Connection Point Church of the Nazarene

Aloha Church Family, Below are some of our specific responses to the virus outbreak in order to love well in this season. Take a few moments to read and enjoy our Midweek Moment video to check in on each other. Now is a great time to use your phone to call around or text each other. We need each other now more than ever! -  For the next 2 weeks, all face to face Connection Groups and worship are cancelled.  For Connection Groups, it will be up to the individual leader if they want to meet via video chat, send out devotional materials instead, or simply cancel. For Sunday worship, we will be gathering a small team to put together a service Sundays at 10:30 AM over on  Facebook Live  and we will work to upload the service  here on the website  afterwards. Please join us online with your household.  -  For  Food Pantry and God’s Closet  the last 2 Sundays of the month at 12:00 PM , we will be doing deliveries to our regular clients from within the congregation on Saturday/Sunday, a

In 3 years a lot can happen. The Savior of the world can come among us, begin ministry in his hometown of Nazareth (and subsequently almost get thrown off a cliff for it). In 3 years, Jesus can call a group of unlikely disciples to come and follow Him. They can follow Him around into homes, conversations, and places that good Jews should and shouldn't be. In 3 years, truth can be both taught and demonstrated, and in turn lives can be changed. People can spread the word about this Jesus and wonder just exactly who he is. In 3 years, Jesus can forge deep relationships with some, yet others can draw deep battle lines against him. A lot can happen in 3 years. We all know the patterns of humanity that deep battle lines often culminate in violence and death. You may also know that at the end of approximately 3 years of Jesus walking among us in the Middle East that's precisely what happened. He was killed and placed in a tomb.  This brief stint of ministry is an unfortunat

This week is book-ended by some of the best moments of the Church: the gathering and the sending of believers. The week began by gathering last Friday/Saturday at Kona Nazarene with students in the district Course of Study, pastors, and some family members for the second weekend of a class. The course was, "Practicing Wesleyan Holiness Spiritual Formation," and is part of the requirements to be ordained as a Nazarene pastor. We discussed some of the rhythms the Church, and Jesus Christ Himself, have used to meet with God and to be formed by His Spirit. It takes about a 2-hour drive to get to Kona Nazarene from our church to give you some perspective on how BIG the Big Island is...and no, that's not sitting in traffic like Oahu. It was certainly worth it though! This year, we've been piloting a new format for our district classes. We offer each of the 25 required classes in a part 1 and part 2 format over 2 weekends, on 3 of the Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Maui, and th

Over the last few months, we have felt the overwhelming need for compassionate ministries in our area and feel God's heart aching for His children who are in need.   As a church, the Lord has led us into a specific time of fasting and prayer for direction on how we should be faithfully responding to this great need. This season should not be the only time you pray or fast, but we encourage you to join us in prayer and fasting for God's guidance. We would ask you, whether you're a part of our local congregation or the global body of Christ, to follow the instructions of Christ when it comes to fasting and prayer: Matthew 6:5-13,16-18 5  “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.  6  But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees

It's been a hot summer here, that's at least what I've concluded from my vast 3-summer life experience here in Hawai'i. The jury's still out from those who've lived here their whole lives regarding this statement.  And then last night...it started raining. Each time, you hear it coming as it begins hitting metal roofs of houses all around us, the sound crescendoing until the sprinkling meets our own roof. Props to the previous pastors for fixing this parsonage roof that apparently used to leak a LOT. Props to several of our current congregants for getting our sanctuary to FINALLY stop leaking. I can enjoy the rain now without anxiety of interior-lakes forming.  A shot from the parsonage on a particularly rainy day... As the rain washed over Puna throughout the night and through most of today, I have been grateful for both the cooling and quieting affect rain seems to have here. To me, a rainy day here feels like a snowy day in the Midwest. You can&#

In the face of all the “trouble in paradise” that the people of Puna District face, I am consistently floored by the endurance and faithfulness that our people also display. There seems to be a common theme drawing people to the Big Island, specifically to the Puna District: the desire for a restart. Sometimes that restart is an escape from the rat race of the mainland or other islands...to slow down, to appreciate life again. Many times that craving for a restart is a break from previous poor choices, family, associates, or life direction. It was clear as Ray and I began ministry here almost 3 years ago (we’re still very much newbies here), that we had a lot of listening to do. As we got to know our people, we heard incredible stories of moving here with simply a suitcase or two, or perhaps even less, and the great sacrifices made to simply arrive. Those stories are astounding...and terrifying to the over-planner in me. We heard stories of being forced here by the growing prices o