More than 90 delegates from across the Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) gathered recently at Pacific Adventist University in Port Moresby for a two-week mission training program.
Participants representing the Central Papua Conference and the 10 missions of PNGUM were selected with a focus on equipping them to become missionaries for service across the border in East and West Papua. While cross-border mission remained a central emphasis, organisers also sought to ensure that those involved in mission—whether pastors, departmental leaders or lay members—are firmly grounded in the principles of discipleship.
The training came about after leaders from Adventist Mission at the South Pacific Division (SPD) invited the SPD Institute for Discipleship’s Catalyst team to lead an immersive discipleship experience in PNG.
Dr Nick Kross, director of the Institute for Discipleship, said Catalyst is designed to rekindle a passion for Christ and His mission.
“The Catalyst experience is designed to lead participants to a renewed understanding of the kingdom and the Spirit as they develop a passion for Jesus and share His message of love with others,” he said.
“Partnering with the Adventist Mission department led by Pastor Wayne Boehm, we have seen the Spirit of God move in the hearts of Adventists as they catch a vision for mission to their neighbours.”
One participant described the training as a deeply spiritual experience. “Above all it was an experience of spiritual revival and reformation, empowering both young and old to serve God wherever we are called,” they said.
Catalyst was launched in 2023 as a 12-week discipleship program hosted at Avondale University’s Lake Macquarie campus. The program teaches that discipleship is central to God’s plan to reach the world. Drawing from the early stages of Jesus’ ministry at the Jordan River and in the wilderness, the training emphasises foundational elements of discipleship: embracing God’s kingdom in the present, living by the Spirit, understanding our identity as children of God, abiding in Scripture, participating in mission and belonging to a loving community of believers.
Dr Kross said the first week of the PNG program concluded on Sabbath morning with a symbolic gathering at the “Jordan”, where delegates participated in a time of spiritual renewal, revisited their baptism and were renewed in the Spirit.
