Have you ever thought you would like to be a missionary? You can be!!!
In 2022, Warragul church, a small rural church in Gippsland, Victoria, answered the call to support projects in the Solomon Islands Mission (SIM).
Our church family decided to make donations for much-needed evangelism equipment for the remote Santa Cruz Islands. By simply making small sacrifices, we were able to supply them with everything they needed to be independent in running their own evangelism programs. A PA system, projector, three laptops, microphones, HDMI cables, splitter, printer for printing Bible studies and a generator to run the equipment.
A family who attend Warragul are dedicated to printing and distributing Steps to Christ (STC) and The Great Controversy (TGC). They generously donated 2000 of each book to send to SIM. Along with the books, we collected and sent requested donations of clothing and paid for the shipping.
Our church responded to another urgent call in the village of Nyibanga Noi, a remote community with no access to fresh water. They rely on coconut water to drink. We purchased two 5000 litre water tanks and as a result, the one Adventist resident in the village now has three families worshipping on Sabbaths in her home.
The amount we raised was $A12,000—a modest amount but it will continue to make a huge difference in the lives of the people of the Solomons. I wish I could tell you the stories of how the Lord blessed and intervened during this process. God miraculously made the money stretch further, allowing us to send more items than we had originally planned. Perhaps I can share more stories with you in another article.
This year the Solomon Islands project for Warragul church, is to raise funds to help purchase land and build a church and pastor’s home (we’ve already provided a deposit to secure the land). You’re probably thinking to yourself, that’s an impossible task, such a project in Australia would cost millions of dollars. However, the estimated amount to accomplish the project is $A30-35,000. If Warragul can raise $12,000 again this year and if two other churches joined us, it could be purchased, built and running in 2024.
There are many other opportunities for service. It’s been my joy to work with Pastor Errol Wright and Pastor Ray Eaton, retired pastors who were Solomon Islands missionaries. They both continue to work tirelessly for the wonderful people of the Solomon Islands. Pastor Errol has raised funds through the Tumbulgum church community in NSW to purchase Bray Boats and Outboard Motors, to enable church workers to move from island to island, sharing God’s Word. Pastor Ray is passionate about education and was recently able to fill two containers with desks and chairs for some of our schools. He kindly gave us room in his container to include our equipment, saving us the cost of shipping.
Another opportunity exists in the village of Taipe. Taipe has built a clinic and community leaders there approached SIM to operate the clinic for them. What a wonderful opportunity. It would only take $A30,000 to set up. Unfortunately, due to a lack of SIM resources, they could not take up the opportunity. These same community leaders have expressed a desire for Adventist Education to set up a secondary school there, so local children can have an opportunity to go to university.
If more church communities could become missionary churches, like our little church here in Warragul, we could find the resources needed to help run the clinic and school in Taipe and many other projects.
If you would like to become a missionary church, contact me at lorrainejmitchell44@gmail.com as I’m happy to talk to you about starting your own project or sharing ours. May your hearts be stirred by the Holy Spirit to help finish the work, so Jesus can come back and take us all home.
Lorraine Mitchell (née Henry) attends Warragul church in Victoria.
