The American Protestant missionaries who were sent to Hawaii by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions first landed here in Kailua-Kona, Island of Hawaii, in April 1820. The Rev. Asa Thurston and his wife were assigned to establish the mission in Kailua, then the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and remained here until October 1820. From October 1820-October 1823, Kailua was without a mission station, but the Thurstons returned at this time and organized the first Mokuaikaua Church.

During the absence of the Thurstons, the Governor of the island of Hawaii, Kuakini, had begun the construction of a house for public worship on the site of the present church. This was completed in December 1823. By 1826, the congregation had outgrown the church and the second Mokuaikaua church was constructed. It was built of posts brought down from the mountains by the natives, had a three-foot wall of stone enclosing the posts, thatched sides, and a thatched roof. In 1835, this second church was burned down by an arsonist, and the present church was begun. The cornerstone was laid on January 1, 1836 and as for the previous two constructions Governor Kuakini offered his support and financial assistance to make the building possible. The native church members donated their labor. They brought the ohia timbers down from the mountains directly behind Kailua, hewed them by hand, and joined them together with ohia pins. The ten spanning beams are over 50 feet long, and required a great deal of labor to find, cut, and transport to the site. The church members also had to obtain the coral from the sea, and burn it for lime. Many of the stones used in the construction were reportedly from an ancient heiau which formerly stood near the site.

On February 4, 1837, the new church was dedicated. Mrs. Thurston has given the following description of the church at the dedication:

"The church was dedicated this afternoon. It was furnished with a steeple and vane, galleries and a pulpit. Most of the people sit on settees and chairs of their own construction which looked very well. The governor himself has borne the whole expense of the carpenters' and mason's work. The people assisted by collecting stones, coral and timber. The governor himself spent some time in the woods superintending the workmen while procuring timber."

Major repairs were made to the church in 1865 and again in 1937. At the time of this second repair, an effect was made to restore the building to its original condition as nearly as possible. Among other things, a non-original false ceiling was removed so that the original construction could once again be seen. It was necessary at this time to install one new beam near the rear of the church, and it was possibly to obtain one nearly 50 feet long to match the original beams. It was probably at this time that the present pews of koa were made. In 1910, a memorial arch was erected at the entrance to the church grounds to commemorate the arrival of the first missionaries.
[Source: Library of Congress]