Calvary Chapel Windward, HI
Calvary Chapel Windward, HI: A Small Footprint with International Reach
Story by Kate Larsen
Photos by Tom Price
Calvary Chapel Windward, established 33 years ago in Kailua, Oahu, HI, is a small church with an international reach that is incorporating native dance into its worship and has a special calling to minister to military families.
Pastor Tim Newman shares a Sunday morning message. Tim planted Calvary Chapel Windward in Kailua, HI, in 1989 where it first opened in an elementary school.
From Drugs to Surrender
Growing up in northern California, CC Windward Pastor Tim Newman attended church but never surrendered his life to the Lord. He went through the motions of legalism, attended a Christian college, yet still ended up in the drug culture. He came to the island in 1974, got involved with Hawaii’s surfing community, and found himself at rock bottom four years later.
“I knew the Gospel, so I just got down on my knees in my bedroom one night, and just cried out and gave my heart to the Lord,” Tim shared.
By trade, Tim designed stained-glass windows and soon met Kathy, a seamstress/dress designer, who became his wife a year later.
Melissa Scott, the Newmans’ daughter, teaches in the children’s ministry, encouraging kids to join in. “Being a smaller church body has given us the ability to be more invested in individuals and grow that way,” she explained.
Through the Air Waves
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
Longing to find a church, the young couple soon found themselves listening to Christian radio teachings, including messages from Bill Stonebraker, who now pastors Calvary Chapel Honolulu, HI.
“I knew who Bill was as a surfer,” Tim recalled. “He was a well-known surfboard shaper, and so it surprised me to find out that, one, he was a Christian, and two, he was a pastor.” Connecting with Bill’s surfing stories, the couple began attending the church where Bill taught.
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A Church Plant
In 1987, Tim served under Bill as associate pastor for two years before planting the church in Kailua. Tim reflected on his work with Bill as “a great time of learning administrative tasks, planning retreats, and all kinds of opportunities.” In 1989, CC Windward started in an elementary school.
Through the years, the church has met at schools, community centers, YMCAs, and a former Seventh-Day Adventist church. Eventually they built out in a shopping center where they are located today, between the front and rear gates of a Marine Corps base, which also includes U.S. Navy personnel.
“We’ve always had a fair amount of military folks with us,” Tim said. “Being here was intentional because during the Persian Gulf War, we had so many young guys.” They were seeking the assurance of eternal life, not knowing the outcome of the war for them. He explained, “They wanted to make sure that they were right with the Lord before they deployed downrange.”
Kathy Newman (right), Tim’s wife, greets a mom. Because of the military presence, “We’ve learned to hold lightly and invest our lives into those who are here for whatever season they are with us,” she shared.
Open Hands & Hearts
Today, the church is a wonderful mix of area civilians and military personnel—a unique opportunity to become family to a somewhat transient community.
“We’ve learned to hold lightly and invest our lives into those who are here for whatever season they are with us,” Kathy Newman, Tim’s wife, shared. “It’s like we’re a little missionary send-out church, and we stay in touch with those families who are called elsewhere. They are given a healthy feeding while with us, and so they go out in great strength.”
However, it’s meant a lot of heartbreak as they have said goodbye to many. “Being a smaller church body has given us the ability to be more invested in individuals and grow that way,” Melissa Scott explained. Melissa, the Newmans’ daughter, serves alongside her husband, Peter, at CC Windward. “It’s the maturing of the believers and equipping them to go out,” she said.
Peter Scott, the Newmans’ son-in-law, teaches the youngsters. Peter and Melissa Scott serve alongside each other in the children’s ministry and have five children of their own.
Ministry of Encouragement
Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6
With a gentle spirit, Kathy uses her gift of encouragement to minister to those passing through, that they may be strengthened in the Lord as He sends them back out.
“I just love to encourage others to use the gifts the Lord has given them. I love to exhort them to follow what the Lord is putting on their hearts. … Whether through Scripture or prayer, it’s just encouraging them to not be afraid, but to step out and do it!” Kathy proclaimed.
The prospect of becoming a pastor’s wife was scary, but she trusted the Lord and has seen the fruit of her faithfulness. Several ladies recently started a “Lydia” group helping new moms and the sick with meals, with one woman in particular hearing the call.
“It’s been beautiful seeing her run with it and seeing all the connections and how she is getting to know others in the fellowship,” Kathy beamed. “She has a role to play and ministry to do, and I love watching when it just blossoms like that.”
During children’s Sunday school class, Melissa animatedly explains why God punished sin but rescued Lot and his family.
Military Ties
The Newmans’ son, Josh, is an Air Force pilot currently stationed in Oklahoma. Tim acknowledged, “[Having a military family member is] another element that the Lord has used to [give] us a better understanding of the military folks here. It has greatly helped us in our understanding of what they go through.”
Recent Navy retiree Howie Cheng and his family began attending CC Windward in 2019. He has since taught Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University classes and serves on the church’s board of directors. His wife teaches in the children’s ministry.
The church’s military ministry has had a huge impact on the Cheng family. They had planned to move to the Big Island upon retirement but instead decided to stay in Kailua to help minister to military families. “The friendliness, the genuineness, the hospitality,” Howie said, “is one of the biggest reasons [our ministry reaches them]. When people are new and we approach them, we aren’t just talking to them. We want to know them.”
Tim and Kathy enjoy worshipping together with the congregation, a wonderful mix of area civilians and military personnel.
Small Footprint, International Reach
Hula dancing is an integral part of Hawaiian culture. Hula has been used in pagan rituals, but like many churches, CC Windward has transformed the tradition, redeeming it through a Hula Ministry.
While doing youth mission trips over the years to Japan and China, a couple of Hawaiian men planted a church in Japan that opened the door for CC Windward with the Japanese. Because hula and Hawaiian culture are popular in Japan, the church saw an opportunity to reap a plentiful harvest.
“We started doing two-week trips in Japan, and because we are from Hawaii, the kids can sing in Japanese, Hawaiian, and English, and the girls can dance,” Tim noted. Because of the tremendous response, the mission teams started getting bigger venues and saw a lot of fruit from their ministry. “These kids see that the Gospel is bigger than Kailua. Maybe the church is small here, but you don’t have to act like a small church. You can have a big impact even though it’s a smaller footprint.”
And at home in Kailua, the Hula Ministry has become a discipleship opportunity as they worship on stage at Christmas and Easter services.
“We are a bridge between people coming into church, and you can just see the Lord softening hearts as you are up there dancing,” Melissa related. “It is also very cool to see how the Lord grows the dancers as we meet for practice, do a study, and pray for each other.”
Tim says goodbye to a congregant after the service. Situated between the front and rear gates of a Marine Corps base, CC Windward is, “a blessing to the countless families and military personnel who have come and gone,” said Pastor Bill Stonebraker of CC Honolulu, HI.
Found Faithful
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
“CC Windward is a true representation of being found faithful where the Lord has placed them and a blessing to the countless families and military personnel who have come and gone,” said Pastor Bill Stonebraker. “They love well, teach diligently, worship passionately, and have sent out many well-equipped saints.”
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All verses above are quoted from the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.
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