By Bryan A. Sands
One year after the deadly Maui wildfires, among the worst wildfires in United States’ history, Christian Standard interviewed Dani Banggo, Senior Pastor at Cornerstone Christian Church in Maui, about the church’s response to the disaster that took 104 lives and obliterated the popular tourist destination of Lahaina.
The Cornerstone Christian Church is a small but proactive church, so they quickly jumped into action as the hands and feet of Jesus. Once the fires were contained, Banggo reported, “We only had $5,000 for relief efforts and we directly contacted our congregation about their needs.” With only limited resources, the church purchased rice cookers for needy church members and their families because rice is a staple food that’s always beneficial.
In the beginning stages of the congregation’s relief efforts, as they were ministering to people by sharing the love of Jesus, praying for them, and passing out rice cookers, they received a large financial grant from International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES) that enabled them to provide more assistance to people than they ever imagined.
“Once we were approved for the funds,” Banggo said, “we made … forms [to be filled out for assistance] and told our congregation to give these forms to anyone you know.” Following a wide distribution of the forms, 21 of them (representing over 100 individuals) were completed and returned to the church. These forms provided the stories of the people who suffered as a result of the wildfires and identified their needs. In response to the forms, Banggo and his wife, Helen, met with these families in hotels, shelters, or other locations to pray with them and to bless them with a check for $1,500.
Banggo pointed out that his congregation’s approach to assisting those in need in his community had no strings attached. The funds were a blessing from God, and Banggo wanted the needy families to simply know that God has not forgotten them, and he loves them. “The most important thing,” according to Banggo, “was to pray over them.”
Amid the Cornerstone church’s efforts to assist people impacted by the devastating fires, the congregation established a relief fund to handle the donations they received. As the funds kept coming in and people continued offering to serve, Banggo was reminded of Elijah and the oil in 2 Kings 4. A widow came to Elijah and expressed that her husband had died and that creditors were coming to take her sons as slaves. Elijah told the widow to go ask her neighbors for empty jars. The widow was further instructed to go home and fill the jars that were given to her with oil from her one jar. God miraculously used that one jar to fill the other jars and she was able to pay off the debt.
As funding and voluntary support for the church’s efforts kept arriving, Cornerstone continued to serve their community and give to those in need. Many people saw God moving through the church’s actions, resulting in at least one person being baptized into Christ and becoming a member of the Cornerstone church. Additionally, there were other non-Restoration Movement churches and at least one Maui business that partnered with Cornerstone to assist in the relief efforts.
Banggo emphasized that the relief work was a team effort and that in most cases they were merely the conveyor belt to offering assistance. On one occasion, for example, a private school donated clothing to the Cornerstone church because they did not have the personnel to distribute them. After two weeks of distributing the clothing, Cornerstone offered the remaining clothes to a public school, prompting school officials to exclaimed, “This is a miracle! This is what we really needed!”
Cornerstone Christian Church is located on the second floor of the Haggai International Institute building in Kihei, Hawaii (Maui County). In the building’s available space, the State of Hawaii is making renovations to use as temporary housing for those who remain in need because the wildfires. This presents the Cornerstone congregation with further opportunities for evangelism, care, support, and community building. And, as Cornerstone continues to help in practical ways, Banggo emphasizes, “There are no strings attached. We just pray for them, and there is no pressure [for them to come to church]. The point is, they feel the love of Christ through us.”
One year later, most of the areas surrounding Lahaina are “back to normal,” but there are a few areas that still lie in ruin. The northern parts of Lahaina, where most of the tourists stay, are back in operation. “The economy is booming,” said Banggo, “and a lot of good is happening.” Still, Banggo continues to connect with the families the church has helped and looks for other areas where they can help these people and others.
When asked what he wanted the readers of the Christian Standard to know one year after the wildfires, Banggo replied, “This has been an opportunity for Christians to show who we are. We are not for ourselves. We are not only churchgoers. This is the time to show who we are. Let our actions show who Jesus Christ is.” Moreover, he said, “Jesus was relevant to people. We should be relevant as well!”
Bryan A. Sands is a Husband, Girl Dad, Pastor, Author, and Church Planter. Follow Bryan on social media and YouTube @bryanAsands
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