ELEELE, Kauai, Hawaii – A church doesn’t need to be large to have an impact, either in its community or worldwide. Eleele Baptist Church and its Sunday morning congregation of about 45 is a case in point.
The church launched an outreach to Chinese neighbors last month. A handbell choir for youngsters started last fall. And Eleele has a longstanding monthly as well as emergency food ministry to the 5,000 people who live in three adjacent towns: Hanapepe in the valley, Eleele on the hill and Port Allen near the ocean.
Eleele Baptist – pronounced Ellie Ellie – last year started a “sustainable discipleship” study that Pastor Larry Hale said he believes will lead to multiplying disciples “who develop to a point where they can navigate the unknowns in life.”
And worldwide? Eleele Baptist allocates an exact 10 percent of undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program, the way Southern Baptists work together to spread the Gospel throughout the world. In 2024, $19,126 was allocated for CP out of undesignated offerings of $191,264.
“We want to give at least 10 percent plus special offerings because we think as individual Christians it’s a good principle to recognize everything I have is from God and I want to express back to God my gratitude for what He’s giving me,” Hale told Baptist Press. “If we do that as individuals, we should do the same at the church to partner with other Great Commission efforts.
“We’ve been convinced as a church that Southern Baptists have historically worked well together,” the pastor continued. “When we all join our arms together in the effort of making disciples all over the world, we’re able to do more for God’s kingdom.”
Kauai, at the northwest end of the chain of Hawaiian Islands, is known as the “Garden Isle” because much of it is covered in tropical rainforest. Though tourism is its main industry, it has more of a small town or rural ambiance, Hale said. The United States’ largest coffee plantation – Kauai Coffee – is on Kauai. (The better-known Kona Coffee is grown on the Big Island.)
“During my visit to Eleele Baptist Church on Kauai last year, I was deeply impressed by the remarkable transformation under Pastor Larry Hale’s leadership,” Craig Webb told Baptist Press. Webb is executive director of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. “The congregation has embraced a powerful vision for both local and global ministry.
“What particularly stood out was their exceptional commitment to international missions and Pastor Hale’s implementation of an intentional discipleship process that is already bearing fruit and expanding,” Webb continued. “Eleele Baptist represents what can happen when dedicated leadership and a faithful congregation work together with clear purpose.”
Making disciples starts with the younger children’s Sunday school class, when they learn to play handbells as well as learning age-appropriate Bible stories, Scripture memorization and how to pray. Handbells teach youngsters the importance of practice, of respect despite wrong notes, of the beauty in harmony.
“There are so many beneficial aspects of using handbells with children’s groups,” pastor’s wife and children’s leader Lisa Hale told Baptist Press. “Music captivates children; they seem to appreciate fully the fun of making melodious notes ring out. Also, since children of all ages can participate together, no one is left out. Most importantly, as the children learn handbell songs, they are acquiring life-changing truths about God to hide in their hearts.”
The ministry to Chinese speakers started in February with a new believer, eager to learn more, and a non-believer wanting to learn English.
“We’ve already baptized one of them, and that was before the outreach started,” Hale said. Others frequenting a local Chinese restaurant have expressed interest in learning English and the Bible.
The food distribution started at least 30 years ago at the church. Between 80 to 120 families come to the church the second Saturday of the month to pick up bags of groceries that are loaded into the trunks of their cars. The food available consists of a variety of staples, canned fruits and vegetables and frozen meat.
Emergency food items also are available whenever the pastor hears of a need. “We never turn anyone away,” Hale said.
“We have a team of people who see this as their main ministry,” the pastor said. “We have a room designated for our food, with two commercial freezers. We’re more the hands and feet of the ministry, with the food supplied by the Hawaii Food Bank. We don’t spend a lot of money on food but we do the muscle work.
“Food is a big thing here because it’s so expensive,” Hale continued. “We also partner with Eleele Elementary School, handing out food and snack packs to the children every two weeks during the school year.”
That ministry might go away within the next year if no one at the church takes it over from him, Hale said, because he’s gotten involved since last fall with the high school’s track team. He’s able to talk with the coaches and student athletes, which could lead to Gospel conversations, something he’s not able to do at the elementary school.
The year-long Sustainable Discipleship class started in February 2024 with 12 participants. This year there are 18, in four small groups. Hale leads three of them. In the future, more “graduates” will be leading the next discipleship cohorts, the pastor said.
Reading through the Bible in a year is a major component. The assignments are designed to take about 30 minutes a day to read. At each weekly session, participants say what stood out to them in that week’s reading.
The 90-minute class-time also includes discussion (over the course of the year) of a half-dozen assigned books on theology, prayer, hermeneutics, even biblical money management. Hale also takes time each week for one-on-one discussions with his students.
“With the extra-biblical reading we will focus on a different subject, and the things we read we might not on agree on,” the pastor continued. “You develop critical thinking skills without having to be spoon-fed.
“The first thing we do [at the start of each session] is pray, each person,” Hale said. “It’s helping the people learn how to pray and start praying in front of other people. Second, we’re getting people to read all the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, and to learn how God speaks His truth and how that applies in life. It helps people learn how to hear God speak truth to them through the Bible and make adjustments in their lives to be more aligned with Him.”
The year-long study helps people develop spiritual muscles, the pastor said.
“When you face something and don’t know what to do and there’s not a specific Bible verse that gives you an example of what to do – like, should I take the job offer? – you have to take Bible truths and principles throughout the Bible and put them together to be able to determine how that applies to that specific situation.
“The core of discipleship is not what you do but who you are, your character, how you interact with people,” the pastor said. This includes “get involved in a ministry, be involved in an outreach effort, lead discipleship efforts in some capacity. Become more of an influencer.”
Bottom line, Hale said, “The more you get into the Bible, the more the Bible will get into you and therefore the more God gets into you with His biblical truths and uses it to transform your life.”
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