In what’s called Hawai‘i’s Great Awakening of the 1830’s, thousands upon thousands of people in Hawai‘i abandoned their idols (both literal and figurative) and turned to Jesus in repentance. The church in Hilo became the largest church in the world, with more than 13,000 members. In fact, the entire population of Hilo grew 10 times larger, from 1,000 to 10,000 in a single decade, all because of the new believers who moved into town so they could be part of the church.
They were not coming to be entertained. According to one observer, the sermon topics included: “The gospel a savor of life or death; the danger of delaying repentance; the servant who knew his Lord’s will and did it not; sinners not willing that Christ should reign over them; halting between two opinions; the balm of Gilead; the sinner hardening his neck; God not willing that any should perish.”
And in response, people just couldn’t stop themselves from repenting! After one Sunday service, the pastor wrote, “A man burst out in the middle of the meeting with much emotion and tears saying, “Lord, have mercy on me; I am dead in sin. His weeping was so loud, and his trembling so great, that the whole congregation was moved as by a common sympathy. Many wept aloud, and many commenced praying together. The scene was such as I had never before witnessed. I stood dumb in the midst of this weeping, watching, praying multitudes, not being able to make myself heard for about twenty minutes.”
And it wasn’t just on the Big Island. As a pastor in Lahaina wrote, “I have never witnessed more earnest, humble, persevering wrestling in prayer. One can scarcely go in any direction, in the sugar-cane or banana groves, without finding people praying and weeping before God.”
The Kingdom of Hawai‘i became the most Christian nation on earth, and only 30 years after the first missionaries arrived in Hawaii, there were missionaries being sent out from Hawai‘i. In 1852, King Kamehameha III sent a team across the South Pacific with a message to all the chiefs of the islands, pleading with them to renounce their idols and worship the true and living God.
At coffee yesterday with another pastor from the other side of the island, we were both observing how many small little sparks of revival we see happening in the islands today. Here and there, people (mostly young) across the islands are seeing God’s glory in a new way, seeing their sin for how ugly it really is, and experiencing the grace of Jesus Christ like they never have before. Could the Holy Spirit be sparking a second great awakening?
If he is, it will not happen just through one church. That’s why I’m stoked about kingdom-church-partnerships like The Gospel Coalition Hawai‘i and Antioch School Hawai‘i, where churches are working together to foster Christ-centered churches, and train gospel-centered pastors and planters to launch new communities of the kingdom.
It also won’t happen without the fervent prayer of God’s people. One pastor on Molokai in the 1830’s said, “A number are in the habit of rising an hour before light and resorting to the school house to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit.” We hope to someday do the same. For now, our church is praying together every Sunday morning at 8:30am in The Boiler Room backstage, and uniting for regular Prayer and Praise Nights. The next one is Saturday, September 15 at 6pm at Liholiho. Join us!