About Us

The International Seafarers Ministry has a three-pronged ministry approach to maximize our contact with the sailors. We visit the sailors aboard the ships, offer transportation to the shopping areas of the Charleston metroplex, and offer hospitality, phones, and internet access at our ministry center.

Ship Visits

We make a point of trying to visit each ship that comes into port at the terminals on the Cooper River during the week. We take books, magazines, devotional material, and New Testaments/Bibles in over 60 languages to give to the sailors. We also sell international phone cards so that they can contact their friends and families back home.

Transportation

We provide transportation from the terminals to shopping areas and back. We accept donations for this service, but we do not require them.

Center

At the center, we provide a comfortable, safe place to relax. The seafarers can use their phone cards to call home without the fees assessed by pay phones. They can also use the internet free of charge to check e-mail or get news from home. We also have cable television, table soccer, and karaoke.

By the Numbers

	July	2010
# of Ships in Port (M-F - Holidays)	45	353
# of Ship Visits*	46	374
# of Ships Visited	45	352
# of Sailors Transported	116	771
# of Nationalities Encountered	37	77
# of NT/Tracts Given (# of Lang)	39/1 (15)	497/18 (46)

* This stat is the number of days on which the ship was visited. Multiple trips to the same ship on the same day count as 1 visit.

	2007	2008	2009
# of Ships in Port	1068	1070	957
# in Port M-F	849	752	788
# in Port M-F - Holidays		687	720
# of Ship Visits*	631	698	757
# of Ships Visited	576	661	711
# of Sailors Transported	1337	1156	1533
# of Nationalities Encountered	60	73	75
# of NT/Tracts Given(# of Lang)	1408/174 (44)	921/38 (47)	948/70 (50)
# of Christmas Caps Given	5870	10300	8647

* This stat is the number of days on which the ship was visited. Multiple trips to the same ship on the same day count as 1 visit.

International Seafarers Ministry

A Ministry of the Charleston Baptist Association