TITUS Coan was born in Connecticut in 1801, the child of a devotedly religious family. His cousin was Asahel Nettleton, an evangelist of the Second Great Awakening in New England, USA.

He gave his life to Jesus in 1829, during a revival in his home town. In 1830 he met Charles Finney and after two years' study at Auburn Theological Seminary had a brief stint as a missionary in Patagonia.

In 1835 he married and took his bride to Hawaii, carrying a passion to bring the gospel to the native people. He would remain there for the rest of his life.

As soon as he had learned the local language, he visited on foot every one of the 16,000 people of Hilo and its surrounds, on the island of Hawaii. Love was the driving force of his life. His kindness and generosity soon opened the door to the natives' huts and hearts. "When my mouth was opened to speak of the love of God in Christ, I felt that the very cords of my heart were wrapped around my hearers and that some inward power was helping me to draw them in, as the fisherman feels when drawing in his net with fishes."

He used his medical knowledge to good effect, providing remedies for common diseases, and he also gave vaccinations. He effortlessly seemed to combine the roles of preacher, pastor and magistrate.

In 1837 the slumbering revival fires broke out. A tidal wave hit Hilo with the result that massive damage was caused and 13 people killed. To Titus this was God speaking to the people to be ready for Him.

In the following two years, there was not an hour, day or night when an audience of 2,000 to 6,000 would not rally to the signal of a bell. Meetings for prayer and preaching were held daily. Almost 6,000 converts were added to Titus's church so that it became the biggest single congregation in the world. No one was admitted to membership until they proved over a period of several months that their repentance was sincere.

He also had a thorough follow up system to keep track of new believers. He noted down names of converts and information on them and he would in future tours check up on each person and update his notes.

There was a tremendous emphasis on prayer. The prayer was united and verbal, each one expressing themselves individually but all out loud together. This kind of praying was unique in the 1830s, at least among New England missionaries.

Repentance over sin was expressed openly. On one occasion the sound of a man's tears, Titus records, "was so loud and his trembling so great, that the whole congregation was moved as by common sympathy. Many wept aloud, and many commenced praying together. The scene was such as I had never before witnessed. I stood dumb in the midst of their weeping, watching multitudes, not being able to make myself heard for about twenty minutes."

Loud crying for mercy, shrieks, falling down and wailing were not unusual in the meetings. As one convert put it: "The two-edged sword is cutting me to pieces!" There was also a tremendous hunger for God's word. What helped to encourage this was the distributing of the Hawaiian language New Testament. Queen Kaahumanu was given the first copy of this on her death bed in 1832.

Quarrels were made up, drunkards reclaimed, adulterers converted and murderers revealed and pardoned. Thieves returned stolen property and sins of a lifetime were renounced. On one Sunday alone 1,705 people were baptised.

The revival made a major impact on the nation. The Christian faith was established in the law code of 1846 and the native church became so strong that it sent out missionaries to other local islands.

Coan's wish was "to die in the field with armour on, with weapons bright." God gave him his wish, for in the midst of a revival, in 1882, he suffered a stroke and died praising God. He had served the Lord for 47 years in Hilo and had received 13,000 members into his church - the largest number by any pastor in his generation.