English missionary William Ellis (1794–1872) toured the island in the summer of 1823 to determine locations for mission stations and suggested the village of Kaʻawaloa at the north end of Kealakekua Bay as one of the first sites for a church.

In February 1824 High Chiefess Kapiʻolani built a thatched house in the village of Kaʻawaloa for use as a Christian church by Rev. James Ely (1798–1890) and his family.
Ely left Kaʻawaloa in 1828, replaced by Rev. Samuel Ruggles (1795–1871), who brought some coffee trees with him from the Hilo mission.
 Ruggles was replaced due to ill health in June 1833 by Rev. Cochran Forbes (1805–1880).
Forbes built a house at a cooler elevation, at a site called Kuapehu which had been used to grow taro.
 In 1839, under the direction of Kapiʻolani, Forbes moved the mission to the south side of Kealakekua Bay, in an area called Kepulu, just inland from the village now called Nāpoʻopoʻo.
Another house was built here, and a church which was 120 feet (37 m) by 57 feet (17 m) of stone and coral lime.
In 1841 the Kealakekua Church was finished, and used until June 1845, when Forbes resigned because of his wife's ill health.

After six years with no pastor, Rev. John Davis Paris (1809–1892) arrived in 1852.
His family had been at Waiʻōhinu for several years, returned to the United States, and then came back to the island and were posted to the Kealakekua congregation.
He found the large old church in ruins.

He set about building a more solid but smaller stone church called Kahikolu on the site of the old one.
Kahikolu means "three in one" in the Hawaiian language, which refers both to the Holy Trinity of the Christian faith, but also that it was the third attempt to build a church here.
The width of the old church became the length of the new one, resulting in a building about 57 feet (17 m) by 62 feet (19 m), with walls 35 inches (89 cm) thick.

Kahikolu took three years to build, and included a bell donated by William E. Dodge of New York.
It could hold a total of about 1200 people.
Paris went on to build eight more churches (including Hale Halawai O Holualoa), and died in the area in 1892.

There are grave sites located on both sides of the church, some of which are unmarked.
Several bear the name of "Kamakau", probably descendants of a chief Kelou Kamakau, born about 1773 who was mentioned in Ellis' journal as a good source of history.
English missionary William Ellis (1794–1872) toured the island in the summer of 1823 to determine locations for mission stations and suggested the village of Kaʻawaloa at the north end of Kealakekua Bay as one of the first sites for a church.
In February 1824 High Chiefess Kapiʻolani built a thatched house in the village of Kaʻawaloa for use as a Christian church by Rev. James Ely (1798–1890) and his family. Ely left Kaʻawaloa in 1828, replaced by Rev. Samuel Ruggles (1795–1871), who brought some coffee trees with him from the Hilo mission.  Ruggles was replaced due to ill health in June 1833 by Rev. Cochran Forbes (1805–1880). Forbes built a house at a cooler elevation, at a site called Kuapehu which had been used to grow taro.  In 1839, under the direction of Kapiʻolani, Forbes moved the mission to the south side of Kealakekua Bay, in an area called Kepulu, just inland from the village now called Nāpoʻopoʻo. Another house was built here, and a church which was 120 feet (37 m) by 57 feet (17 m) of stone and coral lime. In 1841 the Kealakekua Church was finished, and used until June 1845, when Forbes resigned because of his wife's ill health.
After six years with no pastor, Rev. John Davis Paris (1809–1892) arrived in 1852. His family had been at Waiʻōhinu for several years, returned to the United States, and then came back to the island and were posted to the Kealakekua congregation. He found the large old church in ruins.
He set about building a more solid but smaller stone church called Kahikolu on the site of the old one. Kahikolu means "three in one" in the Hawaiian language, which refers both to the Holy Trinity of the Christian faith, but also that it was the third attempt to build a church here. The width of the old church became the length of the new one, resulting in a building about 57 feet (17 m) by 62 feet (19 m), with walls 35 inches (89 cm) thick.
Kahikolu took three years to build, and included a bell donated by William E. Dodge of New York. It could hold a total of about 1200 people. Paris went on to build eight more churches (including Hale Halawai O Holualoa), and died in the area in 1892.
There are grave sites located on both sides of the church, some of which are unmarked. Several bear the name of "Kamakau", probably descendants of a chief Kelou Kamakau, born about 1773 who was mentioned in Ellis' journal as a good source of history.
Kahikolu Church