WHERE WE WORSHIP
Waipi'o church offers spiritual rest
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Faith Editor
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| Waipio Community Baptist Church choir members celebrated their faith with song and music during a recent Sunday service. Many see the church as a healing place.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Our affiliation: Southern Baptist Convention, based in Nashville; Hawai'i Pacific Baptist Convention, based in Honolulu
Where we are: 94-1210 Waipi'o Uka Blvd.
Our numbers: About 70 attend weekly worship services, held 10:15 a.m. every Sunday
Our pastor: Stephen Sanders, who completed seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and was ordained in 1989 by Waipio Community Baptist Church.
"(Ordination) is something that's usually done by the church that calls you to your first pastorate," said Sanders, who also served as an associate pastor in churches in Wai'anae and East Texas.
What's special about us: Described as a small, casual and informal church, Waipio Community Baptist Church is made up of members who consider themselves to be a real family.
"In fact, one of our sayings when we have a (new) guest is: 'You're a guest this time, but after this we want you to feel like a part of our family, so that we can minister to you and you can minister to us,'" Sanders said.
Ministries are family-oriented, including a preschool established in the fall of 1989, a weekday early education ministry that serves about 38 children.
The church also accepts people "where they are," Sanders said, meaning without regard for whatever problems they may have. "We've come to be known as a church of healing ... where people can come and find rest spiritually and emotionally."
Our history: "This church is the vision of three churches in the area: First Baptist Church of Wahiawa, Mililani Baptist Church and the First Baptist Church of Pearl City, as well as the Hawai'i Pacific Baptist Convention," Sanders said. "Each of the three congregations helped to form our church."
The church started with Bible studies in various homes in 1987. Members began meeting in Kanoelani Elementary School in the spring of 1988. Construction of the building was completed in September 1988 and Sanders was called to serve as pastor in March 1989.
What we believe: "First of all, we believe that man has fallen and is in need of a savior," said Sanders, who identified the savior as Jesus. Through a personal relationship with Jesus, which means accepting his atoning work, members believe they will have salvation "not only for eternity, but ... freedom from the sin that besets us on a day-to-day basis."
Members of the church, along with others who cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention and Hawai'i Pacific Baptist Convention, follow the Baptist Faith and Message, a statement adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention. Members believe that the Bible is God's word and that it is infallible. The two sacraments are communion, which is celebrated every three months, and baptism. Baptists believe in the baptism of believers (rather than the baptism of infants).
Baptist churches are autonomous and the ordination process among each church varies. Churches of the Southern Baptist Convention do not ordain gay individuals, but churches that choose to ordain women and married people may do so. While Waipio Community Baptist Church ordains married people, it does not ordain women.
What we're excited about: In September the church will begin its Bible club for students in preschool through high school. Participants will meet every Friday night. In October the church will hold its annual Halloween carnival.
Contact: Call 676-9397 or e-mail waipiocbc@aol.com.
If you would like to recommend a faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8035 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Ho-nolulu, HI 96802.
