EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE FROM CAL CHINEN
MEET CAL CHINEN
As Regional Director of the Pacific Rim Region, Cal serves on the Missionary Church Ministry Leadership Council (MLC).
Cal grew up in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and obtained his undergraduate degree in social science at Wheaton College in 1976. He then went on to Western Conservative Baptist Seminary to earn a Master’s in Divinity. Cal and his wife, Joy, have ministered together on staff at Moanalua Gardens Missionary Church since 1980 — first as associate pastor, then lead pastor for 35 years, and now an associate again.
Pastor Cal is a spiritual father and mentor to the MGMC congregation as well as to many other pastors across Hawaii. He is a dynamic and transparent teacher who connects with all generations.
God blessed Cal and Joy with three children and eight grandchildren. Their son Daniel is now the lead pastor at MGMC, and their daughter Charis and her husband, Marion, both serve on the pastor staff of MGMC too.
You Are the Light of the World!
“. . . Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and
that they glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
~ Jesus ~
(Matthew 5:14-16)
2022 has been the greatest year of ministry that Joy and I have ever seen or experienced here in Hawai’i. We are literally witnessing the Holy Spirit’s transformation of the entire community of Nanakuli. In the center of it all is a Missionary Church congregation (Nanaikapono Protestant Church) pastored by Allen and Mari Cardines. I have walked with Jesus since 1970 and have experienced many great moves of God. However, I am blown away by what He is doing in Nanakuli.
Nanakuli is a mostly native Hawaiian and Polynesian community that has battled systemic poverty, crime, drugs, and hopelessness for generations. In fact, the name “Nanakuli” itself is translated “to look down at one’s knees,” in other words, “to be ashamed.”
However, there are incredible changes taking place right now in Nanakuli that can only be attributed to God. We are witnessing not only great evangelism but also the transformation of neighborhoods, schools, businesses, the police, churches, government agencies, and more! Believers are being discipled and making disciples to the fourth generation. Ekklesias are being formed in the marketplace. The crime rate is going down, and the academic scores are going up. Beaches are filled, and businesses are flourishing.
Most of all, we are witnessing repeated Jesus-transformations of individuals, marriages, and families. God’s kingdom of righteousness, peace, and the joy of the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17) is permeating homes and the community. Convicted felons are humbling themselves before police, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. They are blessing and thanking the police in moving and powerful ways. And this is only the beginning. Much more needs to be done, but I’ve never seen this before!
How did this happen? The short answer is simply — GOD! God alone deserves the glory and honor for what has begun to happen in Nanakuli. Nonetheless, God found servants who were willing to follow Him fully and to give to Him what He desired. Consider the following five major shifts that they enacted:
A HEART OF ALOHA FOR NANAKULI
It starts with ALOHA! Aloha has the same meaning as agape (unconditional love). Jesus loves individuals, and He also has aloha for nations and cities. In Matthew 23:37-39 and Luke 19:41, He lamented and wept over a city. In contrast, I was a pastor who wept over our church but would never weep over our city until I saw it in Jesus!
Jesus has great aloha for cities. Satan tempted Jesus by offering Him the kingdoms and cities of the world (something Jesus longed for). Also, Jesus did much of His ministry in and to cities and towns. And finally, in Acts 1:8 Jesus commanded and prophesied to His disciples that they would be His witnesses with the minimum starting point of a city!
Pastor Allen, Mari, and the people of NPC aloha (unconditionally love) their city, Nanakuli. They aloha God, they aloha each other, and they aloha the people and the land of Nanakuli. They made a covenant 20 years ago that they would aloha Nanakuli just as Jesus alohas Nanakuli. They no longer complained about and cursed their city. Instead, they began to bless Nanakuli and her people. Having grown up in Nanakuli, they were well aware of the stigma and reputation oppressing Nanakuli. Nonetheless, they repented for their attitudes and indifference, and God gave them His new aloha for their city. This was, and continues to be, the foundation of everything else.
BLESS, NO BLAST!
Out of that aloha, they began to bless and not blast their city and their neighbors. They prayer-walked and blessed every home, family, and street of Nanakuli for 19 consecutive years. Pastors of different denominations came together, sailed the coastline, and prayed blessings over their city. Strategic intercessors prayed from the mountains to the sea. They continue to pray blessings for their neighborhoods, schools, boards, streets, and governmental leaders. Pastor Allen taught the believers, “We need to bless, not blast, our neighbors, our community, and our Hawai’i!”
BE A PEACEMAKER, NOT A TROUBLE MAKER!
“Pastor Allen, please get involved in our neighborhood board! We are at war with one another with people threatening great harm to each other,” pleaded State Representative Stacie Eli.
“I am so busy with church work that I cannot get involved, Rep. Eli,” Pastor Allen remarked.
But the Lord changed his heart when he recognized Jesus called him to be a peacemaker in his community, not a troublemaker or one who criticized and complained!
They invited the battling neighborhood board members to a special meeting at a Sunday service at NPC, and they all came! Pastor Allen asked them all to stand on the stage. He stood in front of them saying, “I know who to blame for the mess that we are in!” They all glanced uncomfortably at one another. Pastor Allen continued, “The person to blame is . . . me! I should have been involved with all of you and our community!” He and Mari got on their knees before the stunned board and asked their forgiveness. Soon every board member was doing the same thing, asking for forgiveness. The spiritual climate changed dramatically. They started to get along with one another! There are many other acts of peacemaking that God’s people at NPC have done. This is just one!
BE A MINISTER, NOT SINISTER
Relationship between the public schools and the church can be quite caustic. At NPC, instead of complaining about the public schools, they went to the faculty and staff, got to know them, blessed them with gifts, and asked them, “How can we serve you?” They ended up fixing the old bleachers of their high school stadium, and they ran the high school football concession stand for 12 years. They did hundreds of little jobs for the schools of Nanakuli — all seemingly unnoticed.
In 2017, the local high school had 7 student suicides, and nothing that the school officials attempted could stop it. A school official finally said, “We’ve tried everything we know. We need something more. Let’s call Pastor Allen.” And they all agreed to this unprecedented request.
The Lord showed Allen that they should bring in an already approved program called Challenge Day. However, the cost was $25,000, which the school did not have. Allen knew that his little congregation did not have the funds either, but prompted by the Lord, he declared, “We will get the money.” Within a few days, the monies came in. They brought in Challenge Day.
The whole NPC congregation got behind this with prayer and involvement. Challenge Day was such a success that it turned the school around. Academic success and graduation rates rose from that year onward. Students were saved. Families were healed. And most importantly, the suicides stopped! In fact, in spite of COVID shutdowns, there has not been a single suicide since!
SPEAK PROPHETICALLY, NOT PATHETICALLY
It doesn’t take much to criticize the junk in someone else, but it does take a prophetic voice to call out God’s destiny in another person (e.g., Jesus and Ananias to Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9:15-19).
The police and the community were at war with one another. Pastor Allen asked the police, “What can we do for you?” They replied, “Stop shooting at us!” The relationship between the community and the police was one of distrust, anger, and enmity.
NPC began to partner with the police when they learned that there were 18 police officers per shift to cover 193,000 people. They helped the police by organizing and leading the Neighborhood Security Watch program. Since they were already blessing their neighbors, now they also looked out for their neighbors. Since then, they have shut down five drug houses and saved a little girl from sex trafficking. They have also re-named the Neighborhood Security Watch to the Ekklesia Neighborhood Security Watch! Other communities and islands are asking them what they have done because of the dramatic improvements of their neighborhoods. [pic 11 goes with this paragraph]
Last Christmas, NPC “adopted” Hale Makana O Nanakuli, a low-income housing complex. They commissioned the resident manager as the “Kahu” (pastor) of the unit. They were able to purchase specific gifts for each and every child of that complex. They gave them to the police to give out to the children. The police came into that complex on December 18, 2021, with their blue lights flashing and their sirens blaring. Everyone came out to look. They called all the children to come out, opened up the back of their police cars, and gave specific gifts for each child. At first stunned, the children’s responses soon turned to delight. The “hated and fearful” police were blessing them.
“This is the highlight of my career,” uttered the community relations officer.
“I have been the recipient of your aloha,” joyfully declared another.
“We are ohana (family)” declared another.
Since then, relationships between the community and the police have been revolutionized.
There are literally hundreds of testimonies that can be shared, each one just as powerful as the above. This is not just a revival – this is a revolution! A revolution of GOD’S ALOHA!
