What is a Mariners Ministry Dog?  Experienced therapy dogs used to serve along side existing Mariners Church ministries to help people feel welcome, to encourage participation and to help people experience unconditional love.

Mariners Ministry Dogs are real party animals.  The Ministry Dogs attend most every event for kids at Mariners.  They celebrate the monthly birthday parties sponsored by Miracles in Motion. They also serve at many of the Lighthouse Special Events throughout the year.  Some of the events include Christmas Parties (Miracles in Motion, Learning Center and Foster Kids), Fall Bash (Miracles in Motion), Harvest Celebration, Easter Party, Hillview Acres Carnival, Mentoring Picnic, Vacation Bible School, the Pumpkin Patch outings (Learning Center and Miracles in Motion) and the Ministry Dogs also attend the children’s special needs class. 

Mariners Ministry Dogs volunteer at the Mariners camps including Royal Family Kids Camp (foster kids), the Miracles in Motion Camp (youth living in motels), and the Learning Center Kids Camp (at-risk inner-city kids), Leadership Extension Camp (foster teen ages 16-18) and Teen Leadership Camp (foster teen ages 12-15).

During camp, the Ministry Dog and handler provides comfort and companionship by sharing the dog with the campers.  The Ministry Dogs provide unconditional love to the campers.  They also encourage campers to stay engaged with the camp activities. Ministry Dogs are used to help maintain a calm in stressful situations.  Mariners Ministry Dogs help with the overall emotional well being of the campers and volunteers at camp. 

Throughout the school year the Ministry Dogs are kept busy by Learning Center kids reading books to the dogs.  The Reading Program is designed to encourage kids to read.  The dogs are attentive and breakdown some of the barriers/fears of reading out loud. 

Do I have to have a dog to volunteer?  Yes.

How do I get my dog certified as a Therapy Dog?  The dogs need to be Therapy Dogs International (TDI) certified.  The TDI website www.tdi-dog.org has information on how to get your dog certified.  Your dog has to be friendly with people (kids and adults) and animals (other dogs).  Experience as a Certified Therapy Dog (Therapy Dogs International) is advised.   The dog is tested on temperament, obedience and health.  Once TDI certified contact Roy Gerber via This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 714-655-1242.