The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific presented its report to the 2025 General Conference Session on the evening of July 8, highlighting inspiring stories of faith, service and transformation.
The video report was introduced by South Pacific Division (SPD) president Pastor Glenn Townend, secretary Pastor Mike Sikuri and treasurer Francois Keet, who were joined on stage by their wives and a large group of delegates and special guests dressed in colourful traditional attire from their home countries.
Addressing the global audience before the video aired, Pastor Townend said, “The South Pacific Division is one of the most diverse divisions . . . and yet despite that diversity we are united and we learn to listen to each other and the cultural differences that are there and the things that unite us are the things that unite all of us: the message of Jesus and the last-day gospel and our mission to take that to the world.
“We have been blessed significantly over this last three-year period,” he added, “It has made us committed to help everywhere else and particularly our partner and our neighbours in Asia.”
Report highlights
The report opens with a father and daughter exploring a world globe and stopping at Papua New Guinea (PNG). Viewers are introduced to the story of a young mother from Minj, a village in the Western Highlands, who, inspired by the faith of her in-laws, returns to her village to share the gospel. With her baby in a bilum, she treks across mountains and uses picture rolls to tell the story of Jesus. Her witness helped lay the foundation for what would become one of the largest evangelistic events in PNG history: PNG for Christ.
In 2024, more than 2000 sites across PNG hosted nightly evangelistic meetings during the 16-day program. Tens of thousands attended the meetings, and more than 300,000 people were baptised or made commitments to baptism. In the lead-up to the program, the church organised various community service initiatives, including a mega health clinic near Mount Hagen, run by the 10,000 Toes Campaign and Adventist World Radio. Thousands received free care.
PNG for Christ was supported by preachers from across the Pacific and beyond. Pastor Boriss Soldat, a speaker from Australia, shares: “Upon arrival, the head elder told me, ‘This is a tough country—people are stuck in their ways.’ I told him, ‘I’ve got the Word of God with me. All we need to do is pray.’ So we did. The very first night, people came to me saying, ‘We don’t speak much English, but we understood everything as if you spoke it in our own tongue.’
“Reports that came out during these meetings from the authorities was the streets were empty,” he adds. “The police didn’t have much work. The crime went down—in some places it was virtually zero because people flocked to these meetings.”
Mission momentum across the region
The report highlights similar movements across the region. In New Caledonia, despite political unrest, the gospel continues to spread as new home churches are planted.
New Caledonia Mission church development leader, Pastor Hatsarmaveth Venkaya, shares, “As a church we realised that we had to get out of our comfort zone if we wanted to minister properly to the people and reach out to them where they were. And our Bible studies were going to be validated not by how we preached but by how we lived our lives.”
The report connects these stories to the global “I Will Go” movement, which is inspiring a new generation to embrace mission. Media ministries—TV, radio, print and digital—are reaching thousands, including many who have never walked into a church.
Adventist schools are also a mission field, shaping young minds and helping students develop Christ-like characters and discover their God-given purpose.
The 10,000 Toes Campaign, an SPD Health initiative, continues to combat diabetes and promote wellness. Regional ambassador George Kwong shares, “We now have 220 wellness hubs and about 6000 ambassadors. We’re impacting the various communities . . . and we have many impact stories. But one thing is very, very common in that we have saved limbs and saved lives.”
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is also making an impact through its “Disaster-Ready Churches” initiative. Samisoni Loga, emergency coordinator for ADRA Fiji, explains: “Church members are heavily involved . . . and they are the ones that carry out the activities, building and trying to help their church to be disaster-ready. [They are] coming up with their own funds as well in trying to retrofit their church, trying to meet the requirements to operate as an evacuation centre.”
“I Will Go. Will You?”
The report showcases how mission is being strengthened through the work of SPD institutions. Sanitarium Health Food Company’s school breakfast program and support for community food pantries are helping thousands of families affected by the rising cost of living.
At Sydney Adventist Hospital, the chaplaincy ministry is bringing spiritual support to patients in times of crisis. Tertiary institutions, Avondale University and Pacific Adventist University, continue to shape the next generation of mission-focused leaders—equipping them with knowledge, faith and purpose to transform their communities and the world.
With one Adventist for every 55 people in the South Pacific, the SPD is committed to sharing beyond its borders. Through Mission Refocus, missionaries are being sent to the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, where Adventists make up only a small fraction of the population.
The report concludes as it began—with a conversation between father and daughter. Inspired by the stories she’s heard, young Genesis says, “I want to be a missionary when I grow up.” Her father replies, “You don’t have to wait. You can share Jesus with your friends right now.”
With the final words “I Will Go. Will you?”, the report reaffirms the SPD’s commitment to its vision: “A thriving Adventist movement, living our hope in Jesus and transforming the Pacific.”
