Welcome to the Trans Pacific Union Mission. Our Union supports the Seventh-day Adventist work in nine countries and, wherever you go in this territory, you can expect unique and diverse Melanesian, Micronesian, Polynesian and many other forms of greetings.
While there is great diversity of cultures and languages in this territory, we have one purpose for mission: to prepare people for Jesus’ soon return. The heartbeat that throbs throughout this Union is to have churches that are vibrant, that live their hope in Jesus and do their part to transform the Pacific.
This vision produces a great emphasis on outreach, which is put into action through the “farming cycle” model. Prepare the soil, plant the seed, cultivate the plant, harvest the crop, then multiply the harvest. This is not just a strategy but a church lifestyle that is grounded in prayer and Total Member Involvement.
Our Union has a membership of more than 120,000 and, as a result of the farming cycle with its focus on harvest in the month of July, this number continues to grow. During this year, laity were encouraged and trained to run evangelistic programs. While frontline evangelism is strong, our health department is using our ever-relevant health message to address the growing concern of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
As I write this in August, we at the TPUM office are still rejoicing at the amazing stories of people who have decided to follow Jesus in baptism.
We record numbers, but it is transformed lives and their stories that make us rejoice. Hopefully you’ll read some of those stories in this Sabbath’s special issue of Adventist Record and rejoice with us. Each member is a disciple who has a unique testimony of Jesus to tell. Recent evangelistic meetings, which played an important part in harvesting souls, show that in this part of the Pacific, there are still oceans of opportunity.
Pastor Bob Larsen is general secretary for the Trans Pacific Union Mission.
