WHERE WE WORSHIP
Makiki Christian Church touches all ages
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Faith Editor
Name of church: Makiki Christian Church.
Our denomination: United Church of Christ
Where we are: 829 Pensacola St.
Our numbers: About 600 attend the Sunday English- and Japanese-language services.
Our pastors: The Rev. Wayne Ibara, senior pastor; the Rev. Don Asman, interim English ministry pastor; the Rev. Saku Kuroda, Japanese ministry pastor.
What's special about us: The architecture, for one. The church, designed after a castle in the Kochi prefecture in Japan, was built in 1932 as a symbol of God's strength and protection.
What we believe: The mission statement from 2002 says in part: "We are a family of faith called by God to be the body of Christ and sent by the power of the Holy Spirit into the world to continue the ministry of Jesus."
This is a seven-day-a-week church, with activities and ministries that touch all ages, according to the Rev. Asman, from its pre-school, to its Hope Fellowship for seniors, and everything in between.
"Our prayer ministry is outstanding," he said. "We have given birth to two congregations, Kailua Christian Church and Hawaii Kai United Church of Christ, and have sent several missionaries abroad. We are constantly growing in our faith journey; Bible study and training in discipleship are a regular part of our life; 20 new believers were baptized at Magic Island on Easter morning, in a joint Japanese-English language service."
There's a strong evangelical component here, with a new Bible study and ministry emphasis, he adds.
Our history: At age 29, Takie Okumura of Japan set sail for Hawai'i in 1894. Initially appointed to serve as minister of the Japanese Christian Church, the predecessor to today's Nu'uanu Congregational Church, Okumura left there in 1902 to establish a church in the eastern Honolulu area that would serve Japanese immigrants working in the sugar plantations. Two years later, Okumura held his first service in Japanese in a small rented cottage; and within a year, the first Makiki Christian Church was constructed at the corner of Kina'u and Pensacola Streets with a 400-member congregation. The new building, designed after a Japanese castle, was built in 1932.
This was followed by a social hall and classrooms, and then in 1960 with a Christian Education Building.
Before he died in 1951, Okumura also established the Okumura Boys and Girls Home, which provided young men and women affordable housing; he started the first Japanese-language school and the first AJA baseball league.
What we're excited about: The free exhibit "Living in the Light with the Hawaii Community" opens at noon today at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i gallery. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: Brandon Hayashi, 945-7633, ext. 33.
Contact: 594-6446, or www.makikichristianchurch.org.
If you would like to recommend a faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com or call 525-8035.
