Church History Minute notes: February 2022

Titus Coan, missionary to the Hawaiian islands

Born in Connecticut in 1801, Titus Coan was converted as a young man while hearing the revival preaching of Charles G. Finney during the Second Great Awakening. He worked directly with many of the great preachers of that day, then answered the call to enter the ministry himself.

Titus graduated from seminary in 1833. The following year, he and his new wife sailed for the Hawaiian Islands and made his home on Hilo Island. After spending two years learning the language, he took an extensive tour of the island with the goal of meeting every single one of the 16,000 natives who lived there, a goal he was successful in meeting. As he met the people, he kept a detailed notebook on every person so he could remember details of their life. The purpose of this was twofold: 1.) he wanted to be able to pray effectively and directly for each person; and 2.) he wanted to be able to effectively follow up in subsequent visits. In future visits, he updated the notebook with more current information.

In 1837 and 1838, thousands of natives from Hilo and from the surrounding islands flocked to Hilo to hear the preaching of Reverend Coan. For church membership, Titus required evidence of conversion, a Christian life lived consistently and effectively over a period of several months. Over the next few years, the church on Hilo grew to over 13,000 members – in an island population of 16,000. This was literally the largest church in the world at the time. Titus wrote, “In places where I spent my nights they filled the house to its entire capacity, leaving scores outside who could not enter.”

The classic signs of revival were evident everywhere. Wherever Titus went, men and women fell under conviction and cried out for mercy. They studied the Word of God late into the night and arose early to continue to read. People confessed sins to each other and relationships were restored. Prayer services lasted for hours.

The native population in the surrounding islands also experienced revival. Over 56,000 members were added to the rolls in churches in surrounding islands. By 1870, the mission board that sent Titus terminated the mission to Hawaii, concluding that the islands were “Christianized.” Coan advocated for a Hawaiian Missionary Society – where natives were trained and sent to other Pacific island nations.

Coan wrote that he hoped to “die in the field with armor on, with weapons bright.” This happened. In the middle of a revival service in 1882 he suffered a stroke. He lingered for a few weeks before he died, having seen 70% of the population of Hilo put their trust in Jesus.

Titus Coan’s gravestone on Hilo reads: