Catherine & Michael Christensen

Catherine grew up on Vancouver Island, and had her first introduction to remote places and people on the coast through short-term missions trips during her Forest Science degree. This led to working fulltime with Coastal Missions for seven years, serving aboard the Coastal Messenger on the BC and Alaska coast. She stepped away to pursue a Nautical Science degree, obtaining her Watchkeeping Mate’s and Master’s 150 Tonne Certificates in 2022. When Coastal Missions retired at the end of 2022, Catherine took over running the mission boat for the next generation, directing Coastal Light Vessel Ministry as a project of International Messengers Canada. She balances this with a paying job working five months of the year as a navigation officer on bigger ships. Catherine loves to sing praise songs and play her violin, and rests by hiking in the forest, swimming in the ocean, or doing creative collage projects.

Michael came to the coast from Saskatchewan in 2009 to become a commercial diver. Diving took him around Vancouver Island, and he earned his 60 Tonne Ticket. In 2013, he purchased a 48-foot sailboat to further enjoy the islands and inlets from Seattle to Port Hardy. He brings a plethora of mechanical skills, puns, and a passion for radio and electronics. He is an asset to the crew because of how he sees God at work and his heart to serve people on the coast. Just one example of how God prepared him for this ministry is that in the early 2000's he took a John Deere engine overhaul course in the prairies on the same model of engine that is in the Coastal Messenger.

Michael met Catherine through Coastal Light Vessel Ministry when filling in as engineer for one voyage on the Coastal Messenger. It became obvious that God was calling Michael and Catherine into ministry and marriage together, and they tied the proverbial knot in 2024, with God at the centre.