Volunteers help church emerge

Amanda McMasters, a 17-year-old from Oregon, rolled brown paint on a pillar while other teens spackled walls Thursday to help transform a former Navy building in Kalaeloa into a new West Oahu church.

They were among a group of 90 volunteers from Hawaii, the mainland and Canada who spent last week performing service projects here through World Changers, an Atlanta-based Christian ministry that organizes projects for youth at locations around the world.

"This is my third World Changers and this is the one I’ve seen the most significant impact on," McMasters said. "The last two I’ve been on (in Puerto Rico and Clovis, Calif.) we’ve been working on houses, but this is for a church, so I see a bigger impact with this one."

McMasters and her friend Tori Cole, 18, of Oregon raised funds through their churches to help defray the cost of their flights and food expenses, which amounted to about $900. Though they raised money by washing cars and holding a garage sale, much of the cost was paid for out of their own pockets.

"I believe in spreading the word of God," McMasters said. "I have joy in my life because I love God and I want to share that with and help others."

The group worked on West Oahu Community Church, at the corner of Bougainville Street and Bougainville Avenue.

"I’m just looking forward to getting started," said the Rev. David Hockney, who hopes to open its doors by September. "It’s a great resource for the community."

Conor Malis, 17, and girlfriend Natalie Fong, 16, participated in the weeklong project.

"I did (World Changers) last year and I was a little hesitant but it was super cool to have a positive effect on the lives of others rather than just doing stuff for myself and having fun," said Malis, who graduated this year from Kaiser High School. Last year Malis helped renovate Nanakuli Baptist Church and he said he was touched by the gratitude of the church congregation.

"The church was run-down and there were kids and members of the church constantly around and when we first got there they totally broke down because we were there to help. It was amazing. I never felt that way before," he said.

Malis said he will attend Pacific Rim Christian College in Honolulu to major in worship.

Fong and Malis are members of Hawaii Kai Church on Lunalilo Home Road.

Some of the participants were in Hawaii for the first time.

"It’s just amazing here, and to help create a church is very cool," said Tom Crusenberry, 41, a student minister from Kentucky.

The students were housed last week at Puu Kahea Baptist Conference Center in Waianae. In addition to church-improvement projects, they volunteered at a sports camp.

World Changers this summer is organizing 95 projects in more than 85 cities.