An estimated 100,000 people gathered at a stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, July 6 for the opening night of a Seventh-day Adventist satellite evangelistic series that is being broadcast live around the world. The national government has relaxed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Port Moresby in order to accommodate people attending the two-week event, some of whom have traveled for days from remote regions of the country.

Dr. Barry Oliver, secretary of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific region, reports that the crowd at Sir John Guise Stadium filled “every centimeter of the field and every seat in the stands. Thousands couldn’t get in. More attended the second program. They continuously applauded as [“It Is Written” television presenter] Pastor Mark Finley opened the Bible and assured them of God’s presence, power, and promise to return.” 

Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta opened the program July 6, speaking of the Adventist Church’s impact in the country, and challenging Papua New Guineans to “bridge the divide growing between sections of society.”

“Our nation is going through a period of great difficulties,” said Morauta. “Christianity has been one of the principal forces that has united the hundreds of tribes and the 850 distinct language groups that make up the 5 million people of Papua New Guinea.”

Morauta said his government recognized the material contribution of Christian churches to national development, including agriculture and trade in rural areas, as well as infrastructure such as schools and health centers, roads and water supplies. But it is in the area of human development that churches have been of immense benefit, he said.

The Prime Minister had been scheduled to stay only 10 minutes, “but he stayed for an hour and a half and listened to Pastor Finley from beginning to end,” reports Oliver.

The series is being televised live via satellite to the Philippines, Korea, the United States, Australia, the South Pacific island nations, Africa, and Europe. Nightly attendance at the stadium in Port Moresby has continued at around 100,000 people, organizers say.

Some 1 million people in the country are either watching a delayed broadcast of the program on television, tuning to a live broadcast on radio, or watching a live uplink via satellite at one of 40 sites across the country, says Kila Wari, organizing committee chairman.

A blackout cut off power for 12 minutes at about 8:30 p.m. on July 8. The satellite equipment, powered by a generator, still worked, but the stadium lighting did not. “The crowd remained peaceful,” reports Royce Williams, global television director for It Is Written. “Fortunately, the owner of the satellite allowed us extra time to complete the program.”

The city could not restore power to the stadium lights though, so the police asked organizers to hold the crowd. Following closing prayer, Finley announced he would preach a second sermon. Two hours later, the police decided the crowd could return home.

The Adventist Church has been active in Papua New Guinea for almost a century and currently has more than 200,000 members nationally.