Baptisms took place across Samoa yesterday as the two-week Samoa for Christ evangelistic campaign came to a close.
At the Samoa Aquatic Centre, 59 people were baptised as six churches from three Samoa for Christ meeting sites came together for a combined service. More than half of the baptismal candidates were young people.
Among those baptised was Auomala Auvaa, a young man who had not previously belonged to a church or denomination—unusual in a country where around 98 per cent of the population identifies as Christian.
Mr Auvaa attended many of the Samoa for Christ meetings but had not planned to be baptised at the Aquatic Centre that day. However, he responded to the final call after all the other candidates had been baptised.
He said the message presented by Pastor Faafetai Matai, from the South New Zealand Conference, had made a strong impression on him, building on what he had heard throughout the campaign.
“The preaching of the gospel over the past two weeks has been very powerful,” he said, with messages on family and the character of Jesus standing out to him most. “Our country is very Christian, so there are a lot of churches that talk about God and Jesus Christ. But this is the first time I have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached like this.”
Mr Auvaa said he felt the Holy Spirit strongly prompting him saying, “This is your day. This is your time.”
“I’m very happy. I’m joyful. I’m excited,” he said after his baptism.
Newlyweds Lealasa and Mikaele Paepae also entered the pool together, just one day after their wedding. The couple had planned to leave for their honeymoon over the weekend but decided to be baptised together first.
Mrs Paepae had previously attended the Seventh-day Adventist Church, while her husband has never been an Adventist. She said he had eagerly attended the Samoa for Christ meetings each evening, often reminding her not to be late coming home from work.
“He has enjoyed the pastor presenting God’s Word each night,” she said. “I’m happy that I was able to be baptised with my husband and I’m so glad that he knows God loves him . . . I’m also happy that everyone is really willing to take us in as their family, whoever we are.”
Samoa and Tokelau Mission president Pastor Afiipu Tuaoi described the baptism service as an emotional and joyful conclusion to the campaign—though not without cost. “There’s been a lot of sleepless nights over the past two weeks, but I think everyone feels the joy of coming to this Sabbath,” he said.
“There were 59 baptisms that happened here today, and that’s something that’s happening right around Samoa. We thank the Lord for how He has led and for how He has used the local and international speakers.”
Pastor Tuaoi partly attributed the large number of young people baptised to the children’s ministry programs run throughout the campaign, noting that many children had attended the nightly programs without their parents.
“That’s another indication for the Samoa Mission that children’s ministry is an area we need to focus on,” he said. “Reaching the children also reaches the parents.”
Pastor Taei Siaki, who leads the six churches that came together for the baptisms, baptised a number of candidates, including his grandson. His wife, Pelenatete Siaki, who coordinated children’s ministry throughout the campaign, said the team had been praying for the young people at every site.
“The first song that we sang this morning was ‘Blessed Hope’. We pray that these young people will continue to be firm in the Lord,” she said.
The campaign combined health ministry, children’s programs and Bible presentations, drawing broad participation from local communities.
Final baptism numbers from the 64 sites are still being compiled.
“This is the end of Samoa for Christ, but it’s just the beginning of the journey for all of these baptismal candidates,” Pastor Tuaoi said. “Our work continues in nurturing them.”
