In Fiji, Hope Channel Is Reaching People of Other Faiths, and Those Living Abroad

By: Maryellen Fairfax, Adventist Record, and Adventist Review

From a rural community that starts their small generator at 7:45 p.m. every Wednesday to catch the 8:00 p.m. discussion on the Bible study for the week to the Fijian diaspora watching in many countries, Hope Channel Fiji is steadily gaining widespread attention, leaders said.

In recent months, Hope Channel in Fiji has received positive news from across the country about the reach of their television programs to both rural and city communities. The stories below were shared with Adventist Record that show the impact the local Seventh-day Adventist television network is having across that island nation.

A Self-appointed Hope Channel Ambassador

A senior Methodist reverend is now a big fan of Hope Channel Fiji.

He disclosed this information in a letter sent to an Adventist district close to Nausori (eastern Viti Levu), saying that he encourages the 12 churches under his care to watch the channel. He even invited Navitalai Ligaitamana — the host of the Fijian Sabbath school discussion segment — to preach at some of his churches and gatherings of the 13 villages in the district. Some of the churches have asked for copies — both old and new — of the Sabbath school lesson booklets.

After watching Hope Channel, the minister — who was found responsible for the physical assault of some Adventist church members in Fiji some years ago — also announced that he had taken the bold step of quitting kava drinking and smoking. He now calls himself a self-appointed “Hope Ambassador.”

Representatives from Hope Channel Fiji say they are grateful to God for his change of heart.

“Pastor, please baptize us!”

A landowner in the Kalabu village near Suva, Fiji, named Josaia Droka, recently asked for baptism for him and his family after watching Hope Channel.

He says he stumbled across the program after switching through channels on his television and saw newly appointed Hope Channel director Lepani Ledua preaching on “The Lamb and the Book of Revelation.”

Droka watched until the end of the sermon and then immediately drove to the Adventist mission office to ask for Ledua’s mobile number.

Their conversation led to a series of Bible studies and baptism in December 2019, where Droka, his wife, and their three teenage boys were baptized in the Raiwaqa Seventh-day Adventist Church in Suva.

Droka is now reaching out to those living in his community.

Other Christian Pastors Watching Hope Channel

Hope Channel Fiji’s Sabbath school host Ligaitamana says that he is often stopped in towns and cities on Fiji’s larger islands and thanked by ministers of other Christian denominations for sharing the Word of God.

“It gives me joy and satisfaction, now and then, as I walk through the streets to be stopped and thanked by ministers of other Christian denominations who are watching [the program]. Some have gone to the extent of inviting me to preach at their gatherings,” he said.

Hope Channel leaders in Fiji also reported that many Fijians from various faiths who live in other countries are watching Hope Channel Fiji’s YouTube channel. “Many are regularly sharing the Hope Channel programs on their Facebook accounts so that their own families can watch,” they said.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist Record.