creation (meeting God outdoors)
Meeting God where you already feel alive
This is the rhythm most people recognise first.
Surfing. Hiking. Swimming. Walking the dog in Hamworthy Park. Sitting quietly on a paddleboard while the river moves underneath you.
This isn’t about adding “spiritual content” to outdoor activities. It’s about noticing that God is already there, waiting for you to catch up.
We encourage people to meet with God outside as regularly as possible.
Jesus regularly withdrew to lonely places. Not to escape people, but to meet with the faither, remember who he was and why he was doing what he was doing.
Nature does that to us. It strips away the performance. The noise. The curated versions of ourselves.
You don’t need fancy words. Sometimes prayer is just breathing with the tide. Sometimes it’s naming what you’re carrying. Sometimes it’s silence that says more than sentences ever could.
This is nature-based spirituality that doesn’t float away from real life—it roots you deeper into it.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Prayer Outdoors or Blue Space Spirituality]
Rhythm 3: Household (we aren’t solo adventurers)
Faith where life actually happens
For a lot of people, faith feels like something you go to. A place. A time slot. A thing you attend.
We’re more interested in faith you live with.
Households are where real formation happens. Around bedtime routines. Over school runs. During arguments and reconciliations. In laughter. In exhaustion.
In the early church, faith spread through homes long before it had buildings. Stories were told at tables. Prayers whispered over children. Hospitality was the engine of the movement.
This rhythm might look like:
A simple question at dinner: “Where did you notice God today?”
Lighting a candle once a week and sitting quietly together
Blessing your kids before school
Saying grace without making it weird
No pressure. No perfection. Just presence.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Faith at Home / Household Worship]
Community Beyond the Pew
Adventure Church and shared life
We don’t do rows. We do circles. And sometimes wetsuits.
Ocean Church is part of a wider movement exploring Christian community and adventure—faith formed through shared experiences rather than passive consumption.
So yes, we surf. We hike. We paddle. We swim. We eat outdoors. We get rained on. We laugh when plans change.
But the point isn’t adrenaline.
The point is togetherness.
Adventure does something powerful. It levels people. You don’t care what someone does for work when you’re both cold and trying to light a stove. You don’t hide behind titles when you’re sharing snacks on a cliff path.
This is Alternative Church for people who don’t want to opt out of faith—but don’t fit the mould either.
Church in Poole doesn’t have to mean bricks and bells. Sometimes it looks like sandy feet and a shared flask.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Adventure Church or Ocean Church Gatherings]
Stewards of the Coast
Why care for Dorset is sacred work
If creation is a gift, then looking after it isn’t optional—it’s relational.
The Dorset coast has shaped us. The chalk cliffs. The changing tides. The fragile ecosystems just beneath the surface of Poole Harbour.
Loving a place means taking responsibility for it.
For us, environmental care isn’t a political add-on. It’s a spiritual response. Picking up litter. Respecting wildlife. Teaching kids to leave only footprints.
The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city where heaven and earth overlap. Stewardship sits right in the middle.
When we care for the coast, we’re practicing gratitude. We’re saying, This matters. This is sacred.
And honestly? The sea has taught us humility better than any sermon ever could.
[Placeholder: Link to blog post on Creation Care or Environmental Stewardship]
So… What Now?
An invitation into Wild Faith
If you’ve ever felt closer to God watching the sun sink into the sea than sitting in a service…
If you’ve ever wondered whether faith could be simpler, truer, more embodied…
If you’re longing for community that doesn’t ask you to leave half of yourself at the door…
Then maybe this is your next step.
Not into a building—but into a rhythm.
Not into certainty—but into trust.
Not away from faith—but deeper into it.
Wild Faith isn’t about escaping the world. It’s about inhabiting it fully. With wonder. With courage. With others.
The tide’s always moving.
The invitation’s always there.
Come and see.
Ocean Church is an Outdoor Church in the UK, rooted on the Dorset coast. If you’re looking for an alternative church community shaped by nature, adventure, and shared life, come and join us on our next adventure.
