30. The church begins to grow in 1962

The year has seen a remarkable increase in the number of our people coming forward to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. This is due largely to the witness and personal evangelism of the converts themselves… sometimes we are perplexed by what may happen if the number increases very much faster. Highlands DistrictContinue reading “30. The church begins to grow in 1962”

27. First baptisms, 1961

‘This was the day. It was the climax of months of preparation by many people and the fulfillment of years of work by others.’ Joyce Rosser, writing of the first baptisms at the Methodist Church in Tari, 1961. ‘The preaching has led to no hasty decisions of belief in God, but rather to a gradualContinue reading “27. First baptisms, 1961”

22. Slow progress, 1957-1959

1957-1959 District Report 1957. Seven years of work among one of the most isolated and primitive peoples in the world has not yet reached the stage when converts can be listed. In the persons of the missionaries, European and Pacific Island, the church is there. But it is there in order that an indigenous churchContinue reading “22. Slow progress, 1957-1959”

17. Drama and death among the people of Mendi, 1955

The people of Mendi were busy with their own lives, their own ideas, traditions and beliefs. They saw that the foreign Methodist mission people, and the Government patrol officers, were living in their valley and making some changes, but most of the Mendi people were more interested in their own activities. The mission staff atContinue reading “17. Drama and death among the people of Mendi, 1955”

Highlands Womens Fellowship

In Mendi and Tari, some of the first people to become Christians were women. Very few of them had opportunity to attend school and most of them were hardworking wives and mothers. Christian women began to learn practical skills like sewing and childcare. Many of them joined local and combined groups for Bible study, toContinue reading “Highlands Womens Fellowship”

04. Memories of Mrs Grace Young, 1951

Mendi 1950-51 While Rev Gordon Young was busy establishing a new mission in Mendi, his wife Grace Young was also preparing to join him. At first, she had to wait while her husband went ahead. Gordon and Grace Young had been working in Namatanai Circuit on New Ireland with the Methodist Church since the endContinue reading “04. Memories of Mrs Grace Young, 1951”