Hundreds of people were baptised at the end of a prophecy seminar run by the Ted Wilson Memorial Seventh-day Adventist church in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from June 6 to 19.
Presented by local evangelist and retired pastor Karl Jack, the seminar was themed “God’s Final Call”, urging attendees to give their lives to Christ.
With surrounding communities affected by drug use, the seminar aimed to bring messages of hope and salvation with personal testimonies targeting young adults in the area. The successful initiative was the first big evangelistic meeting run by the church, but it also met a few challenges.
One of the young people who decided to accept Christ faced threats from his father due to his decision.
“This young man was convinced by the nightly messages preached. He decided to get baptised, and his own father threatened to kill him with a knife. However, he escaped and was taken care of by the senior elder of the church,” said associate pastor of Koki Adventist Church Simon Dopi, who supported the evangelistic initiative.
“There was also fear of the pandemic inflicting the movement of people at the site of the meeting. However, it didn’t stop people from attending the meeting.”
Mr Dopi said the message of hope presented each night brought comfort and optimism during the present uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of the two-week meeting, 200 people were baptised by three guest pastors Frank Lyambian, Aki Pawa, Gaza Asitore and Ted Wilson Memorial senior pastor Gershom Luke.
“We are already planning another big evangelistic meeting mid next year, as well as a project to expand the church building to accommodate the newly baptised and new converts,” said Pastor Luke.
