Called to share the gospel

The National Weekender

By DAVID SUSUVE
MANY are called to serve God individually but few are called to work collectively and bring forth the gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of a ministry.
The 4th Man Ministry is a group called and set apart by God to reach out to unbelievers and proclaim the the grace of God, through is Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But a call to serve does not come on a golden bowl; one must pay the price, regardless of situations to see the fulfillment of commitment and dedication to the Lord.
Psalm 37:34 says, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, and you will see it.”
I was drawn to writing about how the 4th Man Ministry was established, and so I visited the Ora family to get a clear picture of the ministry, and how God used its members and leaders to impact others through the power of the Holy Spirit.
And so the story begins in July 2009. The 4th Man Ministry originated from a Bible study group at Kelerakwa village in Central.
Founder and leader of the ministry, Evangelist Kulu Ora said the ministry began with four primary school-aged kids who joined them in prayer and then it grew as more children joined.
This eventually led to the need for discipleship classes to equip teenagers and adults. As the numbers grew, they began to see more opportunities and so they got more involved in the church, starting Bible studies, seminars and camps for young and old leaders in Kelerakwa.
A prayer movement began to rise up which eventually allowed the church to accommodate the move of God that brought transformation in the village.
According to Ora, the ministry went from the local church to other churches within their Aroma United Church Circuit areas.
After two years, they got called to Gerehu United Church in National Capital District (NCD) to lead the evangelism ministry.
For a total of seven years, God used the ministry in crusades, outreachevents, camps, discipleship, and Bible studies to help build the spiritual life of the church. It was in these years that God prepared, groomed and trained them up for a bigger calling.
Towards the end of 2017, they really felt the Lord’s conviction to go out on a fulltime ministry and to reach out more for Christ Jesus, reaching out to preach the gospel to places like Silosilo, in Suau Local Level Government (LLG) of Milne Bay.
Other villagers in Aroma that the ministry has reach out to include Maopa, Pelegai, Egalauna, Kapari/Viriolo and Lalaura. Villages in Rigo district included Hula, Makerupu, Kapogere, Girabu and Gulogolo.
In NCD they ministry team has been to Moukele (Fisherman Island), Gabi, and Ranuguri. Moving under the ministry’s vision to see lives transformed by the power of God’s word, the 4th Man Ministry further expanded and that saw the birth of the Lighthouse Community programme, in Gerehu Stage 2, Port Moresby.
The Lighthouse programme was initiated straight after God spoke through a female member and the ministry’s worship leader, Boniphas Womola through visions that had similar interpretations. This was before the first lockdown in Port Moresby.
The lockdown affected church services resulting in many conducting altars in their respective homes.
This was the start of the programme when many flocked into their Gerehu home, to join them in fellowship, which eventually got the programme started.
Since then, the programme has been running for the past nine months on the first Sunday of every month.
According to Evangelist Ora, the programme has been one of the 4th Man Ministry’s success stories that has not only brought the gospel of Jesus to the community’s door step, but has brought immense change to the lives of youths, especially to those who have been involved in homebrew, drugs and other illegal activities.
The programme has also provided a platform for speakers like Rev Laio Poka from Taikone United Church, Rev Meata Lai from the Gerehu United Church, and other men of God from different denominations to speak.
It has also provided community members the privilege to get more involved in activities such as drama, choreography and creative dances.
Meanwhile, the 4th Man Ministry recently graduated 47 youths who came from as far has Pinu in Kairuku-Hiri District, Moukele Lutheran Resurrection Church, the Light House and youths from the Gerehu United Church after a leadership training that ran from the Sept 30 to Oct 4 at the Gerehu United Church grounds.
The training themed “Ready Set Go” was facilitatrf by one of the ministry’s co-founders, Iru Ora.
He said the concept started in 2016 and this was the third year.
Iru said in today’s society, good leadership was lacking not in churches only but also in schools, communities, organisation and at the political level.
Seeing this need, the 4th Man Ministry started this programme purposely to equip young leaders with skills in order for them to lead with confidence.
Iru said hosting such training has been a real challenge. Due to Covid-19 disrupting a lot of their revenue generating channels, they have been moving by faith and also raising funds. There was also support from individuals and the local Gerehu United Church members through various awareness events.
With the interest from other congregations, the 4th Man Ministry plans to run the leadership training annually and is appealing to interested organisation and donors to support this cause.
The ministry’s primary role is to be a vehicle people people to exercise their gifts and talents in the mission field locally, thus gaining ministry experience and building their confidence to go out to tell others about Jesus Christ.

  • The author works at Kalang Advertising Ltd. For news on church events ministry outreaches he can be contacted on 7562 4099 or email [email protected].