Ca 1906

The Hōlualoa church property was

acquired for $750 by the Hawaiian

Evangelical Association (now known as

the Hawaii Conference of the United

Church of Christ) in 1905 from Anna and

James Molony. The original church was

built at a cost of $1,000 by Reverend

Albert Sherburne Baker, who served as

a circuit minister throughout the Kona

district between 1904 and 1910.

Dedicated in 1906, the Hōualoa Chapel

was a congregational church that

served the multilingual English,

Japanese, and Korean communities.  A

small Sunday school met every Sunday

under the leadership of Mrs. M F Scott

until 1917 when she retired as the

Hōlualoa Schoolʻs first principal. 

In the 1920s, Rev. T. Miyazaki served the

church until about 1930 when he and

his children moved to Japan following

the loss of his wife in a tragic flash

flood which destroyed the parsonage.

Over a period of years various carried

on while living in modest quarters

attached to the back of the church. 

Other times the church was kept active

through Central Kona Union Church,

including Rev. Shannon Walker and Rev.

Paul Morimoto.  

The church was shuttered in World War

II. In the 1950s periodic services were

re-instituted under Rev, Herbert

Hakoda, Rev. Greg Kirschmann and Mr.

Herbert Murata.

In 1976 the property was transferred

from the Hawaii Conference of the

United Church of Christ to the Hawaii

Conference Foundation. 

From 1973 to 1989, the church was

leased to the Kona Arts Center whose

founders, Bob and Carol Rogers,

renovated the structure for use as a

gallery and workshop space for arts,

crafts and cultural projects, receiving

wards from Historic Hawaii Foundation

and the State of Hawaii for their

adaptive use.  The Kona Arts Center

lease came to an end in 1990 and in

1992, the church was leased to

Hōlualoa Chapel, a member church in

the Hawaii Conference of the United

Church of Christ, and regular services

started for the first time since the

1940s under the care of Rev. Gregory

Kirschmann. 

Since 2008, Hōlualoa Chapel has been

home to the Living Hope Church, a non-

denominational Protestant

congregation, founded by Brent and

Linda Williams.