Restoration Programs for Native Hawaiians
2017–2019 Mission Grant 18 — $75,000
Workers at a homeless shelter in Waianae: Within a three-mile radius of the church, there are three homeless shelters, as well as 450-800 people living within the bushes of the homeless campsites. Within this community of 13,000, 29% of those under age 18 live below the poverty line. Estimates of more than 7,500 people live on Oahu's streets and beaches.Most people think of Hawaii as paradise, but to Native Hawaiians, Kanaka, it is quite a different place. In recent years, the number of homeless people in Hawaii has grown, with poverty rising, leaving few people in the middle class. Most of the ministry work is done in urban areas by non-Kanaka men and women to non-Kanaka people. To successfully engage the Kanaka people in the Christian faith and to provide the support and assistance that Kanaka people need to begin to overcome the serious social issues that plague them, missionaries must embrace the Kanaka culture. Clarence DeLude III (Kanaka), who is on staff with Lutheran Indian Ministries, is enrolled in the Cross-Cultural Ministry Center Program at Concordia University, Irvine, California, which leads to ordination. As a called and ordained servant of the Word, Clarence, a Native Hawaiian will be used as God’s instrument in bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his fellow Kanaka people. Grant funds would be used for scholarships for Clarence, VBS/Teen Camp, on-going Bible study, and Sexual Abuse and Leadership Training (SALT) seminars.
Resources for Mission Grant #18
- Mission Grant Poster — color
- Mission Grant Poster — black/white
- Bulletin Bytes
- Devotion
- Prayer Guide and Story — more color
- Prayer Guide and Story — less color
- Prayer Guide — large print
- Story — large print
Learn more about this mission grant and view more photos here.
