Not Just A Wave in Fiji

Jeff Langley loves to surf. In fact, after a snowboarding mishap two winters back, he vowed to never hit the slops again since a broken wrist kept him from his beloved waves for two whole months. He has between four and six surfboards that are always rotating, selling one just to get another, and I would never put it past him to drive over an hour for the perfect break when Del Mar is only 20 minutes away. He has multiple tattoos and can normally be found wearing flip-flops and board shorts year-round. Did I mention that he is a pastor too?

Cloudbreak Church started back in 2006 with just two families, meeting at a local elementary school just outside of San Diego, California.[1] They strive to redefine perceptions of Christianity one relationship at a time. To them, advertising is not just billboards and television spots, but interactions between individuals.

When asked where the name came from, Jeff responded with, “Well it’s a wave in Fiji.” It figures that he would name it such, but the conversation that followed is a story of dedication and growth that goes far beyond surfing or southern Californian culture.

Like learning to surf on a bright and rather embarrassing foam-board, Cloudbreak began with just an itching idea and a passion to push forward. Jeff and his family were living in the Dominican Republic when he felt led to start a church. It was only natural that he returned to where he grew up. What few may recognize is that San Diego is constantly ranked among the top most “unchurched” cities in the United States. Some statistics cite that only 1 in 20 people identify themselves with any form of organized religion at all. Those first few years of fundraising and preparation tossed them around in the whitewash, but eventually they paddled out.

Today, Cloudbreak has over 100 members regularly attending each Sunday. Although waves may seem constant, they are continually changing. These members seem to rotate out with the season as well. As families move away, new ones move in to take their place, each one lured in by talks of a “secret spot” with unrivaled potential. The wave of a lifetime. The secret is a community, not just a sense of it, but a real bond between each other.

The first summer that I worked for Jeff, he gave me my first surfboard as a “thank-you” before I went back to Texas. A family in the church gave me a rent-free room for an entire month. The following summer I had families fighting over who would get to keep me. When my car got broken into, the church not only paid to fix my window but also helped to buy me a new laptop to replace the stolen one. There was never a shortage of home-cooked meals or a single lonely night. What’s even more extraordinary is that this behavior was absolutely ordinary.

Too often advertisers focus their efforts on promotion of the product instead of the product itself. If I tried to sell you on the idea that you could take on Cloudbreak after a few lessons at Del Mar, you would be an idiot to believe me. A campaign is only worth as much as the product that it’s backing. Churches are only worth as much as the people whom form them.

When Cloudbreak Church set out to change perceptions, they succeeded. Maybe not with thousands of new members, but with an authenticity that is unsurpassed. Everything they do in life in some way relates back to their mission, making advertising a natural extension of everyday life. They have a fluidity about it that helps them to glide down the wave with ease.

Even Jeff’s tattoos add to the story. On one shoulder is a picture of his wife that he uses to constantly brag on her, and on the other is a wave with a cross inside, the logo of the church, with his two kids’ names in script around it. When Jeff surfs, people know what he stands for both in and out of the lineup.

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[1] http://www.cloudbreaksd.com/story.php

YouTube Video: BillabongXXL. (2010). David scard at cloudbreak – ride of the year entry in billabong xxl big wave awards [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsGXhwXbWEY&feature=player_embedded