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: 226,000 (BBC News). 98.5% Melanesian. 80% rural.
Language: 105 indigenous languages. Bislama (the official language), English and French.
Literacy: Adult literacy is estimated at only 33.5%.
Average life expectancy: around 69 years (UN).
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs and cargo cults.

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. Currently Luke and Monica Tari from Ambae are missionaries in PNG. 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.

The 48th Annual Conference of Churches of Christ in Vanuatu was held in May 2009 in Port Vila. Key positions were reviewed with Keith Wilson Garae being elected as Treasurer, Ps Samuel Vusi as Secretary General and Ps Graham Kwaney as Director of Mission. Pastor Hosea Bani was elected as Conference President.

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 for November 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.

Silas Tabi is the current principal of Ranwadi and served for several years as deputy under Silas Buli who helped Ranwadi achieve and excel in both the academic and sporting standards of the school.

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. 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. 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 currently assisting at 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, including Toowoomba North and Lakeshore (Qld).

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 catering for 50 students. Several staff attend the local Lenaei Church of Christ. In July 2008 a team of 23 from Elizabeth, Victor Harbor & Milang Churches of Christ in SA built a new Years 3 / 4 classroom block.

Frank and Sue Sanders serving short term

Frank and Sue Sanders are currently serving as short term workers on Pentecost.

Sue is using her skills in occupational therapy to assist those with disabilities in local communities.

Their latest newsletter is attached below.

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 Coconut Awareness workshops and community development projects.
• For the short term mission teams assisting at Londua, Ranwadi and other locations.