Happy 60th Anniversary The Church of the Nazarene!
The Church of the Nazarene was established 60 years ago in Tuanaimato, Samoa.
Photo: EyeSpy Radio/Tina Mata'afa-Tufele Elise
Rev. Peniperite Fakaua and Samoa’s The Church of the Nazarene were joined by Acting Prime Minister Leatinuu Sooialo W. Fong for its 60th Anniversary celebration held on Wednesday at the Church compound in Tuanaimato.
The Church, established in 1962, shares the same birth year as the Independent State of Samoa.
Rev. Peniperite, formerly of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.) said The Church of the Nazarene currently numbers close to 1,900 members.
The Church of the Nazarene arrived in American Samoa in 1960 and its first congregation was established in the village of Nuuuli.
Two years later, Nazarene Missionaries established Samoa’s first congregation in Lefaga.
“We thank God for His love, His goodness and His protection for these many years,” Rev. Peniperite told the media.
Today, there are 14 Nazarene congregations in Samoa.
“Today marks 60 years since The Church of the Nazarene was established in Western Samoa. The Church arrived in American Samoa in 1960 and it was established in Nuuuli where we have one branch there,” Rev. Peniperite said.
Rev. Peniperite Fakaua, leader of The Church of the Nazarene.
Photo: EyeSpy Radio/Tina Mata'afa-Tufele Elise
“The Church was then brought to Samoa by Missionaries. In Western Samoa, we have 14 congregations. In Tutuila, we built a second Church so that makes 16 congregations in the two Samoa.”
“I am from the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa but I joined the The Church of the Nazarene and became a member,” said Rev. Peniperite.
A theological college for preachers was established at Tuanaimato in 1974, one major development in the growth of the Church.
The Church offers assistance to villages where needed and one of the achievements of its Missionaries was bringing in the Youth For Christ (Y.F.C.) programme from New Zealand.
A radio programme was hosted by the Church to raise awareness about their work in Samoa.
Rev. Peniperite thanked the government for its strong support of the Church.
“I extend our thank you to the country for the support and to the government for their support, for partnering with our Church to help spread the Gospel, with development and with financial support,” he said.
“This is not a big Church, not like other churches so I thank everyone who has supported us, for providing and for supporting financially our The Church of the Nazarene celebration.”
Church members from across the country of all ages, dressed in green and white, paraded through Tuanaimato on Wednesday morning.
Lefaga, Falelauniu, Papa Palauli, Vaitele, Saleapaga, Taga, Mulifanua and Tuanaimato are among the villages where the Church of the Nazarene has established itself over the past 60 years.
Members also celebrated with pese and siva performances in the Church Hall.
Acting Prime Minister Leatinuu represented the Government of Samoa at the celebration.
The Church of the Nazarene’s 60th anniversary “coincides with the celebration of 60 years of Samoa’s independence,” he said.
“Today marks the commemoration of 60 years of the Church of the Nazarene’s evangelical presence in Samoa,” Leatinuu said.
“It is indeed a milestone to celebrate, and a testament of perseverance and commitment of the past and present leaders, and members of the church to ‘respond to its global mission underpinned by the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, ‘to go and make disciples of all nations’.”
He acknowledged and welcomed the delegation from the Headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene International in Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America.
Rev. Dr. David W. Graves, a general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, traveled to Samoa for the 60th anniversary celebration.
“I acknowledge with gratitude the presence of the delegation from the Headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene International in Kansas City, U.S.A. Welcome to Samoa, and thank you for continuing to shine the light of Jesus Christ through this worldwide Ministry, and for winning souls for the Kingdom of God,” the Acting Prime Minister Leatinuu said.
“This commemoration coincides with the celebration of 60 years of Samoa’s independence. The theme for this yearlong celebration is to ‘sail with faith’. Let us continue to sail with faith, for the Lord has promised us, that He will never leave nor forsake us.”
Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and Member of the Council of Deputies Le Mamea Ropati Mualia were also in attendance.
Moving forward, Rev. Peniperite says their “first priority” is to grow the Church and establish a congregation in every village in Samoa.
The goal is to teach families and children how to live “a holy life,” he said.
The global mission of the Church of the Nazarene is "to respond to the Great Commission of Christ to 'go and make disciples of all nations' (Matthew 28:19)."
The Church is growing but not as quickly as it would like due to restrictions put in place by village leaders, he noted.
“The first priority is to have the Church established in all villages of Samoa,” said Rev. Peniperite.
“We have more than 1,800 members in Samoa...there are very close to 1,900 members. We are doing well with growth but it is moving a bit slow in some areas of Samoa.”
The Church of the Nazarene deploys Missionaries to share the Gospel.
In some villages, Missionaries face challenges due to bans put in place that permit only certain religions to practice and establish a congregation in the village.
“There are some challenges in villages where there are bans in place. So we are not moving as quickly as we would like,” Rev. Peniperite said.