Vanuatu

Late in the nineteenth century the New Hebrides and other islands supplied labourers for the sugar and cotton plantations in Australia (known in Australia as the “Kanakas”). John Thompson saw the need and opportunity to evangelize among these displaced people and on January 1, 1893 opened a mission near Childers, Queensland. In the first ten years over 160 islanders were baptized and many on their return home built chapels and schools and began to evangelize. Willie Tabimancon is given much credit for beginning the work in Vanuatu supported by other Ni-Vanuatu nationals. When the first long-term missionary, Frank Filmer, arrived from Australia in 1908 there were young church communities already established.

Major revivals occurred in 1981 and 1988 and had great effect on the churches. Churches of Christ have 100 congregations and 7,000 members. Members of Churches of Christ serve in the Vanuatu parliament and have held minister level positions within the government.

Schools are central to the life of the Vanuatu Churches of Christ. There are 25 educational institutions and GMP currently supports three – Ranwadi on Pentecost, Londua on Ambae and Isla on Tanna. Volunteer work teams and individuals from Australia offer encouragement, support and assistance on a regular basis.

Profile

Population: 239,000 (UN 2009). 98.5% Melanesian. 80% rural.
Language: 105 indigenous languages. Bislama (the official language), English and French.
Literacy: (15+) 78.1%.
Average life expectancy: 68 years (men) and 72 years (women) (UN).
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs and cargo cults.
GNI per capita: US $2,330 (World Bank 2008)

Vanuatu is an archipelago in the South Pacific made up of 13 large islands and approximately 70 islets. The first European visitors were the Portuguese early in the 17th Century. Captain Cook explored the islands in 1774 and gave the name New Hebrides. This nation was administered jointly by Britain and France from 1887 until independence in 1980 when it took the name Vanuatu.

Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, distance from world markets, limited capacity to utilise natural resources, the high cost of infrastructure, and vulnerability to natural disasters. The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture. Coconut oil, copra, kava and beef account for more than 75% of Vanuatu's total agricultural exports (20% of Gross Domestic Product). Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism are other mainstays of the economy.

Vanuatu was accorded ‘UN Least Developed Country’ status in 1995. It is the third poorest country in the Pacific with a per-capita GDP of US$ 1,276. The Human Poverty Index (HPI) ranks Vanuatu number 13 of 15 Pacific Island Countries and 140 on the UNDP Global Human Development Index (HDI). External grant aid forms a substantial part of foreign exchange.

Other pressing issues include a lack of employment, the growing impact of HIV/AIDS, a general vulnerability to mismanagement, and the impact of climate change.

(Sources: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, BBC Country Profile, Lowry Institute, UN Common Country Assessment Report 2002.)

Churches of Christ in Vanuatu

Late in the nineteenth century the New Hebrides and other islands supplied labourers for the sugar and cotton plantations in Australia and Fiji (known in Australia as the “Kanakas”). John Thompson saw the need and opportunity to evangelize among these displaced persons and on January 1, 1893 opened a mission near Childers, Queensland, under the Australian Foreign Missionary Committee.

In the first ten years over 160 islanders were baptized and many on their return home built chapels and schools and began to evangelize. Willie Tabimancon is given much credit for beginning the work in Vanuatu supported by other Ni-Vanuatu nationals.

When the first long-term missionary, Frank Filmer, arrived from Australia in 1908 there were young church communities.

By 1910 there were 500 members in the churches and 1000 attending Bible classes in 50 schools. Eventually a Bislama hymnbook and New Testament were published.

By 1968 Vanuatu began to send missionaries to other countries, beginning with August and Maelene Ben and Bill and Janet Bule as workers to Papua New Guinea. Luke and Monica Tari from Ambae also served in PNG from 2004 - 2009. The Vanuatu churches initiated a mission to New Caledonia in 1969.

Major revivals occurred in 1981 and 1988 and had great effect on the churches. Churches of Christ have 100 congregations and 7,000 members. Members of Churches of Christ serve in the Vanuatu parliament and have held minister level positions within the government.

Vanuatu Conference of Churches of Christ

In 1973 the Conference of Churches of Christ in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) was formally constituted. In the 1980s the Conference restructured and appointed directors to oversee areas of Church Development, Mission and Evangelism and Youth and Christian Education.

The Conference office is in Luganville on the island of Santo. Ministers are currently trained in a partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu while Banmatmat Bible College is in recess and being reviewed. The Vanuatu Conference has identified one of their main needs as church leadership development, including lay leadership and retention of pastors. With the closure of Banmatmat Bible College, a void has existed for the training of local pastors and church leaders. A new initiative for a Mobile Theological College has been developed ready to begin in 2011. Judith Vusi has been appointed as Principal. A library will be established at Conference office to service the College.

The 50th Annual Conference of Churches of Christ in Vanuatu was held in May 2011. Kenneth Tabi was elected as  Conference President and Stella Tabi was elected as Vice President. She is only the second lady to hold this position. Keith Wilson Garae continues in his role as Treasurer, as does Samuel Vusi as Secretary General and Graham Kwaney as Director of Mission.

Currently youth ministry is one of the strongest departments in the Vanuatu churches. The main focus among the youth is training young leaders for ministry. Simon Tambe writes, “Raising up new leaders is part of preparing the church of the future.” Every two years they run a youth convention. The next is planned to be held on Tanna in December 2010.

Schools are central to the life of the Vanuatu Churches of Christ.  There are 25 educational institutions and GMP currently supports three – Ranwadi on Pentecost, Londua on Ambae and Isla on Tanna. Volunteer work teams and individuals from Australia offer encouragement, support and assistance on a regular basis. KiwiLink (NZ) also supports Vanuatu Conference.

Until 1982 the Conference sponsored medical ministries as part of their outreach, such as the hospital at Nduindui. These were handed over to the government following changes in government policy and rising costs. 

Ranwadi Churches of Christ College

Ranwadi High School is a co-educational boarding school on the west coast of the island of Pentecost. It initially opened as a girls’ school in 1954. It now has just under 400 students, from various islands in Vanuatu.

Funds given by AusAID (Australian government Agency for International Development) enabled the upgrading of Ranwadi facilities and were completed in 2006. There is an ongoing need for maintenance to keep these facilities at a high standard.

Ranwadi underwent a change of principal for the first time since 1986 when Silas Buli concluded his term at the end of 2009. The principal this year is Royal Bebe.

The academic staff come from different countries as well as Vanuatu. In particular the University of Oxford places several teachers of Maths, Science and English at Ranwadi. GAP students and volunteers from Australia and New Zealand are also welcomed. Stephanie Miller from Queensland has been a gap volunteer in 2010 and 2011.

Ranwadi has a strong tradition in sports and participates in the Interschool sports games every year.

Londua Training School

Londua Training School was established in 1949 on the central west coast of the island of Ambae, and recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. The original aim was to train young men to serve in the villages as pastors and teachers. In 1960 the British Government coordinated all the English medium schools and Londua became a co-educational facility training both in academic and vocational skills. Londua has established a significant reputation for its high standard of vocational training for high school students. Amon Gwero is the Principal this year.

Lyn and Allen Cox from Queensland are supporting Londua as volunteer resource administrators. They have quite extensive experience in leading short term mission teams to Londua. It is encouraging to have several groups assisting with maintenance and re-building at Londua and the development of teaching resources.

Pastor Valerie Garae was appointed as Chaplain at Londua. There have been some wonderful signs of spiritual growth since she commenced in this role in February 2008. Ps Valerie’s salary has been wonderfully supported by the Kingaroy and Gladstone Churches of Christ in Queensland.

Isla Mission School

Isla is a Junior Primary School on Tanna. Currently there are 70 students enrolled from Kindy to Year 4. Several staff attend the local Lenaei Church of Christ. In August 2009 Witnol Bule from Pentecost was appointed as the new principal. He is reviewing the school curriculum in preparation for higher education for the students attending.

In July 2008 a team of 23 from Elizabeth, Victor Harbor & Milang Churches of Christ in SA built a new Year 3 / 4 classroom block. The principal hopes to expand the school to include higher levels of primary education as staff become available.

COCOA Community Development Projects

Prayer Points:

• For the churches and their leaders in seeking to give voice to the Gospel and impact their local communities.
• For leadership development and retention of pastors
• For the staff and students at the educational institutions run by Conference.
• For the short term mission teams assisting at Londua, Ranwadi and other locations.