View From the Church: Our Vision for the Pacific Islands
Back in 1988, I accepted a teaching job at a small Christian school on the island of Hawai’i. While there, I met 25 young students who had arrived from the Pacific nation of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Even though I was a geography teacher, I had never heard of a country with that name. Five years later the Lord led me to move to Kosrae, one of the four states of the FSM, where I spent the next 25 years of my life as an educator, preacher, basketball coach, and debate coach.
In 2017, after 18 years on Kosrae and seven in Chuuk, I returned with my wife, Sepe, and our six children to Hawai’i where we got involved in the Micronesian community and I became an elder at City Church Honolulu, a PCA church, pastored by Rev. John Kim.
What Is Micronesia?
Three major nations make up “Micronesia”: The Republic of the Marshall Islands, The Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. Their total land mass would barely fill Rhode Island yet they are spread across over 2 million square miles of the North Pacific.
The vast majority of Pacific Islanders, while knowledgeable of Scripture, remain lost and in need of God’s saving grace. Traditional belief systems mingled with Western ideas of “church” have resulted in a burdensome religion that emphasizes personal works, ignores grace, and is losing the younger generation.
Micronesians in Hawai’i
Due to a treaty with the U.S., many Micronesians have immigrated to Hawai’i. City Church Honolulu has worked with this community for many years, now with a focus on school-aged children (a weekly Bible study and free meal) and during the pandemic, an outreach of sharing financial support. Our church had planned a vision trip to Kosrae for the summer of 2020, but that unfortunately had to be postponed as all three nations completely locked down their borders.
Having seen the swell of Northern and Southern Pacific Islanders immigrate to Hawai’i over the years, it felt natural for us not only to reach out to these communities here in Hawai’i, but also to focus on the Pacific Islands from where they have been immigrating. Through MTW missionaries like Jim Jung and David Choi, along with other like-minded Christians, we became convinced that the need for solid biblical teaching, discipleship, and training is great on these islands.
Because of that, we are excited to work with MTW and an association of PCA churches in Hawai’i called Grace Partnership. Grace Partnership is, like MTW, committed to church planting and evangelism. God has orchestrated all of these connections and, through His grace, we hope to work together to meet the need for teaching, training, and discipleship in Micronesia.
Paul Hadik is an elder at City Church Honolulu.
GET INVOLVED
Island to Island Gospel Fellowship: Reaching the Pacific Islands Together (VIDEO)
God is bringing His people together in partnership across the Pacific Islands to equip pastors, deepen theology, and strengthen the Church.
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After 40+ years in New Zealand, Samoan pastor Uaita Levi is back in Samoa partnering with MTW to bring revitalization to the Islands.
SEE MOREMentorship and Mission: Insights From Summer Interns (VIDEO)
MTW interns share about their experience serving cross-culturally in Belgium this summer.
SEE MOREPray for God to move among the Pacific Island nations of Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga through the Island to Island Gospel Fellowship.
Pray for MTW's work in the Pacific Islands and the Island to Island partnership including church leaders from Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.
Pray for church-planting work to increase and bear much fruit in strategic cities around the world that are filling with diverse international populations.
Pray for a small group men's study in the Middle East as men seek to learn truth Scripture while wrestling with the realities of what ISIS has taken from them.
Give thanks for the church leaders that God has been raising up in Bogota, Colombia. Pray that this growth will continue.
Pray for MTW's ministries in Sydney, including Harbour City Church, City Sanctum, and Student Outreach to the World, as well as the Pacific Islands Island to Island Partnership.
Pray for college students around the world to be impacted through MTW’s partnership with RUF.
Pray today for the unreached living in Central Asia, as well as for the local believers and missionaries hoping to reach them. Pray for relationships and conversations of faith.
Pray for those who God is calling to missions, that God would clarify their call, and equip them to serve Him.
Give thanks for the work God is doing in South Asia in the wake of COVID lockdown relief. Ask God to grow the new believers who came to faith in Christ as a result.
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