The Ted Wilson Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church, in the Moresby North West district of Papua New Guinea, concluded a two-week evangelistic campaign with 131 baptisms in Papa-Lealea, a Motuan village. Motu is a language and people group inhabiting the coastal areas near PNG’s capital, Port Moresby. Running from October 29–November 11, 2023, the campaign also witnessed around 500 individuals expressing interest in following Jesus.
Themed “God’s Love and Final Call,” the meetings were led by local evangelistic Elder Karl Jack. The event marked a breakthrough for the Ted Wilson Memorial Church in reaching the Motuan community, which has historically been aligned with other denominations.
Pastor Gershom Luke, the church’s senior pastor, highlighted the significance of the baptisms: “Among the 131 baptized, four were church leaders from [another denomination] who gave their lives to Christ and made the decision to become Seventh-day Adventists.” The baptisms were conducted on a Sabbath by both Pastor Luke and Pastor Radley Harry.
Looking ahead, Pastor Luke shared plans for a larger evangelistic meeting in Papa-Lealea next year: “We are planning to host a big evangelistic meeting at Papa-Lealea and are aiming to baptize more than 500 souls next year as part of the PNG for Christ program in 2024.”
The original version of this story was posted on the Adventist Record website.