Mission Kona Coast

So those who have been following this story may be asking, "To what exactly have Joy and Eric committed?" We've detailed the process of our longing for community and sensing transition, but we haven't shared much about our future in Hawaii.  We have always gravitated more toward who we are called to rather than toward a particular job.  A few months ago, a close family with many of the same aspirations for their life called to discuss the possibility of doing ministry with them on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.  Through many conversations, emotions, and prayer, we accepted a position as Missionary-Pastors with Kona Coast Nazarene.

In September, Joy and I will move to an island that has beaches, deserts, snow-capped mountains, rainforests, and active volcanoes.  And the people are more diverse than the land: native Hawaiian, Polynesian, Micronesian, Japanese, Chinese, Caucasian, and more blend in a unique cultural setting.  Even more, less than 10% of the population attends church on a Sunday morning.  Hawaii presents an exciting religious milieu in which Buddhism, Confucianism, Mormon, Christian, New Age, and Native Hawaiian Religions intersect on a daily basis.  Economically, the tourism industry and resort settings merely mask the high rates of poverty that plague the islands.  High cost of living and low wages contribute to the daily struggle of life.  

Kona Church of the Nazarene has a vision and mission to link the various and distinct communities on the west coast of the Big Island in a unified missional presence that uniquely reaches the lost, disciples the found, and models the kingdom of God in contextually relevant ways. Over the next 7 years, KCN will call and send eight missionary families to live in particular neighborhoods and communities on the Kona Coast.  Our particular role is a hybrid position that blends the essence of missionary with the essence of pastor.  In other words, we will specialize in translating the good news of the Gospel into unique contexts and develop relationships-of-discipleship in the process. 

Each of the 8 mission zones is a unique community with its own set of challenges.  Joy and I will be placed in the North and Central Kona Mission zone.  Though each community is unique, we will share one mission to reach the lost, disciple the found, and model the kingdom.  The local Kona church will act as a training, encouraging, organizing, and sending community.  In our efforts to develop local leadership, we will disciple, educate, and inspire our mission zones through discipleship clutches, missional communities, worship celebrations, training schools, apprenticeship programs, community development efforts, and various other creative avenues for transformation.

In short, our family will be an extension of Kona Coast Nazarene into the neighborhood, sent to inhabit a particular place where God's love can be made visible.