Diversity in the Nation's Southernmost Spot

Kevin T. Brown, senior pastor of the remote Naalehu Assembly of God in Hawaii, is grateful that the small congregation is representative of the community. Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, African-Americans, Africans, Filipinos, Japanese, and Hispanics are among the regular attendees. 

Brown says he isn't an advocate of separating Christians by cultural or racial background. He believes the AG has progressed greatly since its early days of division between blacks and whites. 

"There is strength in diversity," Brown says. "It makes our Fellowship more what heaven is like. No one should walk into an AG church and feel uncomfortable because of ethnicity. In our church, people can come in and connect with someone else who looks like they do." 

Naalehu, with a population of only 866, is the southernmost town in the United States. Brown met his Filipino wife, Luzviminda, while both served in the Army stationed at Fort Wainwright in Alaska - the northernmost U.S. military post. 

In addition to his involvement in geographic extremes, Brown is a rarity as an African-American pastor in the Aloha State. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, blacks represent only 2.3 percent of Hawaii's residents, compared to 13.2 percent nationally. 

Robert Tolman, a retired white member of the congregation for three years, believes Brown's biblical preaching skills have helped unite the diverse body. 

"Kevin is absolutely the most in-depth preacher I have ever been around in my 70-plus years," Tolman says. "He's deep in the Word, and very thorough." 

Brown, a keyboardist who also leads worship at the church, has been at Naalehu AG since 2007. He is the longest-serving pastor in the church's 68-year history. 

Originally from Atlanta, Brown grew up in a Pentecostal Holiness church. He says his 15 years in the Army, including time as a recruiter, fostered an atmosphere of acceptance of other races. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and called to preach while in the military. 

"The first Gulf War is where I began to see God's power," says Brown, who also teaches physical education at the local elementary school. 

The Browns, who married in 1984, have three grown children, including two currently enlisted in the Army. 

John W. Kennedy

John W. Kennedy served as news editor of AG News from its inception in 2014 until retiring in 2023. He previously spent 15 years as news editor of the Pentecostal Evangel and seven years as news editor at Christianity Today.