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200 Years at Mokuaikaua Church Preserving a Beacon of Faith in Kailua Village By Fern Gavelek
The first Christian church established in the
Hawaiian Islands lives on today as an active and caring fellowship called Mokuaikaua Church. Founded in 1820, the church is commemorating its 200th anniversary with a massive preservation of its landmark church building in the heart of Kailua-Kona. Missionary Arrival Inspired by Henry ‘Opūkaha‘ia The church was founded in 1820 by Reverend Asa Thurston and his wife Lucy who arrived that year in Kailua-Kona on the brig Thaddeus. The couple was among 14 American Protestant missionaries who sailed on a five-and-a-half-month voyage to the Hawaiian Islands to spread the Christian faith. These missionaries were inspired by the zeal and memoirs of Henry ‘Opūkaha‘ia, one of the first native Hawaiians to become a Christian. A student at the Foreign Mission
School in Connecticut, Henry showed promise in 1817 as a future evangelist for his people back in Hawai‘i. Tragically, the aspiring seminarian died of typhoid fever at the age of 26 before spreading the gospel in Hawai‘i. The Memoirs of Henry ‘Opūkaha‘ia, a small book about his life and philosophies, was published within a year of his death to benefit the mission school. The book circulated throughout New England and prompted others to go to Hawai‘i in Henry’s stead. Establishing a Site for Worship After arriving in Hawai‘i, the missionaries were given an area to worship by
KeOlaMagazine.com | November-December 2020
Bedecked with garland for the holidays, the 1910 memorial arch standing at the entrance of the church grounds commemorates the arrival of the first missionaries in 1820. photo courtesy Mokuaikaua Church
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