Greg and Laura Melendes
Ethnos 360 – Itinerant PNG
Laura and Greg had the privilege of planting two churches among the Waxe people group from 1981-2000. Since then, the churches have been led by local elders and deacons, and like any church, has experienced periods of growth and periods stagnancy. On a recent visit to Papua New Guinea, Greg was able to sit down, discuss church life, and assess the current state of the Waxe churches. Here is a small part of his report:
The visit the Waxe villages showed two very vibrant church bodies, each led by godly men who shepherd each church in ways that bring true glory to their Lord. They are not self-serving in any way. They deal faithfully with any issues that might divide them or the church. The elders in Wenim each lead small discipleship groups on Tuesday and Thursday. The leaders downriver in Meska continue to evangelize and disciple a neighboring language group through means of TokPisin. Next week they will begin to teach Paul’s letter to the Romans to 30-40 new believers while beginning to train three of them to teach their own church. There was a definite air of peace and contentment in each village that we never witnessed in our early days. Surely, we know not every person is a follower of Christ, but the churches’ influence is so dominant in each village that even unbelievers have been changed. And that is one of the signs of a truly functioning and growing local body. We are thankful for what God is doing in and through the believers in both Wenim and Meska.
Please pray for both churches and their leaders to follow Christ as they know they should.
