In February 2022, Executive Director/Treasurer, Chris Martin, challenged the HPBC staff team to find a way to gather pastors and wives for a retreat and to do it as soon as possible. After two years of this pandemic, Chris and the HPBC staff team recognized that Hawaii Pacific pastors and wives needed refreshment and renewal.

With this in mind, along with generous funding from the North American Mission Board (NAMB), a team consisting of Dawn Akutagawa, Robert Miller, Diana Ventura, Craig Webb, and Gay Williams planned, promoted, and pulled off a two-night, three-day, all expenses paid retreat at the Prince Waikiki on Oahu just for pastors and their wives May 23-25, 2022. Besides the primary funding from NAMB, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary sponsored a dinner on Tuesday night.

In a follow-up survey when asked “What did you like about the pastors/wives retreat?” one person wrote, “First, the relaxing time spent with my wife, without having a goal or ‘homework.’ Second, the opportunity to have unstructured conversations with the pastors and their wives, especially those we haven’t seen in a while. Third, the absolutely amazing hotel!” Another responded, “Thank you very much for providing a time of refreshment that I didn’t realize I needed. God used the time to help restore my heart and reset my focus. Thank you for your generosity, dear donors, and to the HPBC staff. Thank you for your gift of time, organization, and love!”

Photo by Justin Kimata