SHIP MINISTRY
by Cristina Amato
GOD AT THE HELM
You’ve heard it said, ‘There can be only one captain of a ship.’ In the case of Logos Hope, the current captain is James Berry, whose home is in Nottingham; but the one steering the captain’s life – and the course of Logos Hope – is God Himself.
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Sometimes, what brings you here and what keeps you going are different stories,” James says.
of responsibility and many hard decisions to make that have a big impact on other people’s lives,” he says.
A sense of calling from God, which James felt compelled to be faithful to, first brought him aboard Logos II in 2006 as part of the deck team. An encounter with OM’s founder, George Verwer, one Sunday morning at a church in Cambridge – where James was in his final year studying Maths – started the process. Wondering what to do after graduating, the young man asked George several questions. In time, God led James to a growing conviction that he should commit his life to making God known, and that the Ship Ministry was where he could be used most significantly.
So what keeps him going now, especially amid the challenges and uncertainties posed by the coronavirus pandemic?
Fourteen years on, James continues to serve at sea! In 2019 he became the first British captain of Logos Hope, in charge of a crew numbering around 300 people. “There is a tremendous amount
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KNOWING I CAN TURN TO GOD While he describes himself as an independent person, James loves how God delights in His followers coming to Him for help. A favourite verse of scripture is ‘Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord’ (Lamentations 2:19) and this is exactly what the captain does. “When I struggle with something, I go out on deck and pray about it,” says James.
TAKING JOY IN THOSE AROUND ME “One of my great joys is seeing a team grow and accomplish new things,” James
