Pastors "Lift the Cross" in PNG

It is not difficult to find stories of Nazarenes attending conferences for the shared goal of growing in faith and in ministry skills. Missionary Neville Bartle shares the following story is one that expresses those same purposes. Nearly 500 pastors gathered recently at Lae Christian Academy in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for their National Pastors' Conference. Due to difficult terrain and uncertain roads, attendees traveled by canoe, boat, truck, bus, plane, and foot in order to participate in the event. The activities included times of preaching, teaching, strategizing, fellowship, and worship. Pastors from the Middle Ramu District walked for three days and then traveled on the back of a truck for 8 hours to get to the conference site. Sandaun District Superintendent Timothy Kiandu from West Sepik walked night and day for 21 hours allowing himself a few rest stops. His journey continued when he rode in a truck to Wewak, then boarded a ship that took him overnight to Madang, where he caught a bus to the conference. For Kiandu, it took nearly a week of to travel to reach the event. The situation was then reversed for his return trip. Angoram area pastors traveled several hours by dugout canoe, then six hours in a small open boat with an outboard motor down the coast to Bogia so they could catch transport to Lae. During the day, the conference schedule was given to teaching sessions. Evenings were filled with preaching services. According to Neville Bartle, God worked powerfully in people's lives. Bartle reported that night after night the altar was lined with pastors praying about things in their lives that needed correction and for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit. A presentation brought one evening service to a dramatic conclusion. Two elderly men who were some of the earliest Bible college graduates struggled into the tent dragging a heavy cross. As they called out for assistance, other early Bible college graduates, who have now been pastoring for 30 years or more, joined the two until the group was able to carry the cross into the center of the tent. The first PNG national district superintendent, Taima Dirye, challenged the younger pastors, "We have carried the cross this far, but we are now white haired and our bodies are not as strong as they used to be. Who will take up the cross and carry it forward?" The elderly pastors then picked up walking sticks and limped back to their seats to resounding applause. Gabriel Kaula, chair of the PNG National Board and superintendent of the Bromley Memorial District, challenged the pastors, "What will you do? Will you leave the cross lying on the ground, or will you pick it up and carry it forward?" Immediately hundreds of pastors surged forward, picked up the cross and held it high. A spontaneous prayer meeting erupted as pastors called out to God to give them strength for the task, courage to face challenges, and to empower them with the Holy Spirit. The Church of the Nazarene continues to grow at a rapid rate in Papua New Guinea. The number of full members in this country grew by 8.6 percent last year giving a current total of over 13,000 Nazarenes on 11 districts. Holiness Today, November/December 2004

 

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