View From the Church: Our Vision for the Pacific Islands

Back in 1988, I accepted a teaching job at a small Christian school on the island of Hawai’i. While there, I met 25 young students who had arrived from the Pacific nation of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Even though I was a geography teacher, I had never heard of a country with that name. Five years later the Lord led me to move to Kosrae, one of the four states of the FSM, where I spent the next 25 years of my life as an educator, preacher, basketball coach, and debate coach.

In 2017, after 18 years on Kosrae and seven in Chuuk, I returned with my wife, Sepe, and our six children to Hawai’i where we got involved in the Micronesian community and I became an elder at City Church Honolulu, a PCA church, pastored by Rev. John Kim.

What Is Micronesia?

Three major nations make up “Micronesia”: The Republic of the Marshall Islands, The Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Their total land mass would barely fill Rhode Island yet they are spread across over 2 million square miles of the North Pacific.

The vast majority of Pacific Islanders, while knowledgeable of Scripture, remain lost and in need of God’s saving grace. Traditional belief systems mingled with Western ideas of “church” have resulted in a burdensome religion that emphasizes personal works, ignores grace, and is losing the younger generation.

Micronesians in Hawai’i

Due to a treaty with the U.S., many Micronesians have immigrated to Hawai’i. City Church Honolulu has worked with this community for many years, now with a focus on school-aged children (a weekly Bible study and free meal) and during the pandemic, an outreach of sharing financial support. Our church had planned a vision trip to Kosrae for the summer of 2020, but that unfortunately had to be postponed as all three nations completely locked down their borders.

Having seen the swell of Northern and Southern Pacific Islanders immigrate to Hawai’i over the years, it felt natural for us not only to reach out to these communities here in Hawai’i, but also to focus on the Pacific Islands from where they have been immigrating. Through MTW missionaries like Jim Jung and David Choi, along with other like-minded Christians, we became convinced that the need for solid biblical teaching, discipleship, and training is great on these islands.

Because of that, we are excited to work with MTW and an association of PCA churches in Hawai’i called Grace Partnership. Grace Partnership is, like MTW, committed to church planting and evangelism. God has orchestrated all of these connections and, through His grace, we hope to work together to meet the need for teaching, training, and discipleship in Micronesia.

Paul Hadik is an elder at City Church Honolulu.