Papua New Guinea

Ministry Description

After graduating from New York Word of Life Bible Institute and completing other training, Late Rev. John Airi, Philo and their children returned to their home country of Papua New Guinea to begin the new ministry there in 2000.
Over the years, the Ministry has grown, many young people were impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ through its various Evangelistic and Discipleship Programs. More than a dozen are now serving in Full-time Ministry.

Word of Life Fellowship Papua New Guinea Inc. main focus is the Evangelization and Discipleship of young people. We serve Bible Believing Churches by building model student Ministries.
1. Our Mission:
Equipping Evangelical Churches through Disciple-Making and Gospel Advancing Student Ministries

2. Our Vision:
Empowering Evangelical Churches to effectively reach every youth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all 22 Provinces within the 4 Regions of Papua New Guinea.

3. Our Core Values
- Bible Centered
- Youth Centered
- Gospel Driven
- Disciple Making
- High Energy

4. Our Objectives
- Every teen hearing a Gospel from a friend
- Every teen growing in their walk with the Lord
- Every teen involved in Disciple-Making

We thank God for the Team that He had put together for WOL-PNG;
1) Moses & Brenda Temo - Field Director
2) Joshua & Brenda Seilala - Student Ministries (LCM) field coordinator
3) Enoch Umpeng - Missionary

The Lord is at work, and we are serving together in Unity to reach the Next generation of Papua New Guineans from every tribe, culture and religion with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Partnership with Like - minded Churches.

Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"

Country Description

Papua New Guinea is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is 160 kilometers north of Australia. The western half of the island is Irian Jaya, a province of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea comprises both the mainland and some 600 offshore islands. It has a total land area of 460,000 square kilometers and is slightly larger than California. Located just south of the equator, Papua New Guinea experiences a moderate tropical climate with high levels of seasonal rainfall. In the highlands temperatures can range from a low of four degrees Celsius to a high of 32 degrees Celsius. The lowland, coastal and island areas have an average daily temperature of 27 degrees Celsius.

Papua New Guinea has a population of over 10 million people. The majority live in the highland valleys, many in isolated villages. There are over 850 tribal languages spoken by over 1000 tribes.

Religion in Papua New Guinea is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with traditional animism and ancestor worship
Christianity by denomination;
- Roman Catholic Church 27.0%
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea 19.5%
- United Church in Papua New Guinea 11.5%
- Seventh-day Adventist Church 10.0%
- Pentecostal 8.6%
- Evangelical Alliance (PNG) 5.2%
- Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea 3.2%
- Baptist 0.5%
- Salvation Army 0.2%
- Other Christian 10%
- Jehovah’s Witnesses 0.4%
- Church of Christ 0.4%
A large majority of Papua New Guineans identify themselves as members of a Christian church. However, many combine their Christian faith with traditional indigenous practices, known as religious syncretism. Other religions represented in the country include the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism and Islam.

The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic multi-party system, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Papua New Guinea is an independent Commonwealth realm, with the monarch serving as head of state and a governor-general, nominated by the National Parliament, serving as their representative.
• Executive power is exercised by the government.
• Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.
• Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
• The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature

On March 12th, Majority of the Members of Parliament voted in favor of recognizing Papua New Guinea as a Christian country. The government openly partners with several Christian groups to provide services, and churches participate in local government bodies. Papua New Guinea is open to the Gospel. There are no restrictions. Though the people are very religious, they are more receptive to the pure Gospel when it is presented in a clear manner.

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, including mineral and renewable resources, such as forests, marine resources (including a large portion of the world's major tuna stocks), and in some parts agriculture. The rugged terrain (including high mountain ranges and valleys, swamps and islands) and the high cost of developing infrastructure, combined with other factors (including law and order problems in some centres and the system of customary land title) make it difficult for outside developers.

Local developers are hindered by years of deficient investment in education, health, and access to finance. Agriculture, for subsistence and cash crops, provides a livelihood for 85% of the population and continues to provide some 30% of GDP.

Mineral deposits, including gold, oil, and copper, account for 72% of export earnings. Oil palm production has grown steadily over recent years (largely from estates and with extensive outgrower output), with palm oil now the main agricultural export. Coffee remains the major export crop (produced largely in the Highlands provinces); followed by cocoa and coconut oil/copra from the coastal areas, each largely produced by smallholders; tea, produced on estates; and rubber. The Iagifu/Hedinia Field was discovered in 1986 in the Papuan fold and thrust belt.

Contact Information

Word of Life Fellowship PNG Inc.
P.O Box 1427
Goroka, EHP 441
Papua New Guinea

Career Missionaries

Joshua & Brenda Seilala

Moses & Brenda Temo

Enoch Umpeng