God’s Will and the Ocean: Episode 22

God’s Will and the Ocean
True Father Speaks on: The Founding of Ocean Church, page 62-65
October 1, 1980, Morning Garden

Establishing a New Foundation

At this point, I feel that things have stabilized. From now on, there will be an increase in price. It is really up to us though. The question is, how fast can you build your own boat and how fast can you train yourself for fishing? We are going to produce 300 training boats to begin with. We will put them all around the three coasts of the United States. If you stay there all the time and go out every day for all the seasons, you will learn very quickly what goes on in that fishing area.

You can find enthusiastic young volunteers. They will be happy to learn about fishing. You can take them out and teach them. Then, you can also explain to them about Divine Principle while you are fishing. They won't mind. You can find young people like that, with a good nature and open mind. Whatever they catch with you they can keep. You can make friends with anyone this way. If you witness to five people and bring them in, you will get a second boat. You will receive one boat for each five people that you bring. If you expand to ten boats, which is fifty people, you can graduate to a stern trawler. We have already built such boats and you will see one today. A boat like this, eighty to ninety feet, would cost you one-half to one-third of a million dollars. That's a regular stern trawler. You can catch almost anything with it. I want you to go through the training course and someday be able to take responsibility for such a boat.

We will build 300 "Good Go" boats which we developed for tuna fishing. It is also an all purpose speed boat. At the same time, we have already begun to build thirty stern trawlers. We will organize like this: ten regions will receive ten boats each. In each region we will train the personnel to do the basic maintenance of these boats. Then, you will use the boats just like a school, to teach young people about the ocean. Also, a trailer goes with each boat, and one van for each region in order to haul the boats and maintain them. That will be your basic equipment. Eventually, each region should receive one stern trawler.

Next summer, when the tuna season comes, we will have all these boats assembled and ready to begin fishing in Gloucester. Next year, we will go out and stay out. We will have a mother ship, a supply boat where you can get food and evening meals. Only if there is going to be a storm will we come back. After the storm, we will go right back out again. We will develop that kind of training program. Then, the people of America will start to get our message. They will see how serious we are.

One problem is how to get those boats produced within one year. We should have thirty centers with ten boats each. That's 300 boats all around America. Each Ocean Church center should function as a church, and each boat is also a church. So, we have "boat church."

The center on land is the center for these boats. It is like the state center with the boats being smaller centers under its direction. Can you imagine starting off with all 300 boats up here in the bay? Imagine the service we would have! Likewise in your local region, all ten boats should go out, and you should gather around and have morning service on the ocean. After that, go out fishing. Then, when you come back in the evening, you should have a worship service on land. Keep that schedule every day. As soon as our thirty centers are open, we will spread the news that more than 600,000 dollars worth of boats is being invested in this area, all for the sake of reviving the fishing port.

All those interested in such activities can receive great benefit from our various programs. We can teach them without asking anything for catching the fish. We can also teach Divine Principle workshops. If you can get fifty or sixty people interested, you can begin to manage a stern trawler. The One Hope boats are for your training, but the stern trawler is more serious.

With that, you can create your economic foundation. And, you will provide the livelihood for those young people whom you have trained. You can put the best people on the waiting list, and when we finish building the training boat for them, they can be responsible for it. I don't think fifty people in each center is a real problem. We can send you the boats you need within the year. Those who are really smart and the best in many different abilities can receive a training boat. You have to evaluate them and recommend them accordingly. After training on the small boats, we can go out and fish from the stern trawlers. We can then sell the fish directly to the customers. In order for that to happen, we have to create a sales network. For the sisters who don't want to go way out on the ocean, they can sell fish to the homes directly. Just go out in the morning and come home in the evening.

Each region will have three trawlers; from those you can make your economic foundation. Catch the fish and sell the fish. You can do everything in your region. When your spiritual foundation is made, you can begin to make a substantial plan for your region, your local city and your own members.

Without a doubt, the fishing industry is declining. If the mayor and businessmen see such activities in their city, they will surely become interested in helping you. You have to make known to them what you are doing. Our small boats can be used for all kinds of things. We can offer ourselves as a supporting committee and use our boats to back up the work of the Coast Guard. We can offer these boats for many kinds of community service projects. If we continue like this we will develop real fishermen, something like the "heavenly marines."

We already have the small boats and we will develop thirty centers. Then, we will also build a sales network system. The business can help to support projects of the church, and through the business, you can support yourself. We will mobilize all our resources. We can sell the fish by van. Just do your job and bring in the people and train them and revitalize your community. This is the first phase.