Jeremy Rivera
A former evangelical minister who got his start at Hope Chapel-Kaneohe is returning to his old preaching grounds to speak, this time as a Catholic at St. Ann Church.
Jeremy Rivera will conduct a four-night parish mission, 6-8 p.m., Sept. 25-28, at St. Ann Church, 46-129 Haiku Road, Kaneohe. Admission is free. The event, titled “A Tale of Two Tribes — A Story of Conversion,” will begin with a potluck dinner Sept. 25 at 5 p.m.
Rivera attended college at Hawaii Pacific University, during which time he was mentored at Hope Chapel-Kaneohe. He graduated in 1997. He became a college and young adult pastor at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu and eventually an evangelical pastor there, followed by pastorships in California and Colorado.
“After several years, I began to long for a deeper connection with the early church, the lives of the saints, and the teaching authority that only the Catholic Church offers to a culture very much confused on matters of faith and morals,” he said in a news release.
After an encounter with Archbishop Charles Chaput, he returned to the Catholic Church of his youth in 2006.
In May, he told his story on the Chris Stefanick Show, a Catholic television program. In three months, the interview received more than 250,000 views on YouTube. One of those viewers was Sacred Hearts Father Richard McNally, pastor at St. Ann, who invited him to the parish to talk about his conversion.
“God is revealing to me just how thorough he is by bringing me full-circle, back to the Windward side,” Rivera said.
“I think the story shines light on God’s commitment to all of those who were sacramentalized but perhaps not evangelized,” he said. “It’s a story of hope for those with loved ones away from the church.”
“God is inviting every Christian to on-going conversion and change,” said Rivera, “It’s easy to get stuck going through the motions as an evangelical or a Catholic.”
“Following Christ is a wild adventure and I’ve learned to no longer be surprised by how he works,” he said.
Rivera said he is “personally inviting” more than 70 lapsed Catholics to the St. Ann mission.
Praise music will be provided by musician Mark Souza, a friend of Rivera’s since his days at Hope Chapel-Kaneohe.
Rivera is the founder and president of The Little J Marketing Co. He lives in Colorado with his wife, Leslie, and their four children.
For more information about the mission, call the parish office at 808-247-3093. Or email rectory@saintannhawaii.org.
