Years of Christian mission in PNG
Many of you know that we spent many years in PNG teaching and preaching the gospel. Papua New Guinea recently had their 45th Independence from Australia celebrations on Sep. 16th 2020. They have had a recent remarkable change in status that has largely gone unreported. Family Voice Australia reports that “in a remarkable recent development that sets a standard for Australia and every nation, the leadership of Papua New Guinea has resolved to declare the country to be officially Christian.
This builds on Papua New Guinea’s recognition of its Christian heritage, as described in the preamble to its Constitution that was adopted upon independence from Australia in 1975:
We, the people of Papua New Guinea … pledge ourselves to guard and pass on to those who come after us our noble traditions and the Christian principles that are ours now … under the guiding hand of God, to be the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
The country is highly Christianised, with around 70 per cent of people indicating personal faith in Jesus, in a culture that is steeped in Christian morality.
But in June 2020, a report issued by the PNG National Research Institute, concluded the country is not officially Christian.
The report’s author, Dr Eugene Ezebilo, said that a country is Christian only when it has Christianity as the official national religion and features an established church. He cautioned that if PNG officially becomes a Christian nation it may dissuade non-Christian people from moving to PNG from overseas.
Papua New Guinea’s National Executive Council in August 2020 approved a proposal to formally declare the country Christian under the Constitution, apparently in response to the report.”
We, the people of Papua New Guinea ... pledge ourselves to guard and pass on to those who come after us our noble traditions and the Christian principles that are ours now ... under the guiding hand of God, to be the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Asengseng tribe
Cathi and I are proud to have had a part in taking the gospel to Papua New Guinea where we worked with the Asengseng people from 1995-2012. They are one of over 800 language groups in PNG. We hear that the Asengseng church is going well where we were involved in church planting and Bible translation. Here is an excerpt from a recent report from missionaries who visited with the Asengseng church leaders:
- We were encouraged by their humility. We did not experience them trying to impress us. We arrived and there was no welcoming for us or special singing or special food etc. We appreciated this and it was very refreshing.
- We were also encouraged by their learner attitude. They are in many ways our seniors yet they were ready to listen to us and accept what we shared.
- We were encouraged by the way they evaluated (challenges) that were coming their way from the outside.
- They have a hunger to see the gospel go into neighbouring people groups. We are working on getting surveys lined up to see what the possibility is of us helping them.
- They have a solid core group of leaders, including elders, deacons, teachers, and trainees. They are doing a good job of evaluating and equipping these new trainees.
- We again were encouraged by their faithfulness to God’s Word and they are not being pulled into a syncretised “religious” church culture.
We live in a post-Christian era in the west
What does this all mean for Australia and the so-called “Western civilised” Christian nations of the world? It is a wake-up call. We have progressed beyond the Christian traditions of our forefathers and we can now no longer call ourselves a Christian nation. In fact, I would say that we are post-Christian. This flies in the face of the preamble to the Australian constitution which declares the people to be humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God. Furthermore, the Father of Federation (Sir Henry Parkes) wrote in a column published in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 26, 1885, that we are pre-eminently a Christian people.
That certainly is no longer the case for Australia but it does bring joy to our hearts that we have had a part in the process of PNG officially becoming a Christian nation. As the end-times get closer and closer, I am afraid these types of declarations will be few and far between but God is still doing His work. Missions have become more difficult this year with the restrictions on international movements but we need to pray that borders will re-open soon. Certainly, the harvest is plentiful and there will be many who turn away from God in the last seven years but also many who will turn to Christ and the gospel as well. We are about to enter into a great sifting period. Get ready, put your seat belts on for a wild ride and look for the two witnesses prophesying in Jerusalem.
9 Responses
That’s good news Steve. As with the early explorers I don’t recall us ever being told at school that they were Christians or that Cook & co celebrated communion when they first went ashore. This was back in the 50’s when things weren’t as bad as they are now. Shows the slide has been going on for awhile. That’s really good news with PNG. Take care.
That is truly amazing to hear their government actually declaring themselves Christians! It would be lovely if our country could do that too!
Hi Steve. How wonderful for PNG. Amen and Amen!!!! Yes, I was thinking as I read that you and your family played a part in this. May you continue to be blessed for your faithfulness. Shalom & Blessings.???
Thanks Stella.
I lived in Christchurch, NZ for 15 years and in real life and on TV programmes it was sad to see churches being turned into houses. NZ has for sure abandoned Christianity.
Hi Martin, I think most if not all so-called “civilised” countries have abandoned their roots to their detriment.
In the UK, I saw a number which had been converted to become motor mechanic workshops n even one becoming a burlesque joint. The worst departure was one beautiful large Stone church which is now an art gallery which had a large white styrene figure of Jesus On the cross where people were invited to electronically portray THEIR face to be on the cross.!!!!!!
It is sad, and a bit depressing, that Australia has become a post-Christian nation, especially with the Christian heritage we have had.
I am currently reading a book “Stories of Australia’s Christian Heritage” and it tells of early navigators and explorers being, Magellan, Fernandez de Quiros, William Dampier, James Cook, Chaplain -Richard Johnson, Samuel Marsden, Lachlan Macquarie, Matthew Flinders, Blaxland Wentworth and Lawson, and Charles Sturt. There are more to come as I read on , including christian women. All of these had a faith in God, now lost by so many of our leaders.
All we can do is keep witnessing and praying for our people and nation.
Yes I agree Brian, pray also for the churches as they have been radically changed in the last 9 months.