The Organization
When Michele first launched Releasing Generations, Senior Pastor Dan Chun, who led First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu from 1994 to 2023, reached out with a simple offer: how could he help. That question opened a relationship that has now spanned 12 years and is still going.
His imprint reaches beyond his own congregation. Dan and Pam Chun founded Hawaiian Islands Ministries (HIM) in 1983, with a vision of catalyzing Christian renewal and revival in Hawaiʻi through a trans-denominational, cross-generational equipping ministry for churches and leaders across the islands. HIM has been shaping Hawaiʻi's Christian landscape for over forty years, and it is that same equipping heart Pastor Dan brought to his conversations with Michele.
The Engagement
When a new nonprofit found its first mentor
Senior Pastor Dan met with Michele and her early team a handful of times in those first years, offering the kind of practical wisdom that only comes from someone who has already walked the road. In the years since, he has remained a friend, sounding board, and occasional encourager along the way.
Pastor Dan also was part of the Explicit Movement speaker team.
A women's small group that enlarged the audience for the Brave Series
More recently, Leona Larkin, First Presbyterian's Care and Restoration Ministries Director, and Michele co-led a women leaders' small group through the Brave & Beautiful curriculum, part of the Brave Series. The Brave Series was originally written for teenage girls. What surprised everyone was how deeply the material landed with the adult women in that group. The conversations were unguarded, the transformation was visible, and the framework proved just as fitting for women navigating leadership as it had been for young women navigating adolescence.
The Outcome
The response led to something that Michele had hoped for. First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu purchased the Brave and Bold curriculum to mentor and equip its men leaders, extending what the women discovered into the men's leadership as well.
A partnership Michele holds with real gratitude
Michele considers it a genuine honor to work with Leona Larkin and to support the work of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu. What began 12 years ago as one senior pastor's offer to help a new nonprofit find its footing has become a partnership in equipping leaders across generations.
Work with Michele.
If you lead a school, church, or organization and want to bring this kind of work to your community, please reach out. Michele will follow up with you personally.
- Based in
- Honolulu, HI