It is expected that a South Pacific-wide congress for Seventh-day Adventist young adults will bring as much as FJD $7 million (U.S. $4,077,500) to the Fijian economy, says one of the organizers.

Pastor Fred Toailoa gave the estimate in an interview with journalist Mary Johns that appeared in the Fiji Times on Sept. 6.

The congress will bring about 4,000 young adults from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands to Suva over the year-end, Dec. 30 to Jan. 4. It is the first time the church has held the event outside of Australia and New Zealand.

“We’re excited about bringing it here,” said Toailoa, the new director of youth ministries for the Adventist Church in the Trans-Pacific region, in the interview. “[Hosting the congress] will mean something for Fijians.”

Toailoa says the church organizes congresses “to rekindle faith and ... [to encourage young adults] to go back to their communities and serve.

“Being a Samoan growing up in California, I see a strong influence of the western culture coming to the islands. ... Our communities are more of a family unit and [we] enjoy church and religious activities. Some of that has now been diminished to a level where our young people are involved in a lot of activities that may not be part of our culture.”

Young adults at the congress will also participate in public service activities, including building a playground and cleaning up public spaces