Honolulu — The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention has chosen Christopher Martin, pastor of Lahaina Baptist Church, Maui, Hawaii, as its next executive director.
A graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor in Hawaii for eight years, Martin has served in several convention roles and was elected president of the Hawaii convention just weeks before being named executive director. Having resigned as president, he will begin as executive director Jan. 1, 2014.
Martin’s first pastorate was at Angie Baptist Church, Angie, La., followed by two years at First Baptist Church, Cedar Key, Fla.
While at Lahaina Baptist, Martin served as a volunteer police chaplain and a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer.
“I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to work with so many of our churches and have a great relationship with our staff at the convention office,” Martin said. “I look forward to what God’s going to do through our convention and through Hawaii’s involvement with the Southern Baptist Convention as a whole. I’m excited, and I appreciate the opportunity.”
Though geographically vast, Martin said the convention has a “deep concern to be connected and to work together to share Christ.”
“There is a strong sense of ohana — the Hawaiian term for family — here. We really love each other, care about each other and want to invest in each other’s ministries,” Martin said. “You can’t help but get excited to know that the churches you have an opportunity to work with day in and day out are actually excited about each other and the Kingdom work that’s in front of them.”
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