The Hilo Church of Christ started in the summer of 1991.
Twenty members from the O‘ahu Church of Christ, led by Kip and Bethany Harms, moved to Hilo to start a sister church. The small congregation began to grow right away as more people started to attend church services and get baptized.
A year later, the Harms’ returned to O‘ahu to help the leadership there. Over the next decade, the Hilo Church of Christ had a number of different ministers, most of whom were assigned by the O‘ahu Church of Christ and moved from O‘ahu to lead the Hilo church.
In early 2006, the Hilo church could not afford to have paid staff, so, unfortunately, the church was forced to lay off its ministry couple. This helped the church’s financial situation, but the church was left without a minister.
Different members of the congregation took turns preaching sermons to the church. They also did their best to help church members spiritually.
By this time, church attendance was minimal. Less than half the church membership would attend midweek services, and Sunday services were not much better. The church had difficulty meeting its budget due to low collections. Few members were having Bible studies with anyone, members or not. The only thing lower than church attendance and finances seemed to be the morale of the church.
In July, the church leadership selected Kyle Bartholomew to be the lead minister. He had been a member of the church for over five years.
In August, the church leadership sent Kyle to the Portland World Missions Jubilee. While he was there, he asked Kip McKean, evangelist of the Portland International Church of Christ, if he would be willing to speak to the church and disciple him in an effort to revive the church. Kip agreed.
Kyle returned and asked the leadership group if Kip could speak to the church, and the group approved. The church membership was notified that Kip McKean was coming in the middle of September to give a series of sermons.
Kip was scheduled to give two sermons to the church, one on a Saturday night and the other on Sunday morning during Sunday worship service.
That weekend would end up changing the Hilo Church of Christ radically.
At the Saturday night devotional, Dave Kim from the LA Church of Christ and members, mostly leaders, of the O‘ahu Church of Christ attended the event. Kip delivered an inspirational and powerful sermon. Some members of the Hilo Church of Christ did not attend this event.
The next day, on Sunday, about half of the church membership did not attend the regularly scheduled church service in the normal meeting place of the church. Still, Kip preached the word to a large number of members and visitors. The service was full of energy, and people were moved.
Some of the church membership attended another church service that Sunday with Dave Kim and O‘ahu Church of Christ leaders. Some of the church members attended both.
Only some members of the Hilo Church of Christ were informed about the other church service. Most of the leadership group and some other members did not know about another church service.
This split of that Sunday service shocked those who were unaware of the other church service with the LA and O‘ahu church leaders.
The following Sunday, only twelve members attended the Sunday worship service in the normal meeting place. The rest of the membership met elsewhere, and continue to meet elsewhere to this day.
The twelve members of the Hilo Church of Christ who remained after that weekend make up most of the Hilo Church of Christ today.
For more information, read Kyle Bartholomew’s article and “The church looks back at 2006!”
