September 20, 2014

God and Hope TV Credited With 2,213 Baptisms in Vanuatu

A three-week evangelistic series in the
capital of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu resulted in 2,213 baptisms, an
unexpectedly large outcome that marveling church leaders attributed to the Holy
Spirit’s work through daily television broadcasts of the event.

The series, titled “Hope for
Port Vila” and part of the Adventist world church’s “Mission to the Cities”
initiative, officially ended last Sabbath, Sept. 13. But the final 115 baptisms
took place the next morning after the 28 ministers who spent hours baptizing at
the series’ main venue, Freshwota Park, ran out of time.

“Hope
TV is truly a miracle,” said Simon Luke,
general secretary of the Vanuatu Adventist Mission. “Had it not existed, the
boost in the number of baptisms would not have happened.”

Attendance swelled as the series
was aired live on the church-owned Hope Channel and made available on free-to-air television to residents of the capital, Port Vila,
as well as the cities of Luganville and Lakatoro. More than 5,000 people were attending the evening program in Freshwota
Park by the third day of the series, and 9,000 to 12,000 showed up on the last
Sabbath, Luke said.

Church leaders offered
praise to God for the tremendous response to the gospel message — a response
that will fill the Vanuatu Mission’s 77 churches to overflowing. The Vanuatu Mission, which
covers a territory with a population of 258,000, had 19,000 members before the
series began.

“I do not know where
the new members will meet,” said Glenn
Townend, president of the Trans Pacific Union, which includes the mission,
speaking by e-mail. “There is some space in
existing churches. However, this is one of the challenges — places of worship.”

<strong>NEW FAITH:</strong> A non-Adventist pastor being baptized on Sabbath, Sept. 13, 2014. Two non-Adventist pastors were among the 2,213 people baptized. Photo: Vanuatu Mission
<strong>ROW OF PRISONERS:</strong> Prisoners attending the Sabbath meeting after watching the three-week evangelistic series on the Hope Channel. Eighteen were baptized. Photo: Vanuatu Mission

Church leaders attributed
the baptisms in Port Vila and two other sites solely to the work of the Holy
Spirit, but they noted that the television broadcasts had been particularly
effective. The evangelistic
series also was broadcast on the radio and was live-streamed online.

Luke said he was aware of
numerous stories of people who joined the Adventist faith through Hope TV,
including an elderly man who watched nightly and afterward shared what he had
heard with his wife, who has eye and memory problems. On Sabbath, the couple
was baptized together with their son and his wife.

In another instance, a boy became
convinced that he wanted to give his heart to Jesus while he watched the
preaching and baptisms last Sabbath, Luke said. “His parents could not stop him,
so they had to reluctantly take him to the pond to be baptized,” he said.

Hope TV also led 18 inmates,
including one woman, to get baptized. The prison allowed the inmates, convicted of minor offenses, to attend the Sabbath meeting, where they joined thousands of people watching the worship service projected on a large video screen.

“Each time the pastor gave
an appeal, these prisoners would stand up before the screen and give their hearts to Jesus,”
Luke said.

He said that the Hope
Channel has become a household name across Vanuatu in just three weeks.

But the evangelistic series did
not unfold without challenges. The leadership of several other Christian faiths
on the island grew increasingly bitter and threatening after Adventist
presenters spoke at the end of the first week about the holiness of Sabbath and
how the day of worship was changed by post-apostolic Christian leaders from Sabbath to Sunday. Comments on social
media were salted with hate and obscenities. Unknown people threatened to
deport or even kill one of the presenters, Jean-Noel Adeline, head of the Church Ministries
department for the New Zealand Pacific Union Conference.

“Someone called the office
and threatened to do something and promised to make sure Pastor Jean-Noel did
not leave the country alive,” Luke said. “Although nothing concrete took place,
the threat was real and you could literally feel the presence of the evil
forces at work.”

In another incident, the
family of an Adventist pastor woke up in the morning to find thick blood in
their bathroom and more blood smeared across a bed sheet outside the house and
on a pair of men's underwear in their washing sink.

“This literally struck fear
into the heart of the family,” Luke said. “But that is as far as Satan was
allowed to go. God protected this family.”

Perhaps more than anything,
the many baptisms showed that God remained in control, church leaders said.

Among the prominent citizens
who were baptized was a senior Health Ministry official, a former senior
Education Ministry official, and the wife of a Cabinet minister, the leaders
said. Joining them were two non-Adventist pastors, one with his whole family.

Church members were
especially rejoicing over the rebaptism of more than 30 people who had broken
away from the Adventist Church to form various movements. Luke said that those
baptisms last Sabbath showed that the evangelistic series not only brought
conversion but also healing to the local church. “It was a historic moment and
a powerful picture of unity of God’s church,” he said.

Luke said he believed God
was able to especially bless the evangelistic series because Adventist members
in Port Vila were willing to humble themselves, confess, and repent of and
renounce sin.

“The church came into one
accord and unity, and God poured out his Holy Spirit,” he said. “The baptismal
result is only an indication of this outpouring.”


Related links

Adventist Review, Aug. 28, 2014: “Vanuatu: Evangelistic Series Under Way”

“Mission to the Cities” website

“Hope for Port Vila” website

“Hope for Port Vila” on social media:

Facebook page

Twitter account

YouTube channel

Google+ page

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