The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC) is a group of churches affiliated with the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

located in the U.S. state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and other pacific regions. Headquartered in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, it is made up of 138 churches on 11 islands in 6 Baptist associations.

History

Baptist work had its beginning in 1926 when Charles J. McDonald, a layman, started work in the town of

Wahiawa Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

with a

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

which eventually became the First Baptist Church of Wahiawa. A few Southern Baptist missionaries stopped in Hawaii for short periods of time between 1937 and 1938 but it was not until 1940, when all of the

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

were forced out of these countries, that the

International Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

(then known as the Foreign Mission Board) began thinking about opening work in these islands. As these first Baptist missionaries came and surveyed the islands, they concluded 6 percent of the people were nominally Christian. On December 12, 1940, the Hawaiian Mission of the

Foreign Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

was formally organized and Wahiawa church was the first church to affiliate. In 1941, the Olivet Baptist Church was constituted in Honolulu out of the work which was started by layman, Joseph Tyssowski. Southern Baptist missionary, Victor Koon, was called as the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Olivet. Twenty-four representatives (called messengers) from 5 churches (Wahiawa, Olivet, Nuuanu, Calvary and Waimea) met at the Baptist Bible School of Hawaii on July 12, 1943 and organized the Association of Baptist Churches of Hawaii. The work spread to the other islands. A group of Christians meeting as the Missionary Bible Church in Waimea,

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

, asked for help, and the Waimea Baptist Church was organized on this foundation in 1943. A Baptist

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

stationed on

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

began a mission which later became the Kahului Baptist Church. A

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

teacher, who was converted at the Olivet Baptist Church, began a Sunday School on the island of

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

at an unused

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

. This group became the

Kaunakakai Kaunakakai () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. It is the largest town on the island of Molokai. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. It has the largest port on the island and the longest pier ...

Baptist Church. Dr. and Mrs. Charles Leonard felt led to go to

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

, Hawaii, to open work there and were influential in starting the Kinoole Baptist Church. Churches were established on each of the main islands of Hawaii. Meeting in school buildings, groups of people studied the Bible, were converted and eventually constituted churches throughout six of the islands. With the help of the

Lottie Moon Charlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon (December 12, 1840 – December 24, 1912) was a Southern Baptist missionary to China with the Foreign Mission Board who spent nearly 40 years (1873–1912) living and working in China. As a teacher and evangelist s ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Offering,

sanctuaries A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sa ...

soon replaced these temporary meeting places. At the annual meeting of the Association of Baptist Churches of Hawaii, July 21 at Calvary Baptist Church, the organization's name was changed to Hawaii Baptist Convention. The

Baptist Student Union The Baptist Collegiate Network (BCN) is a college-level organization that can be found on many college campuses in the United States and Canada. Organizations These ministries are groups of students, faculty members and staff who are seeking t ...

formed in Manoa. The Baptist Bible School of Hawaii opened staffed by missionaries appointed by the Foreign Mission Board. The first issue of the Hawaii Baptist; was produced with Joe W. Bailey as volunteer editor. Two acres of land on Heulu Street at Liholiho was purchased for a Baptist

secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. The

Hawaii Baptist Academy Hawaii Baptist Academy (HBA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory primary and secondary Christian school that serves grades K-12 on three campuses. The school is governed by a board of directors elected by the executive board of the ...

opened its doors to its first students in 1949. Over 1,100 students are enrolled today from kindergarten through 12th grade. Two campuses are located in Nuuanu Valley on

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. A 16-acre campsite on the leeward coast of Oahu, the former home of the Waianae

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

manager, was purchased. It was named Puu Kahea Baptist Assembly, "Echoing Hills"; in Hawaiian. With the coming of

statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

to Hawaii, Foreign Mission Board support began to diminish in 1951 and the churches were challenged as never before to reach more adults, to increase in

stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...

, to grow in total dedication to the cause of Christ, and to continue in their missionary outreach. The North American Mission Board (reorganized from the Home Mission Board in 1997) and other agencies, have continued to help Hawaii Pacific Baptists' missions and ministry opportunities. In 1955 the first meeting of the HBC executive board met at the Baptist Student Center. The

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Baptist Academy began with 14 volunteer teachers. In 1979 Wayland Baptist College opened in Hawaii as their first campus outside of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In 1981 the College changed its name to Wayland Baptist University. In 1997 the name changed to the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention to represent the territories of the convention.

Doctrinal Beliefs

The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention currently affirms the Baptist Faith and Message of 1963 that is no longer adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention. During the 2010 state convention, a recommendation was presented to the messengers to amend the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention's Constitution, Article III, Statement of Faith. The change would read, "The Convention shall be founded on a fellowship based on the

Holy Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, Old and New Testaments. Specific doctrinal distinctives are identified in any historic or current Baptist Faith and Message adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention. As of the current Amended Date, any future revision of the Baptist Faith and Message must be reviewed and affirmed by the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention for adoption." The recommended amendment will go to a vote in 2011.

Presidents

* Dr. Victor Koon (1946-19??) * Dr. Chester R. Young, Sr. (1952-1954) * Pastor Ernest Mosley (1966-1967) * Dan Liu (1967-1968) * Mori Hiratani (1968-1970) * Dr. Daniel Hen Chong Kong (early 1970s) * Dr. W.C. Garland (1984-1986) * Cliff Hoff (1986-1988) * Donna Farr (1988-1990) * Pastor Kenneth Newman (1990-1992) * Paul Oyer (1992-1994) * Paul Kaneshiro (1994-1996) * George Moyer (1996-1998) * Pastor Steve Murphy (1998-2000) * George Iwahiro (2000–2002) * Pastor Dan Van Alstine (2002-2004) * Ken Sakai (2004–2006) * Pastor Duane McDaniel (2006-2007) * Pastor Robert Miller (2007–2009) * Walt Agena (2009–2011) * Pastor Steve Irvin (2011–2013) * Pastor Alberto Camacho (2013-2015) * Pastor John Endriss (2015-2017)

Associations

HPBC affiliate churches are organized in six associations.

Big Island Baptist Association

Churches affiliated with the BIBA include: * Cornerstone Christian Fellowship * Cornerstone Christian Fellowship North Kona * Cornerstone Christian Fellowship South Kona * Faith Baptist Mission * First Baptist Church of Waimea * Hamakua Baptist Church * Hilo Baptist Church * Hilo Korean Christian Church * Kaumana Drive Baptist Church * Kinoole Baptist Church * Kohala Baptist Church * Kona Baptist Church * Ocean View Filipino * Ocean View Baptist Mission * Pahala Baptist Bible Mission * Paradise Park Church * Puna Baptist Church * Puuanahulu Baptist Church * Sonshine Baptist Mission * Waiakea Uka Bible Church * Waikoloa Baptist Church

Garden Island Baptist Association

* Lihue Baptist Church * Waimea Baptist Church

Guam Baptist Association

Calvary Baptist Church Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

, Tamuning, Guam * Chuukese Christian Fellowship * Guam First Baptist Church, Tamuning, Guam * Marianas Baptist Church, Agat, Guam * Saipan Good Baptist Church (located on

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsSaipan Good Baptist Church
* Tamuning Christian Fellowship, Tamuning, Guam * Yigo Mission

Maui County Baptist Association

* Kaanapali Beach Ministries * Kahului Baptist Church * Kaunakakai Baptist Church * Kihei Baptist Chapel * Lahaina Baptist Church * Lanai Baptist Church * Maui First Korean Baptist Church * Maui Philippine Baptist Church * Pukalani Baptist Church * Valley Isle Fellowship

Oahu Baptist Network

* Abundant Life Christian Fellowship * Agape Mission Baptist Church * Aina Haina Baptist Church * All Nations Fellowship * All People Mission Church * Antioch Baptist Church of Hawaii * Bethel Korean Baptist Church * Central Baptist Church * Chinese Baptist Church * Cornerstone Fellowship * Cornerstone Korean Baptist Church * Dong Tam Baptist Church * Enchanted Lake Baptist Church * Ewa Beach Baptist Church * Faith Baptist Church * Fellowship Baptist Church * Filipino International Baptist Church * First Baptist Church Haleiwa * First Baptist Church of Nanakuli * First Baptist Church of Pearl City * First Baptist Church of Wahiawa * First Baptist Church of Waimanalo * First Southern Baptist Church of Pearl Harbor * Halawa Heights Baptist Church * Haleiwa Filipino Mission * Hawaii Bhansok Baptist Church * Hawaii Chinese Baptist Church * Hawaii Christian Baptist Church * Hawaii Hope Mission Baptist Church * Hawaii Kai Church * Honolulu Russian Baptist Church * Iglesia Amistad * International Baptist Fellowship * Kahaluu Baptist Church * Kailua Baptist Church * Kailua First Korean Baptist Church * Kalihi Baptist Church * Khemaras Center * Korean Baptist Church of Pearl Harbor * Korean Baptist Church of Waikiki * Makaha Valley Chapel * Makakilo Baptist Church * Mililani Baptist Church * Mililani Fil-Am Baptist Church * Mililani Korean Baptist Church * Mt. Kaala Baptist Church * Mountain View Community Church * New Community Baptist Church * New Covenant Baptist Church * New Life Christian Church * North Windward Baptist Chapel * Nuuanu Baptist Church * Nuuanu Chuukese Congregation * Ohana Mission Baptist Church * OlaNui! * Olive Baptist Church * Olivet Baptist Church * Pali View Baptist Church * Palisades Baptist Church * Pawaa Community Church * The Gathering * University Avenue Baptist Church * Village Park Baptist Church * Waialae Baptist Church * Waianae Baptist Church * Waikiki Baptist Church * Waipahu Community Christian * Waipio Community Baptist Church * West Oahu Community Church

South Pacific Baptist Association

* Emmanuel Baptist Church * Fagalii Baptist Church * Falemuaga Baptist Church * Faleniu Baptist Church * First Chinese Baptist Church of American Samoa * Happy Valley Baptist Church * Pago Pago Baptist Church * Samoa Korean Baptist Church * Seafarers' Christian Fellowship * Tafuna Baptist Church

Asia Baptist Network

* Koza Baptist Church (Okinawa, Japan) * Seoul International Baptist Church (S. Korea) * Songtan Central Baptist Church (S. Korea) * Tokyo Baptist Church (Japan) * Yokohama International Baptist Church (Japan)

Affiliated Organizations

: A Christ-centered K-12 education ministry to children * Puu Kahea Conference Center: the conference center offers retreat and educational opportunities for churches and other organizations *

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas (Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six ...

: To educate students (undergraduate and graduate) in an academically challenging, learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning, and service to God and humankind.

References

External links

HPBC Official Website

Hawaii Baptist Academy Website

Oahu Baptist Network Website
{{Christianity in Hawaii Baptist Christianity in Hawaii Baptist denominations established in the 20th century Christianity in American Samoa Christianity in Guam Christian organizations established in 1943 Christianity in the Northern Mariana Islands 1943 establishments in Hawaii