Inside the Heart of a Compassionate, Spirit-Driven, Visionary Leader
David Hino,Supt.,Pacific Coast Japanese Conference of the FMC
by Kenny & Estelle Martin

God has given us the wonderful opportunity to meet many great leaders in the Free Methodist denomination during our ministerial travels to various churches, camps, colleges, high schools and conferences throughout the country. The first time we were invited to speak and minister to the college students for a week of Family Camp at the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference, we saw God glorified in the talented, gifted and anointed children and people of God there. Last summer we were asked to come back and minister to the high school students, and again, we were blessed to witness the power of God's Spirit moving mightily and sweetly among His people. We felt like family. It was an added joy and pleasure to meet and become acquainted with Superintendent David Hino and his wife, Sharon, and we would like to share them with you. They are down-to-earth, quiet, compassionate, loving and lovable saints, but bold and real in their witness to the glorious resurrection power of Christ. Their lifestyle consists of a love for God, the family of God, the church of God, their family, and a passion for the lost. Listen to their heartbeat and vision for ministry in the new millennium.

What is your passion and vision as Superintendent for the Pacific Coast Free Methodist Church?

As Superintendent, my heart's desire is to see our conference become a "multiplying movement" and see Acts 1:8 being lived out: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." I would like to see a greater release of prayer rise from both our conference leadership and church members.

My vision for the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference is as follows:

Our conference is committed to honoring and following Jesus Christ in all that we do.
Our conference becomes passionate about proclaiming the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
Our conference seeks to explode in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we are doing the impossible and all success is totally dependent upon God.
Our conference continues to have a significant ministry priority to the Japanese-speaking people in the United States (temporary and permanent residents).
Our conference expands the Kingdom through the multiplication of disciples, leaders, new churches and new conferences.
Our conference develops cutting-edge and culturally relevant ministries.
Our conference ministry extends to new ethnic and culture groups and to the poor.

What are some of the goals you would like to achieve for the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference?

• That the Holy Spirit is present and moving in all our churches with a greater release of His supernatural power and releasing of His gifts.
• That every pastor be a holy competent leader.
• That every church be a healthy Biblical community.
• That multitudes of new people are finding Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in our churches.
• That new churches be planted and new church planting pastors being developed and identified.
• That churches would raise up new leaders for the Kingdom, both in our conference and as missionaries.
• That churches will impact their local communities in significant ways.

What is your dream for the Free Methodist Church as a whole?

I dream that the Free Methodist church would become a movement where the Spirit of God is bringing multitudes of new converts, multitudes of new churches, and multitudes of new leadership.

The new Free Methodist vision statement echoes the cry of my heart and our conference is in process of adopting the same statement. "A healthy biblical community of holy people
. . . multiply disciples, leaders, groups and churches."

What would you like the Free Methodist Church to look like within the next 5-10 years?

I would like to see a multiplication of churches of various ethnic groups. We no longer have to leave the United States to find the world. The world has come to us.

I would like to see a deeper level of prayer in the church so that the Holy Spirit fuels our ministries rather than our human wisdom or power.

What do you look for in a leader as you search for pastors to appoint to churches?

We have as a vision statement that says "every pastor a holy competent leader." We want pastors who give strong leadership and high competency in fulfilling the vision of a "healthy biblical community of holy people . . . multiply disciples, leaders, groups and churches." We want to recruit leaders who pray much, learn much, and risk much. A leader needs to be able to win others to Christ, disciple others into maturity of faith, and reproduce other leaders.

Share anything else about your family, hobbies, etc.:

My wife, Sharon, has been home schooling our two children, Tim and Deborah, for a number of years now. Tim will graduate from high school this year. Much of my free time is spent attending Tim's gymnastic meets or Deborah's piano recitals. Vacationing with my family has become my favorite hobby lately.

For the last year and a half, I have served as the superintendent of this conference. Trying to live out the vision of "every pastor a holy competent leader" and "every church a healthy Biblical community" has been a difficult road. Our victories seem small and our struggles seem big. We must bring our churches in healthy communities before we can become a multiplying movement. The process of change to become a multiplying movement has been lonely, challenging, painful and also exciting at times. It feels like I have been given a puzzle filled with 1,000 pieces plus a few pieces that came from another puzzle. When you first throw out the puzzle pieces on the ground, it looks like a mess, but slowly you start to find matching pieces, and gradually a picture is formed. God is creating a beautiful picture in the Pacific Coast Japanese Conference, I just need to be patient, find the right pieces and eliminate the wrong ones.