Date

12-16-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)

Chair

Joe M. Easterling

Keywords

Revival, Hawaii, Titus Coan, 1838, Oahu, Maui, Awakening, Prayer, Molokai

Disciplines

Practical Theology

Abstract

While much has been written on the Great Hawaiian Revival, most has provided a general historical overview in which the primary focus has been on the great missionary Titus Coan and the immense revival that took place at the church in Hilo, Hawai’i. However, this paper argues that, when digging a little deeper, one soon discovers that there was so much more to the story. Beginning with prior, smaller revivals reported in Honolulu, Lahaina, Waimea, and Kaua’i before 1837, along with the revival noted among the missionaries themselves in 1836 during their annual mission meeting on Oahu, the great revival’s fires seemed to have originated outside of Hilo. Next, the review of this great movement of God must include the ali’i (Hawaiian royalty) and influencers including Henry Opukahaia, Queen Ka’ahumanu, Chiefess Kapi’olani, Blind Bartimeus, Governor Kuakini, and others who influenced the people for righteousness’s sake, donated lands for church and school growth, and supplied the direction, labor force, and materials for the building of new churches and schools as membership grew, as well as provided a great spiritual help through prayer and tours on varying islands. Additionally, a thorough review of the key missionary participants is needed, including Lyman, Lyons, Baldwin, Bingham, Coan, and Hitchcock, who along with others were greatly used by God at their various respective stations, which resulted in thousands upon thousands of Hawaiians being revived or converted. Then, there were the ongoing prayer groups, including the female praying group on O’ahu, which consisted mostly of ali’i, the concert of prayer, which was a global prayer network that began before the missionaries arrived and continued through the revival and years to come, and the Praying Ones, which was a group of believers scattered across the islands committed to continuous prayer for the salvation of the nation, which must be considered as noteworthy in these events. Other items that help tell the story include the success of the educational program instituted by the missionaries and ali’i, and the completion of the first Hawaiian Bible in the first year of the revival. It stands to reason, then, that God’s work in each of these places and those whom He used are indispensable when researching this amazing revival. It is this need that drives this study. It is herein argued that the historical record provides sufficient evidence that the revival began outside of Hilo, apart from Coan’s direct ministry, which seems to be the prevailing perception, and spread quickly across each of the islands and eventually made its way to the Big Island, climaxing in Hilo with Pastor Coan. In the process of addressing this primary research purpose, this study seeks to answer three questions. First, where does the historical record place the commencement of the revival? Second, were there any other locations throughout the islands in which the numbers of salvations, attendees, baptisms, and added members of the church compared remotely to the high numbers recorded in Hilo and Coan’s ministry? Third, was the revival more a result of a combination of players in various mission stations on all the islands rather than being centered chiefly around the church at Hilo and Pastor Coan? Finally, this study seeks to complete the narrative by providing a landscape-mode view of the Hawaiian revival instead of a portrait-mode view, which seems to have improperly, though not intentionally, excluded important revival events that took place outside of Hilo, including Honolulu, Waimea, Kaua’i, Lahaina, Maui, and Waimea, Hawai’i. The goal of this study, then, is that the reader can walk away with an accurate understanding of how God used a variety of characters, albeit imperfect, from different backgrounds, at different locations, on all five major Hawaiian Islands, to revive His church and reap a harvest of thousands upon thousands of Hawaiian souls for His glory. And it’s hoped, with this full understanding, the Christian church will be inspired and pray earnestly for this same type of move of God in our world today.

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