MILDRED JOHNSON BROSTEK / 1911-2005

Pentecostal minister
was tribute to her faith

When Mildred Johnson Brostek began preaching the gospel in Hawaii nearly 70 years ago, her Pentecostal brand of Christianity and the very idea of a female minister were rare in the islands.

Mildred Johnson Brostek: She opened a mission in Hawaii in 1937

The Georgia native, a graduate of Holmes Bible College, shared her scriptural message in outdoor revival meetings in downtown Honolulu and opened the first Pentecostal Holiness mission here in 1937, a forerunner of the nondenominational fundamentalist Christian churches that are popular today. The storefront mission drew hundreds of servicemen during World War II.

Brostek was founder of the Door of Faith Church, which has 24 branches in Hawaii, the mainland, the Philippines, Okinawa and New Zealand.

She died June 10 at her Honolulu home at the age of 93.

"Mildred was a pioneer of the Pentecostal message in Hawaii," said the Rev. James Marocco, senior pastor of King's Cathedral on Maui. "She encouraged the faith of many Christians in Hawaii and led many people to come to Jesus. She was a stalwart. She felt God could do the impossible," Marocco said.

"She lived what she believed all her life," said Sister Joan Chatfield, who was head of the Catholic diocese's ecumenical office when she became acquainted with Brostek. "She was genuinely kind to people and extremely humble."

She last preached at the Door of Faith home church at 1161 Young St. about a year ago, said assistant Hazel Reyes. At that time she anointed her son, Alexander Peter Brostek, as new head of the church.

She was born in Odum, Ga.

She is survived by son Alexander Peter; brother Wilder Johnson; sisters Agnes O'Daniel, Laurie Saxon, Wilma Trip, Thelma Murphy and Josie Osborne; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 6 p.m. Monday at Mililani Memorial Park Mortuary. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. Shuttle buses will leave the Young Street church at 4:30 p.m. and the Nanakuli Door of Faith Mission at 4 p.m.