Connection Point Church of the Nazarene

  You might miss the electrical outlet behind the trashcan and recycling bin on the church lanai, but most evenings and Sunday mornings this unassuming, gray outlet becomes quite popular. Though digital-device-addiction and therefore anxiety-inducing low batteries are a real thing in our world, this isn't the only reason for the outlet's popularity. The reality is within our congregation, my best estimate would be half our people live off the electrical grid. A few have solar panel systems that feed into batteries for their electrical needs, but many survive off a gas-powered generator that is turned off and on throughout the day to pace usage. That is, provided they have money and transportation to get gas that week. Some have no power source whatsoever. While it may seem like a petty thing to charge these often overly-used devices, it's easy to forget how quickly being detached from communication can hinder peoples' lives. Communication for work, medical is...

You may or may not have noticed a couple-week hiatus in these blog posts. I have been on the mainland with 2 students from our congregation as part of our 47-person group from the Hawaii Pacific District attending Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC) in Phoenix, Arizona. Yes, we did go to Arizona in the summer...yes, we did survive. As with most Christian camps or conferences, you always make wonderful memories, you bond with the group you attend with, and most importantly you experience moments of deep connection with the Lord. All of these things, though taking place within a public convention center in downtown Phoenix, are done within somewhat of a Christian bubble. I was grateful that immediately following the closing service of NYC, our district grabbed some boxed lunches, loaded a bus, and headed off to go do a tube float on the Salt River with the Southern California District. A glimpse at the arena full of Nazarene students and sponsors during one of our sessions Our Haw...

The last 2 Sundays of each month at 12:30 PM, a line forms outside the sliding glass doors that serve as our entrance to the Food Pantry and God's Closet. Each week as these ministries begin, the leaders and the line of people gather to pray. This simple moment spent unifying the group is more than just to keep everyone "nice," but rather to remind that whether someone finds themselves in line or serving or both, we are all in need of Christ. "Us" and "them" must be dropped at the door. The food pantry is mostly non-perishable food, supplemented with produce as giving allows. We are in the process of beginning to grow food on our property and have huge hopes for this ministry! We are thankful that much of the line is our congregation. They are more than the name they sign in with at the entrance. Some are struggling to find work, disabled, widowed, in recovery, not so much in recovery, or low on income for a variety of reasons. Most of these peopl...

This week Pastor Ray and I flew over to the island of Oahu with 10 of our teenagers (yes...10!!!) to worship with our district and several other churches at teen camp. It's certainly a different dynamic packing for camp when you have to keep TSA, carry-on luggage, and supplies for tent camping all in mind. Still, everyone made it through security just fine and we managed to board our flight from Hilo to Honolulu.  Our teens from Connection Point ready to fly to Oahu Inter-island flights are quick, basically consisting of: taking off, getting to cruising altitude, the flight attendants throwing out water and juice to everyone, and then descending. Though these flights are quick, they add anywhere from $175-200 per person onto our cost each year to go to camp. We keep hoping Southwest Airlines will start flying out of Hilo so our cost will go down like Kona Nazarene Church's cost did this year. Thankfully, 4 of our students have a parent that works for Hawaiian Airlines ...

Confession...right off the bat: My knowledge of Hawai'i prior to living on the Big Island was limited to what I concluded from primarily 3 sources: 1) Disney's  Lilo and Stitch 2) Party City's "luau" themed party decor section 3) Snippets from my parents' honeymoon trip Can I tell you those 3 sources are nowhere near sufficient for understanding these islands? The reality of living in the Hawaiian Islands, particularly on the Big Island (the island that is actually called Hawai'i...and no, the Big Island is not Oahu where the capital is...it's the BIG one), and even more particularly in the Puna District of the Big Island is not what people assume Hawai'i-life to be. We are the most eastern island of the chain. All the other islands could fit onto Hawaii/the Big Island just for reference.  Our church is located in the northern side of the Puna District. Our area gained a lot of media attention this last year with a chain of fissure...