ABOUT UABC
The mission of University Avenue Baptist Church is to help every generation follow Jesus. As a church family, we help one another follow Jesus by gathering together, equipping every generation, and loving our neighbors.
GATHERING TOGETHER
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Join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:15 AM.
On Sundays, you can expect the worship service to last about 90 minutes. Our worship service includes singing, Scripture reading, responsive readings, prayer, & a thought-provoking message.
We provide childcare for babies (ages 0-2) and KIDS’ CLUB for preschool & elementary-aged students.
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Our Khmer worship service is each Sunday at 11:30 AM in the Khmer ministry room
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Feasting is a valued part of our family culture and annual rhythm. We celebrate Biblical feasts together as a way to stop and remember who God is and who God says we are to be in Him.
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There is so much we can learn from one another, across generations! Multi-generational learning labs provide time and space for generations to gather around tables and discover the truths of Jesus together.
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Kupuna are a valued part of our church family. JOY Group is a bi-monthly gathering for senior adults.
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We host conferences for special times of in-depth study and reflection on a specific topic or for specific groups of people (e.g. ‘Ohana Week, IF: Gathering, etc.)
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Special events provide time for us to grow in relationship with one another as we serve Jesus together!
EQUIPPING EVERY GENERATION
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Small Groups are committed to sharing life together as they help one another follow Jesus. Learn More
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Bible studies are short-term gatherings for spiritual formation.
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Pau Hana Book Clubs meet for a set number of weeks to read & discuss a book, it’s connection with Scripture, and how it encourages the daily life of a disciple of Jesus. Childcare is provided.
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KIDS’ Club meets during the sermon to provide kids an opportunity to encounter Jesus each week through age-appropriate, hands-on learning. Learn More
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God has great plans for Gen Alpha! Preteen students gather on the 1st & 3rd Fridays of each month. This semester our preteens are building pinewood derby cars before their Bible study on the 1st Friday and being trained in Kempo before Bible study on the 3rd Friday.
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Our teens love spending time together as they discover more of what it means to follow Jesus in all they do. Our students gather on the 1st & 3rd Fridays and 2nd & 4th Sundays.
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During KIDtern weeks, 4th-12th grade students serve alongside our ministerial staff as interns. We often have KIDtern weeks during school breaks and summer vacation. In the past, our KIDterns have built a replica of the tabernacle tent for our Sukkot Family Feast Night, planned & led a preschool play camp, planned & led our preschool fall carnival, and more!
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Our Students Serve project is an initiative to equip & empower preteen & teenage students to use their gifts to teach & lead others. We currently have students serving on Sundays on the worship team, A/V team, & KIDS' Club teaching team.
LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS
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Our Manoa Moms network provides a number of classes & support groups for families in our community. We offer a weekly, free mom + me preschool music class, monthly support group for moms, and monthly support group for caregivers of children with special needs.
Our Manoa Moms network also includes a number of special events for preschool families, including preschool play camp, preschool fall carnival, and more!
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We offer free, weekly English Coffee Hour on Tuesday mornings. We also provide English Conversation Partners and have other discussion groups for International students, scholars, & friends.
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UABC plans to send teams to Cambodia, Alaska, & Mexico in the coming year.
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We send teams to join ministry partners across the island to love and serve our houseless neighbors, foster families, children in foster care, longshore fishermen, and more!
OUR STORY
The local church is often described as a family. We take this metaphor seriously. University Avenue Baptist Church is a multi-generational, multi-ethnic family of Jesus followers.
God is the hero of our story. The organization of our church is one of the many ways God redeemed the tragedy of World War II. Missionaries expelled from Asia during the war moved to Hawai’i. God gave these missionaries a burden for the people of Manoa Valley. In 1946, God provided a home near a low-cost housing project where the missionaries and other Jesus followers began meeting for worship. As the story of Jesus was shared, the church began to outgrow its first home. Through a generous grant from the Foreign Mission Board (now the IMB), University Avenue Baptist Church was able to move from the home to a church building on the same lot.
God’s ways are certainly beyond our mapping out! We marvel at the ways God continues to use UABC to reach the nations with the hope of Jesus. In 1996 (just forty years after missionaries, re-routed to Oahu from Asia, were led to begin our church family), UABC planted a Vietnamese congregation to reach the local Vietnamese community for Christ. Dong Tam Church is now an autonomous church family who meets each Sunday on the church campus. In 2003, a new ministry began to reach the local Cambodian community and friends. God continues to use this ministry each week, as members of UABC lead singing and a Bible study in Khmer on Sunday afternoons. In 2016, UABC sent members, Ikaika & Stacey Higa, to plant Hamama Community Church in Kahalu’u. We are celebrating the work God is doing through Hamama as they transition to be an autonomous church family this year!
University Avenue Baptist Church has grown over the decades, but our vision remains the same: helping every generation follow Jesus.
