by President Shane Tanigawa
The HPBC Executive Board met on August 14, 2026, at our Honolulu offices with members joining both in person and via Zoom. Hawaii (Big Island), Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Japan, and Thailand Churches are represented on our board this year.
Financial Health & Stewardship
The board received an encouraging midyear financial report — Cooperative Program giving is running 9.1% ahead of last year, income is ahead of expenses, and our 2025 financial statements received another clean audit opinion. You can read the full picture in “Good News at the Midpoint” on the next page. The board approved a 2027 budget for presentation to the messengers at the November 19–20 annual meeting.
Investing in Future Leaders
The Programs Committee brought recommendations that were approved, awarding theological initiative scholarships to three new students and nine renewing students for the fall semester, with students studying at Gateway, Southern, Southwestern, Southeastern, and Midwestern seminaries. These scholarships are made possible by your gifts to the Sue Nishikawa Offering for Hawaii Pacific Missions — a direct investment in the pastors and leaders God is raising up across our convention. Thank you!
Strategic Ministry Advancement
Executive Director-Treasurer Craig Webb reported that Dr. Paul Kelly, the new director of the Gateway Seminary’s Hawaii Pacific School of Theology, arrives this month (Aug. 17), with fall classes launching on the HPBC campus as well as in Hilo and on Maui. He also shared encouraging updates on the Shiraki Foundation scholarship partnership, on three pastors traveling with our International Mission Board trustee, Pastor Ikaika Higa, to Richmond, Virginia, this fall, and on the completed renovations at the Keeaumoku house.
Puʻu Kahea Momentum
Two members of the Operations Committee visited Puʻu Kahea Camp and Conference Center and reported on the great work that is happening. They noted a strong booking calendar and an extended Kamehameha Schools Preschool lease— a longtime tenant, a significant source of revenue, and a partner that cares well for the property. Last year’s capital improvements continue to pay off, and this year a replacement golf cart and a used vehicle were added to support the volunteer teams who make so much of the work at Pu’u Kahea possible. What was once a burden has become one of our brightest spots.
Board Committee Work
The board approved the 2027 HPBC calendar — including the new July 11 Disability Ministry Sunday — for presentation to the messengers. The Communications Committees asked that updated sexual abuse prevention resources be shared at the annual meeting and that disability and special needs ministry resources be added to the HPBC website. The Administrative Committee reported the completed annual review of the Executive Director-Treasurer and affirmed his leadership of the staff and the convention.
Good News at the Midpoint: A 2026 Financial Update
by Craig Webb, Executive Director-Treasurer, and Monica Kang, Director of Finance
Every quarter Monica and I sit down together with the numbers. This time we came away smiling — and the reason is you.
Through June, our churches gave $545,257 through the Cooperative Program. That’s $45,574 more than this time last year, an increase of 9.1%, and it came from 90 churches — three more than a year ago. June was especially encouraging at $75,612, more than half again what we received last June. We’re about $9,700 shy of our half-year budget, but giving has always leaned toward the second half of the year, so we’re on pace to come close to our annual goal of $1,110,000.
On the operating side, income ran ahead of expenses by $27,267. Our approved budget expected us to be roughly $52,000 in the red by now, which puts us about $79,000 better than plan. A good share of that comes from our staff and ministry leaders spending carefully — personnel costs finished $27,459 under budget — and not one church received less ministry because of it.
There’s good news in our properties, too. Rental income keeps strengthening, and we’re working with legal counsel on lease and insurance questions so these buildings serve our churches well for years to come. Puʻu Kahea’s turnaround continues, with $286,693 in income already — on pace to pass last year’s full-year total of $367,002. Restricted ministry funds now stand at $865,416, up from $778,091 at year-end, and our audited 2025 statements received another clean opinion.
Behind every one of these numbers is the faithful generosity of our churches. Mahalo. We’re committed to careful stewardship as we keep working together to support pastors and their wives, strengthen churches, plant new ones, and carry the gospel across Hawaii and the Pacific.