Hawaii Pacific annual meeting reflects its rich heritage
By Karen L. Willoughby
HONOLULU – Focusing on pastors and their wives pays dividends by strengthening the loosely woven fabric of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, leaders at its recent annual meeting said.
Hawaii-Pacific Southern Baptists met Nov. 7-8 at the state convention’s entity, Hawaii Baptist Academy, where 1,100 students from kindergarten through 12th grade study. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary during the annual meeting.
The multi-national convention also celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Pu’u Kahea Camp and Conference Center.
“The highlight of our year has been our comprehensive ministry to pastors and their wives, which included a refreshing pastors retreat in May, monthly online Pastor Forums, regular Zoom connections for pastors’ wives, and culminating in a heartwarming Pastors and Wives Appreciation Dinner on November 6, just before our annual meeting,” Executive Director Craig Webb told Baptist Press.
The Pastors and Wives gathering took place at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu.
“The most remarkable aspect of our annual meeting was the beautiful cultural diversity on display, as pastors from the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention read scripture and prayed in Japanese, Korean, Hawaiian, Samoan, and English,” Webb said. “This vibrant expression of unity in Christ reflects our rich heritage and strengthens our commitment to serving together as one body in faith.”
The theme for the 82nd annual meeting – “Contending together,” with Phil. 1:27-28 as its scriptural base – Standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, for the faith of the gospel – was both an acknowledgment of what’s already happening and a challenge for an even greater commitment to the task at hand, Webb said.
“This intentional focus on supporting and nurturing our pastoral families has strengthened the fabric of our convention, fostering deeper connections and renewed vigor for ministry across our diverse island communities,” the executive director continued.
Reports
According to his records, Credentials committee chairman Pastor Jamie McElrath of Olivet Baptist Church in Oahu reported 69 guests and 200 messengers from 52 of Hawaii Pacific’s 139 churches registered, including messengers from Kauai, Lanai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, plus Guam, Japan, the Philippines, Samoa, South Korea and Thailand.
The Hawaii Pacific convention added one new church in 2024, and at least three new Send Network church planters are anticipated in 2025, reported Shane Critzer, Send Network Coastal West Region director.
“This year’s Annual Meeting of the HPBC was a crucial reminder of our cooperative efforts in serving Jesus Christ and the joy to contend together for the faith of the Gospel,” Brian Frable, pastor of Kona Baptist Church in Kailua-Kona and HPBC President told Baptist Press. “I am deeply humbled to see all that God is accomplishing in our churches through the extensive gospel ministry that occurs all across the Pacific for His glory.”
Maui Fire update
The Maui Fire Caring Ministry started in June with a team of 13 volunteers representing Valley Isle Fellowship, Kahului Union Church, and Kahului Baptist Church, following up with and connecting fire victims with local churches.
After orientation and training, volunteers connect with fire victims, contacting (as of mid-June) more than 150 people through the CARE strategy: Care like Christ, Ask open-ended questions, Recognize this is an ongoing process, and Encourage and end each call with hope.
Volunteers aim to listen to the unique stories and needs of everyone they call, often ending prayerfully and welcoming callbacks, according to an article in HPBC’s Connector magazine.
Volunteers Pete and Donna Beal consider the ministry in phase 1, developing a database of available resources and training materials, identifying needs, and establishing a committed volunteer team. They have utilized several resources from experts in the field of trauma care, as well as input from experts within HPBC. They have also acquired funding from Maui County Baptist Association and HPBC for six to eight months, and local churches have indicated willingness to financially assist fire victims. They are actively looking to expand the volunteer team to better meet the needs of the hundreds affected by the Maui fires.
If you want to volunteer or partner with the Maui Fire Caring Ministry, please contact [email protected].
HPBC Business
Business of the annual meeting included passage of five resolutions, the 2025 budget, and election of officers.
Besides resolutions expressing appreciation for the annual meeting host, HPBC’s board and officers, and those SBC entities who supported and participated in the annual meeting, messengers approved two other significant resolutions.
The messengers unanimously approved a resolution celebrating and committing to the Cooperative Program including a statement, “That we commit ourselves to celebrating and promoting the Cooperative Program within our churches, associations, and entities in its one-hundredth year.”
Messengers also unanimously approved a resolution to adopt the SBC’s abuse prevention ministry toolkit as a recommended resource for all Hawaii Pacific Baptist churches and a commitment to “stand united in member churches’ resolve to protect the vulnerable, to support survivors of abuse, and to uphold the highest standards of safety and care in our churches.”
The 2025 budget that passed included $1,100,000 in anticipated Cooperative Program giving from churches, plus $62,000 in other fees and interest. The trimmed operations budget is $1,128,715, including 20 percent of churches’ CP gifts, or about $222,000, leaving the convention for national and international SBC missions endeavors. The messengers approved a deficit of $178,715, which is to be covered by reserves. The anticipated expenses are lower than last year, while the national CP allocation remains the same.
“We’ve built a lot of trust over the last year,” Webb told Baptist Press. “We’ve waited rather than filling ministry areas. We’ve continued to be good stewards of the money entrusted to us. I think over the next year we’ll end up with a budget that balances.”
Brian Frable, pastor of Kona Baptist Church on Hawaii Island, was re-elected president; Shane Tanigawa, pastor of University Avenue Baptist Church on Oahu, was elected first vice-president; and Larry Hale, pastor of Eleele Baptist Church on Kauai, was elected second vice president. A recording secretary is to be elected by the Executive Board.
The 83rd annual meeting of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention is set for Nov. 20-21, 2025, at the Outrigger Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona, on the island of Hawaii.
West Virginia celebrates ‘family on mission’ impact
By Karen L. Willoughby
BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. – For the sixth year in a row, West Virginia Southern Baptists increased their Cooperative Program giving that leaves the state by at least half a percentage point, to 43.5 percent for 2025.
Last year it was 43 percent, up from 42 percent in 2022. And 82 percent of West Virginia churches gave to missions through the Cooperative Program – 168 churches out of the state convention’s 212 churches.
“As West Virginia Southern Baptists have rallied around our mission of making Jesus known, in and through West Virginia, we have seen an increasing number of our churches engaging in evangelism and missions though praying, going and giving,” Executive Director Eric Ramsey told Baptist Press.
“This is evidenced by 82 percent of West Virginia Southern Baptist churches now participating in Cooperative Program giving. The Cooperative Program is a practical, tangible measurable for missional unity.”
The West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists met Nov. 7-8 at Simpson Creek Baptist Church, planted in 1770 as the “oldest Protestant church west of the Allegheny Mountains.”
WVCSB’s 54th annual meeting used “In + Through” again this year as its theme, referring to its stated desire to, over a three-year period, becoming a “family on mission,” focusing on increased cooperation among churches and a renewed commitment to ‘making Jesus known in and through West Virginia,’ Communications director Cleve Persinger told Baptist Press.
Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, spoke during the pastors’ conference that preceded West Virginia’s annual meeting, and during the annual meeting.
“There is no earthly explanation for our movement,” Iorg told the messengers, referring to the SBC’s thrust across the nation and throughout the world. “It [the activity] is spiritual both in origin and sustaining power.
“These are not the work of our hands but are instead the result of God’s favor resting on a people who have cooperated together for two centuries to get His work done,” Iorg continued. He challenged his listeners to embrace their role in the greater Southern Baptist family on mission.
GuideStone Financial Resources, IMB and NAMB all made presentations of their SBC entities.
“This year has been one of growth and maturity for our WVCSB family of churches,” Ramsey said in his report. “We’ve seen it in our numbers and in how we think and act as a family on mission.
“New churches are being planted and many churches are celebrating their highest number of baptisms in years,” Ramsey continued. “More young families and children are attending and many of our statewide events have sold out.”
Since 2020, the Spanish-speaking population in West Virginia has increased by 167 percent and is expected to double in three years, Ramsey said. Send West Virginia and the state convention are working together in responding to the need to plant churches for this language group.
Annual meeting attendees included 51 guests and 156 messengers from 67 of West Virginia’s 212 churches. The business of the state convention consisted of a resolution expressing gratitude for hospitality to Simpson Creek Baptist Church and its pastor, Sean Wegener, the election of officers and passage of the 2025 budget.
New officers: President Ryan Navy, pastor of River Valley Baptist Church in Catlettsburg, Ky.; First Vice President Jeff Canterbury, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ceredo, W. Va.; Second Vice President Matt Magness, pastor of Freedom Baptist Church in Nutter Fort, W. Va.; and Recording Secretary Tiana Rucker, a member of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Scott Depot, W. Va.
Messengers approved a $1,664,661 budget for 2025, reflecting a 7 percent increase over the 2024 budget. The budget includes an anticipated $1,389,319 from West Virginia churches in Cooperative Program giving.
“Southern Baptist giving through the Cooperative Program provides funding for starting much-need new churches in West Virginia,” Ramsey said. “This is especially needed as we respond to the growing ethnolinguistic diversity in our state. Seeding new evangelism and discipleship opportunities is one of the very strategic ways Cooperative Program funds are utilized in West Virginia.”
West Virginia Southern Baptists cooperate in turn to continue the spread of the Gospel, such as in short-term mission trips this summer to Peru and to Belize, as well as in disaster relief ministry from Vermont to North Carolina.
In addition, West Virginia sent two families, eight individuals, through the International Mission Board this year to missions overseas.
“These missionaries are part of an expanding WVCSB commitment to international partnerships,” Persinger said.
“We are in this together, and our mission is in and through,” said Pastor Seth Polk of Cross Lanes (W. Va.) Baptist Church at the pastors’ conference. “We’ve got to dig in if we want to make a difference. You’ve got to dig in if you want your church to make a difference.”
The next annual meeting of the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists is set for Nov. 6-7, 2025, at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, W.Va.
