KAHULUI — The Sunday morning service wasn’t much different from any other — the praise band played, the offering was collected and the preacher stood on a platform to deliver the message.

Only this time, parishioners spent the entirety of the service in their cars.

“We still get to gather and worship Jesus within the guidelines that have been set before us,” Kihei resident Shayna Dell said from the front seat of her car following King’s Cathedral Maui’s first drive-in service during the coronavirus pandemic.

With government and health officials asking businesses, restaurants, churches and other organizations to cut down on public gatherings, many on Maui are looking for ways to keep people connected while still following social distancing guidelines.

King’s Cathedral, one of the island’s largest churches, tried out the drive-in service on Sunday, broadcasting live on Facebook and on KUAU 1570 AM so that people could listen in their cars with the windows rolled up. Some listened from the open trunks of cars, while others sat in chairs in their truck beds. Instead of shouting “amen,” people honked their car horns.

Senior Pastor James Marocco said that the idea came from the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California, which began at a drive-in theater where church members listened to the message from their cars.

“I said, we’re going to have a drive-in church on Maui, praise God,” Marocco told the congregation. “I mean, you can even come in your pajamas. Nobody will know.”

His wife, Pastor Colleen Marocco, said that the coronavirus and self-quarantining “has made everybody feel so isolated,” so they wanted to find a way where people could still worship together. On Friday, they held a Filipino-language service with the drive-in concept, and Sunday they did so for both the 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. services. Creative Pastor Alex Betsill said that 258 people attended the second service.

“I thought it was excellent,” Spanish-language ministry Pastor Beth Schultz said afterwards. “So happy that God showed up. As I prayed for people from afar, I saw the Holy Spirit ministering to them, tears coming (down) their cheeks. I’m so happy they were able to come as believers and feel God’s touch.”

The Maroccos said the church didn’t allow people to get out of their cars unless they needed to use the restroom. Everyone wore gloves. Prepackaged snacks in paper bags were passed out to kids. If people wanted the pastor to pray for them, they’d blink their lights, and someone would come and lay a gloved hand on them.

When asked about the concerns of having a large group of people in one place even with the precautions, James Marocco said the gathering was “really limited to however many people are in the car.”

“So the car is really the only gathering place,” he said. “Usually in every car there’s only two or three people. Some families may have five. It’s not like being in church where you have thousands of people.”

However, the future of the drive-in service may be up in the air after Mayor Michael Victorino announced a new order Sunday afternoon for people to “stay at home and work from home.”

Maui County spokesman Chris Sugidono said that the county is encouraging everyone, including religious groups, to stay at home as much as possible and to use online services.

When asked whether he would discourage a drive-in church service, Sugidono declined to comment on it specifically and said the county is focusing more on encouraging people to stay home and use other methods of technology to deliver messages to their members.

James Marocco could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday evening on whether drive-in service would continue given Victorino’s new order.

As for other ministries and services, Schultz said that the Spanish-language and Filipino-language services and the Wednesday night meetings — which are geared toward families and youth — will all be held online.

The Maroccos said that “life groups” of fewer than 10 people have been meeting, but that some have moved online using Zoom. Kianna Ho, a leader with the church’s children’s ministries, said that they’d also be posting two YouTube videos a week for the kids.

Some ministries are more challenging than others to adjust. Colleen Marocco said they’re trying to figure out how to best proceed with the Monday night “transformation group,” which helps address “life-controlling problems.”

“We want to be able to minister to people,” she said. “Just because the crisis comes doesn’t mean they don’t need counsel and encouragement in the middle of it.”

For more information and future updates, visit kingscathedral.com.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.