
Church members from the Local Congregation of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea celebrated the 30th anniversary of their congregation through a series of activities in the month of September.
“We prepared for this very blessed day of Port Moresby’s 30th anniversary. First, we reminded the officers and brethren to have devotional prayers. Actually, we did this for a month because we firmly believe that God will help us every time we have an activity especially that this is the 30th anniversary of the local congregation. We had an online evangelical mission and Pasugo drive,” said Brother Regino Manangan, resident minister.
“We thank the Lord God for He continues to bestow many victories in our local congregation. We also thank the Church Administration for approving the activities,” he added.
On September 18, 2020, the day of the congregation’s anniversary, a special worship gathering was held at the local’s house of worship.
Select brethren performed song and dance numbers of Iglesia Ni Cristo original music in a program streamed online.
Pioneer brethren shared their experiences on how they overcame trials and hindrances.
“The first place where we attended worship service was in Hohola. Even during rains and typhoons, we walked a great distance just to attend worship services. The Lord God is kind for even though there were snakes, no one was harmed,” Elizabeth Cueva, one of the pioneer brethren, narrated.
“We also experienced a trial wherein a group of influential people tried to grab the congregation’s land. The policy here is after five years, if there is no development, the property would be returned to the government. We united and stood our ground for the land and through God’s help, we prevailed. We continued our worship services here in the local congregation and we hoped that a beautiful and concrete house of worship would rise here. God answered our request, we witnessed on October last year the dedication of our new house of worship,” she added.
“I have seen all the videos and presentations for tonight, especially our local in Hohola before, it made me cry and brought back good memories. As the years go by we will continue to remain in this true Church. Happy 30th anniversary Port Moresby,” Ana Yari Yari, one of the brethren, said.
For their congregation’s anniversary, joyfulness is in the heart of the brethren. Elizabeth expressed, “We thank the Lord God and all the ministers for supporting us.” Brother Romeo Beltran, district supervising minister of Australia West, led the brethren in the activities. — With reports from INC News Section