Church’s path reliant on youths: Head bishop Urame

By ZEBEDEE GIAME
THE direction that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG (ECPNG) will take from this year, depends on young Lutherans, a bishop says.
Speaking at the 13th anniversary combined service in Lae recently, head bishop Dr Jack Urame said the church had come a long way.
“What we are celebrating today were the achievements of some missionaries who made the decision to follow Christ 137 years ago,” he said.
Urame said it was up to the Lutheran people to ensure that the next generation of the church would celebrate the achievements that they made.
He said there were many areas within the church that the Lutheran people could participate in and be modern-day missionaries.
“That was why you can actually see that the church has continued to train pastors, evangelists, lay people, volunteers and provide other basic social services as well,” he said.
The bishop said what was achieved today would be the cause of celebration for the next generation.
Urame said the next generation of Lutherans must be proud and inspired by the achievements of Lutherans today in the social, physical and spiritual arenas.
He thanked the early local missionaries who felt the need to evangelise more communities and took the lead in spreading the gospel throughout mainland New Guinea.
“What they have done was generous because they actually sowed seeds that we were harvesting today and at this gathering, we were celebrating their achievements in the spiritual and social sectors,” he said.
Urame said they took the lead in evangelising communities and services like health and education flowed smoothly into communities that local missionaries had evangelised.
ELCPNG Day committee chairman John Yawing said the core business of the church was evangelism. We as Lutheran people have an obligation to support the church to ensure that the welfare of pastors are guaranteed.”