To say James Marocco is passionate about church planting is an understatement.

Since Marocco started pastoring King’s Cathedral and Chapels 46 years ago, the Maui, Hawaii-based church has spawned over 930 congregations in 27 U.S. states and 32 foreign nations.

The Assemblies of God church oversees extension sites in Asia, Europe, North and South America, and many island nations, in such varied locales as Vietnam, Ireland, Japan, Mozambique, and New Zealand. Typically, newly established congregations reflect the ethnicity of attendees.

“Our congregations are multiethnic and multilingual,” Marocco says. “Pastors are raised up from these congregations.”

The son of Assemblies of God missionaries, Marocco had planned to pursue a career in higher education until he sensed God calling him to ministry.

After earning Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, Marocco joined the staff at First Assembly of God in Honolulu.

In 1980, Marocco became senior pastor of the church in Maui, then a congregation of 100. Within 18 months, attendance had grown to 1,000. The church rented a skating rink to accommodate the crowds.

Marocco remains global senior pastor of King’s Cathedral and Chapels. Of its 931 locations, 731 are outside the U.S.

Attendance across the U.S. churches averages 38,000 weekly. An annual business meeting of formal members brings together American congregations from five time zones using live video.

Regular prayer meetings are a unifying feature as well.

“The one thing that has allowed us to grow is early morning prayer meetings,” Marocco says. “God has to move in power. Otherwise, we are dead in the water.”

Throughout the network, attendees participate in corporate prayer, gathering in person as early as 4:30 in the morning.

For the past three years, Marocco has been based in Dallas, working to establish a hub for King’s congregations across the continental U.S.

Hawaii District Superintendent Klayton Ko notes that 50 of the 176 AG churches in the state are affiliated with King’s.

“They are a model in leading the way of encouraging local churches to plant churches,” Ko says. “We’re tightly knit together, working to expand the kingdom of God here and abroad.”

Ko appreciates Marocco empowering various ethnic groups in the diverse melting pot of Hawaii to launch new works. Marocco’s daughter Janelle is secretary for the AG Hawaii District.

“Dr. Marocco is a bit of a maverick, always challenging the status quo,” Ko says. “But at the same time, he brings his leadership and decision-making skills to work hard to cooperate with the district. We both share the same mission: church planting.”

“Our identity in Christ is greater than our nationality, political opinions, 
or cultural differences.” 
— Viktor Pekun

There are 71 Marshallese congregations with 5,300 attendees in the King’s system, some in the Marshall Islands, but more in the U.S. Only around 70,000 Marshallese exist in the world, about half of them in the remote Pacific Ocean nation. Datsun Imakita is supervising the Marshallese King’s locations in the continental U.S.

Imakita, originally from the Marshall Islands, planned a carpentry career. However, just after finishing Job Corps training in Maui, he accepted Jesus as Savior, started attending church, and immersed himself in ministry.

“I got involved in early-morning prayer, and that changed my life,” Imakita says.

After Imakita’s home Bible study expanded to 16 additional cell groups, Marocco convinced him to become a King’s pastor in Kauai, Hawaii.

Imakita moved to Springdale, Arkansas, 15 years ago after a growing number of Marshallese began working at the local Tyson Foods chicken processing plant and the nearby Walmart corporate headquarters. Eight King’s congregations have sprung up in Arkansas alone.

“Because around 90% of Marshallese are Christian, when they come to the U.S. they want to attend church,” Imakita says. “It’s part of our culture. Our goal is to have half the Marshallese on earth in our churches.”

Subsequently, King’s Marshallese congregations have launched in such disparate spots as Enid, Oklahoma; Salem, Oregon; and Ottumwa, Iowa.

Viktor Pekun, a native of Pinsk, Belarus, opened the first King’s Cathedral Slavic church and today oversees the planting of new Slavic congregations in the U.S. He relocated to Hawaii in 1990. At the time, Pekun had no ministry plans. He just wanted a change of scenery.

Nevertheless, Pekun ended up pioneering King’s Cathedral outreach to Slavic people and remained in the U.S. In addition to pastoring in Dallas, Pekun operates a trucking firm. He takes no salary from the church.

“Some of my most meaningful conversations have happened through business relationships — with drivers, employees, customers, and people facing real-life challenges,” Pekun says. “The trucking business became another mission field.”

The church Pekun leads is comprised primarily of Russians and Ukrainians.

“People who, according to the world’s standards, should be divided are worshipping together, praying together, serving together, and genuinely loving one another,” Pekun says. “Our identity in Christ is greater than our nationality, political opinions, or cultural differences.”

Pekun says Marocco made him feel comfortable and valued immediately.

“The man on the platform is the same man off the platform,” Pekun says of Marocco. “His love for people, his faith, and his willingness to invest in others have had a lasting impact on my life and ministry.”

Marocco’s son, Joshua, is senior pastor of King’s Maui, the largest AG church in Hawaii, and president of the corporation overseeing other churches in the state. He is preparing to eventually succeed his father as global senior pastor and board chairman.

“I will keep going as long as I’m effective,” says James Marocco, now 76. “I don’t preach as fast as I used to, but there still is a job for me to do to beef up the next generation.”

Meanwhile, Marocco is focused on achieving a vision outlined earlier this year: 2,300 congregations with 250,000 adherents by 2030.

This article appears in the Summer 2026 issue of Influence magazine.