Hawaii Pacific
BIBLE INSTITUTE
OUR MISSION AND HISTORY:
Through partnering with Christians across the United States, Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute approved teachers go to Vanuatu to disciple Ni-Vanuatu Christians into ambassadors of Jesus Christ, saturated in Scripture, prepared to plant and lead indigenous churches and schools. Through discipling local believers, people can be reached for a small fraction of the traditional model used in supporting foreign missionaries.
Never before has there been so great a need for indigenous Christian leaders who reverberate with the call to discipleship! This need to train local leadership is strategically vital to the future of the Gospel ministry.
The roots of the Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute's discipleship training in Vanuatu can be traced to 1992 when David Courson moved to Vanuatu to teach the Bible to about a dozen men from different tribes and islands. By 1994, the Applegate Christian Fellowship sent Pastor Dominic Done and others to help teach the Bible to a growing number of new believers. Later, Calvary Chapel of Honolulu and Calvary Chapel of South Maui sent short-term teachers, including HPBI Board Members David Riddarskjold and Elyssa Done to minister in Vanuatu. Early graduates of the Bible School, including James Nicholson and Godwyn Dingley, went on to disciple others in remote tribal areas.
The Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute was formed in 2019 as a non-profit in the state of Hawaii because of its history with Kihei Baptist Chapel and where many of the current board members either lived or maintained part-time residences. During the development of our incorporation papers and the formation of the Board of Directors three main areas became central to our mission statement:
1. To preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the unreached peoples of the South Pacific Islands, beginning with Vanuatu;
2. To provide discipleship training for the new believers; and
3. To provide humanitarian relief and support to all people in the islands as the needs are encountered.
These areas were formally adopted by the board as our guiding areas for action. In 2020, David Courson became Executive Director of HPBI and James Nicholson became our full-time staff person in Vanuatu. Currently, the board consists of six experienced and committed Christians from a variety of backgrounds and locales.
WHAT WE DO:
Evangelism - Discipleship Training - Humanitarian Relief
Because of your support, over a dozen remote tribal villages now have Bibles and Christian educational materials. New believers are learning about God’s love and sharing the Gospel with others that have never heard the name of Jesus.
Because of your support, tribal villagers have been provided emergency food following the devastating tropical cyclone that destroyed homes and crops. Seeds have been purchased and delivered to devastated villages for planting new crops.
Because of your support, HPBI missionary James Nicholson has been able to trek to remote jungle villages, bringing clothing and necessary survival supplies to the recent tropical cyclone survivors. Never before have some of these tribes been so receptive to the Gospel!
Because of your support, essential tools and building supplies have been provided to rebuild churches severely damaged or destroyed by the cyclone.
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WHO WE ARE:
Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute Staff
David Courson - Executive Director
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David Courson serves as the Director of HPBI. He previously taught at the University of Hawaii, University of the South Pacific, and San Diego State University. He has also served as Associate Pastor and Senior Pastor in California and Hawaii. David is a decorated U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, and has directed Christian missions to over 30 nations before serving a missionary to Vanuatu. David and his wife, Robin, now reside in Colorado. He regularly speaks for churches, universities, and civic organizations on the Biblical mandate of Christian missions.
Contact David at coursonmaui@msn.com or 808-298-7145 if you would like to schedule a speaking engagement or learn more about participating in upcoming HPBI missions.
James Nicholson - Resident Missionary
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A Vanuatu native, James was one of the earliest graduates of the Bible school and discipling efforts in Vanuatu. He gave up his successful career to become a full-time pastor and missionary in his native country. He has led Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute outreach mission teams and is discipling new believers in Vanuatu. He is equipping them to share their faith with others. Working with HPBI Mission Teams, he has helped plant seven new churches in remote tribal villages that have never had a church. James is also coordinating Hawaii Pacific Bible Institute “New Believer Courses” for new Christians in Vanuatu.
Board of Directors
Matt Harbour - President of the Board
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Along with his wife Petra and their two teenage children, Matt lives in Bloomington, Minnesota where he is privileged to serve on the faculty of Bethany Global University, teaching classes in theology, worldviews/world religions, missions and missional ecclesiology. BGU is the training arm of Bethany International, a global missions organization active in over 70 different countries, and is committed to “taking the church to where it’s not, and helping others to do the same.” Matt’s missions experience began in 2001 with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and he has since been involved in various education, missions and discipleship projects in Kona, HI, northern India, Slovenia, Singapore and throughout the United States. He’s convinced that HPBI’s disciple-making and church planting initiative in Vanuatu has the potential to be the catalyst for exponential indigenous church growth in the South Pacific Islands, seeing more and more from every tribe and tongue worshiping before the throne. Matt is passionate about teaching others about the Kingdom of God, and God’s heart for the nations.
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Dr. Jeffrey Fouts
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Jeffrey Fouts spent over 25 years in higher education as a professor, administrator, researcher, and writer. In 2000 he founded his own research and consulting firm, Fouts & Associates, working with philanthropic organizations and other non-profits evaluating and researching program and organizational effectiveness. Throughout his career he maintained an interest in foreign missions and has been involved in Christian education and mission efforts in Hong Kong, China, Russia, the Philippines, Croatia, and Belize. He became involved with Vanuatu while living in Kihei, Hawaii and as a member of Kihei Baptist Chapel, traveling to Vanuatu in 2019. He currently lives with his wife, Raynette, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Clayton Collier - Treasurer
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Clayton Collier worked in the banking industry for 43 years. As a lender he was responsible for developing a variety of banking relationships. Initial financial analysis and the ongoing monitoring of business financial health was a big part of his responsibilities. Not only has Clayton demonstrated an ability to creatively help people in financial need, he used his faith in all areas of his life. As a church elder he was a Barnabas by encouraging and coming alongside those who were hurting or in need. Hosting a home Bible study for many years provided community and servant leadership opportunities. Mission trips gave him opportunities to serve.
He strives to love God and love people that have been forgotten by others. He loves spending time with his wife, Linda (pictured above with Clayton in Israel), kids and grandkids. Clayton believes that HPBI’s disciple-making and church planting initiative in Vanuatu can promote exponential indigenous church growth in the South Pacific Islands.
David Riddarskjold - Secretary
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Born in 1963 at a US ARMY Hospital in Frankfurt Germany and raised in Hawaii, David Riddarskjold is the owner and operator of Solid Surface Works LLC Honolulu, specializing in Corian Counter Tops. David is currently an active member at The Ranch Church since their beginning of services in 2004, branching out from Calvary Chapel Honolulu. David is a happy husband to the Love of his life Adele, and a father to their 3 children, Jonathan(17), Maile (14), and Shane (12). They all live in a nice little shack in Kailua on the island of Oahu. David has had the privilege to go on 3 separate missions to Vanuatu dating back to 2003. On those trips David brought Bislama language Bibles and 27 large boxes of new clothes for children and adults to the unreached people of the Torres Islands. Over time and with keeping contacts there, David has developed a deep love and compassion for all the beautiful Ni-Van people. Also now, sensing that the open doors to evangelism could close soon, he knows it is important that we do everything possible to reach all those who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Anton Karuza
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Dr. Anthony "Anton" Karuza is a retired podiatric surgeon. He lives in Bellingham, WA with Marianne, his wife of almost 40 years. They have been blessed with 4 adult children and 4 and 1/2 grandchildren, the latter to make an appearance in April, 2021. He has had many very interesting experiences in life but he says that the most incredible one occurred with David Courson on Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu, in 2018. During this trip he ventured into the remote areas of Vanuatu to share the gospel with unreached tribes. His experience is related in his book coauthored with Dr. Mike Rosenblatt, entitled "Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Who's Right"