The 423 Kamakeʻe Fund
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
[ Phil. 1:6 ]
God has blessed our church incredibly over the past 8 years in Kakaʻako, the fastest-growing neighborhood in the state. Through personal relationships, outreach events, compassion ministries, and our regular worship gatherings, he has drawn many hundreds of folks to Harbor from our neighborhood, and many dozens of people to saving faith in Jesus.
With the counsel of the Finance and Facilities Teams, the Harbor Elders prayerfully sense God leading us to purchase the property at 423 Kamakeʻe St.
In order to purchase the property, we’ll need $3 million as a down payment. So far, we have received $1.4m. We know our Father has the resources to provide the remaining $1.6 million, and we are praying for him to provide it by May 1.
If God is leading you to participate, you can make a pledge here by March 1.
We ask the Harbor ʻOhana to be praying for:
- Wisdom for the Elders, Finance Team, and Facilities Team
- Favor from the sellers
- A favorable negotiated purchase price
- Provision of gifts required for down payment
There is a list of Frequently Asked Questions below. Additional questions or feedback can be sent to Grant Murata.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How did we arrive at the proposed purchase price?
The elders used the tax-assessed value of the property, our own evaluation of comparable properties, and the advice of our lenders to arrive at the purchase price we’re proposing.
Does the property purchase include the parking lot?
No. It’s owned by the city but includes a large easement allowing access to 423 Kamakee. It would be difficult to build anything on that property unless it was combined with 423 Kamakee. If we purchase our property, at some point we might seek to purchase the lot from the city.
I pledged toward Until the Day, which included the vision to purchase the property. What happens to my Until the Day pledge?
The Until the Day campaign was focused on giving toward the vision and mission of Harbor. The building is a tool God can use to accomplish that mission, so the property purchase is a big part of the vision, but only one part. if you pledged additional giving as part of Until the Day that you haven’t yet given, we ask you to seek the Lord to decide whether you should shift that amount to the 423 Kamakee Fund, or continue giving it toward the Until the Day fund and give an additional amount to the 423 Kamakee Fund.
The Until the Day vision included expanded ministries. Is that still happening?
Yes. By God’s grace our church continues to grow, so we need to fund the discipleship and outreach God is already doing. Our 2026 budget already has expanded spending for Next Generation ministries (kids, youth, young adults) along with Facilities, anticipating a new mortgage and capital expenditure and maintenance needs.
What if I give toward the building and we don’t buy the building?
If we don’t purchase the building at 423 Kamakee, we will still need a building. The Kamakee property will be sold to another buyer, who will likely terminate our lease to redevelop the property for more profitable use. We will need to purchase or lease another facility to continue the mission God’s given us.
In addition, by receiving pledges on March 1, we will be able to refine our plans and understand where God is leading us and we’ll be able to update everyone with this information before we need the funds deposited by May 1.
Can I retroactively designate a past gift toward the 423 Kamakeʻe fund?
Unfortunately, we cannot retroactively change gift designations.
Will the 423 Kamakeʻe Fund continue past May 1?
No. We will not plan any giving campaigns for at least a few years. At some point in the future, we might feel led to launch a giving campaign to reduce our debt, but there are no plans at this point.
What if we raise more than $3 million?
If God blesses us with significantly more than we need for the building purchase, we can accelerate our plans for some areas of building maintenance or improvement. Once we own the building, there are a lot of interesting ways we can look at expanding ministry opportunities in the space.
Have we considered seeking grants to fund the building purchase?
We did not know definitively that the property would be up for sale (or the asking price) until November 2025. We could not apply for any grants until we had solid numbers to work with. There are also conditions that typically go along with grants for capital projects (such as opening a full-time preschool or adult day-care). For now, the elders would like to seek the Lord to provide through his family. We can consider the possibility of grants later for future expansion.
There was a blue-sky vision shared about building a low-income housing tower on the property. Is that still on the table?
Our blue-sky dreams are still way up in the blue sky. Building a tower would require buying additional properties (like the city-owned lot), partnering with a developer, and many years of planning and permitting. All of that would likely be 10 years down the road.