More than 500 people witnessed the opening and dedication of Karavia Hill church, in Rabaul, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea.
Tony and Agnes Vigil spent five years establishing the church in an area that is dominated by other denominations. It was a challenging task but they did not give up.
Speaking to the crowd at the opening, Mr Vigil said he and his wife were inspired by Haggai 1:1-5 to give the best of their time, skills and resources to build a beautiful church for God to dwell. They were helped by a few members.
Pastors Joel Makau, Henry Tatau and Garry Laukei were invited to the dedication. Pastor Laukei delivered the sermon, challenging the attendees to accept and respect the church building as it is a site for God to dwell among them. Prior to the dedication Pastor Makau unveiled the signage and dedicated it and Pastor Tatau prayed for the tithe house. Pastor Makau also conducted the dedication of the church.
The building is large enough to accommodate 100 people and is well furnished with new facilities. There are 10 baptised members and 20 Sabbath school members. They expect to hold more baptisms before the end of the year.
The Vigils are very active and dedicated church planters in New Britain New Ireland Mission. They are planning another location to start a new church plant. They have also started a foundation for a centre of influence to address the needs of street people, school dropouts, orphans and juveniles in the community in the hope of leading them to Jesus.
