South Pacific Division (SPD) general secretary Pastor Mike Sikuri has provided an update on the partnerships between the Unions of the SPD and their counterparts in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD).
Presenting a “Mission Refocus” report on the second day of the Division Executive Committee (DEC) year-end meetings on November 12, Pastor Sikuri said the partnerships will help to enhance mission outreach in the SSD where there are huge needs.
The Australian Union Conference (AUC) has a well-established partnership with the Southeastern Asia Union Mission (SEUM), formed in early 2022. Focus areas have included sponsoring young people from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to study theology, education and business at Asia-Pacific International University; leadership development, mentoring and training visits; short-term mission (STORMCo) trips; and construction projects.
The Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) has established a partnership with the East Indonesia Union Conference (EIC). Earlier this year, a PNGUM delegation crossed the PNG-Indonesian border to meet with their EIC counterparts, initiating various collaborative projects.
Additionally, the New Zealand Pacific Union Conference (NZPUC) and Trans Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) have partnered with the West Indonesia Union Mission (WIUM), with a recent meeting laying the groundwork for future joint initiatives.
Pastor Sikuri said the goals of Mission Refocus include launching 20 projects with 200 long-term volunteers and 2000 short-term mission trip participants. He emphasised the importance of proper training to ensure that the volunteers are well prepared before being sent out.
SPD associate officer Eva Ing also updated DEC members on the conference-mission partnership program, which was first introduced in 2007 and relaunched in 2023. This program connects each of the SPD’s nine conferences with two of its 19 missions. The exception is Greater Sydney Conference, which is partnering with three missions: American Samoa, Solomon Islands and Cook Islands.
Mrs Ing highlighted the partnership between the North New Zealand Conference and Bougainville Mission in Papua New Guinea. One of the ways North New Zealand is providing support to Bougainville is through leadership training. Bougainville Mission also identified a need for a boat to transport missionaries to new territories, estimated to cost $NZ20,000. The North New Zealand Conference launched a fundraising campaign and the church members generously supported the initiative, raising the full amount.
“Many members in the North New Zealand Conference are pleased to have a mission focus beyond their own conference,” Mrs Ing said. “Supporting Bougainville Mission with a boat has helped many feel that they could do something to make a lasting difference.”
Day two of the DEC meetings also included reports from the SPD’s Ministry and Strategy Team, and departmental updates from Education, Communication, Field and Ministerial, Women in Ministry, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, and Adventist Mission.
