Acts 2 Journey and the Hawaiian Lava Flow

     “We want to say a big thank you to the AGTrust donors for the generous Acts 2 Journey (A2J) scholarship that allowed Connect Point Church to become a brighter beacon of light to a dark world.
     “As a result of our participation in the A2J, we are more focused on fulfilling our vision and mission, and our city has been changed because of you!”

Pastor Dion Maeda and Connect Point Church participated in the Acts 2 Journey in 2016. A graduate of Northpoint Bible College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Dion had served as a youth pastor, associate pastor, and district youth leader in Massachusetts prior to accepting the pastorate at Connect Point, his home church, in 2015.

“At Connect Point we were experiencing some growth,” Pastor Dion says, “but we had hit a ceiling we couldn’t break through. Our leadership team is always trying to learn and grow personally, and we felt the Acts 2 Journey was the right choice to help take us to the next level and continue to grow the church.”

The Acts 2 Journey helped Connect Point Church create a renewed vision — Connecting to Christ, Loving People, Making a Difference — and inspired them to become more focused on providing outreach and support to their city.

Connect Point Church in Hilo, Hawaii, is one of 1,298 churches in 39 districts of the Assemblies of God that have participated in the Acts 2 Journey to better health.

Connect Point Church is located in a community that suffered from the Kilauea lava flow that devastated parts of Hawaii in May 2018. More than 700 homes were destroyed. To help those who lost everything, this Acts 2 church decided to build several micro-unit transitional homes for lava survivors. This was quite a project for a church that had been near closure in 2015 with only 60 people.

Volunteers helped Connect Point Church build micro homes for survivors who had lost their homes in the Kilauea lava flow in Hawaii in May 2018.

As Connect Point shared their plan publicly, they received help from 98 businesses, nonprofits, contractors and churches; over 300 volunteers came to help build the micro homes. The church also helped lead a Convoy of Hope outreach in Hawaii with over 1,200 volunteers and 5,000 guests.

Today, Hilo is a city with a healthy church! Connect Point has grown to almost 300 in attendance.

The Acts 2 Journey inspired Connect Point Church in Hilo, Hawaii, to become more focused toward outreach to their city. Following the destructive Kilauea lava flow, they helped lead a Convoy of Hope outreach with over 1,200 volunteers and 5,000 guests.

Currently, 1,298 churches in 39 districts of the Assemblies of God have participated in the Acts 2 Journey to better health, directed by Alton Garrison, AG assistant general superintendent . Of those, 967 churches received a scholarship from AGTrust making it possible for them to take the journey, thanks to the generous monthly giving of our AGTrust partners.

Your gift to AGTrust today will help Transform America by enabling churches like Connect Point to take the Acts 2 Journey to better health and renewed vision.