Ministry focuses on those with special needs

The National Weekender
FAITH
Mt Kuli SDA Church members in front of the centre of influence (CoI) with few of their VIPs. Total VIPs cared for is 655. – Pictures supplied

By THOMAS DILU
ADVENTIST Possibility Ministry (APM) is a global initiative incorporated by the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) General Conference to cater for people with special needs.
Just like personal ministries, family life ministries or other ministries within the religious organisation, this ministry is a global evangelistic movement that existed in almost all the 13 regional divisions of the church worldwide.
The Papua New Guinea Union Mission (PNGUM) of SDA Church, under the South Pacific Division (SPD) adopted this idea which eventually started in Jiwaka as a local initiative. Today, APM exists throughout local missions in Papua New Guinea and the world.

What really is Adventist Possibility Ministry (APM)?
It was also my first time to discover this ministry. When I started writing about some programme the SDA churches in Jiwaka have been doing to help the disabilities, and the vulnerable generally those that categorised as people with special needs, the neglected and the vulnerable, I came across this very special ministry that gives value to each individual person(s) despite what others say, see or may think of them.
The Adventist Possibility Ministry or APM is a ‘global movement’ now and not a ‘programme’. It is accepted and included by the General Conference of SDA in the United States of America (USA) and declared as the final and 29th Seven Day Adventist Fundamental Believe. As stated in adventist.org, APM inspires, equip and mobilised those who are differently able to serve God and their community. The APM through the power of the Holy Spirit, seek to change the way people are valued, by restoring human dignity and respect back to those who have been withdrawn from this priceless status and considered as different, were stigmatised, discriminated and marginalised because of their incapability or disability.
APM is all about bridging the community and the church with a common focus that God is the center of all and through him everything is possible.

The SDA main centre of influence building under construction in Minj, Jiwaka. This will later become the national care centre facility to accommodate all the donations and charity offerings towards helping people with special needs and the vulnerable through PNG SDA Union Mission.

The APM aim and its Ministry Categories
According to adventist.org, all are gifted and treasured in the eyes of God the Creator and with the APM ministries, the aim is to help the SDA churches become communities that value and fully include people with special needs, the neglected and the vulnerable. Under the APM ministry, there are seven broad categories, they are;

  • The deaf (hearing impeded)
  • The blind (visual impeded)
  • The physical impeded
  • The emotional and mentally impeded
  • Orphans and vulnerable children
  • Those who lost their spouse(s)
  • The caregivers to the disabled or sick
  • The seven broad ministries or categories of the APM are summarised locally using the acronym ‘VIP’. We all knew what it stands for, the ‘very important people or person(s)’.

Well, the APM clearly opened up my eyes, that I came to understand that God in his sight, everyone has a purpose in life and everyone is special as stated in the book of Jeremiah chapter 29, verses 11 (Jeremiah 29:11).

VIPs or people with special needs
The very important persons (VIPs) in earthly knowledge normally referred to those people of high ranks like the politicians, businessmen and women or the wealthy.
In biblical sense VIPs are those people who are seen as less fortunate, the marginalized, those with special needs such as the disables, the elderly, those widowed and the vulnerable like the orphans and those mentally challenged. It was stated and believed that all are created equally and must be treated with such respect. As stated in the scriptures of ‘Luke, chapter 19 verses 10’ (Luke 19:10) states, ‘Jesus came to seek and save.’
In a brief provided by Jiwaka Area Supervisor Pr. John Kundapen to The National currently about 10,000 VIPs are benefiting from the 54 small Centre of Influence (CoI) built right across 3 main districts of Jiwaka. Last Dec 2023, there were only 34 CoI centres, to this date, it gradually increases.

Banz Centre of Influence with SDA church members and few of the VIPs. The total number of VIPs cared for is 294.

Centre of influence (CoI)
The Centre of Influence or CoI were built to facilitate the needs of the VIPs. “Those COIs are not for accommodating the VIPs instead is used as a centre for storing and distributing the necessary resources needed by the VIPs and their caretakers,” said Ps Kundapen in his commentary, ‘The Bigger Picture’.
According to Ps Kundapen these are few of the 54 centres of influence (CoIs) in various parts of Jiwaka with the number of VIPs they look after;

  • Mt Kuli Church – 655 VIPs
  • Banz Church – 294 VIPs
  • Kongambil Church – 559
  • Daluba Church – 98 VIPs
  • Dona Mountain Church – 658 VIPs
  • Nondugl Church – 491 VIPs
  • Kawel Church – 339 VIPs
  • Kukpa A/Organise Church – 94 VIPs
  • Minjmu Church – 104 VIPs
  • Mt Oipo Church – 538 VIPs

With only a main centre to serve as headquarter to coordinate all the 54 and counting CoIs in the province.
“Lessons 1, 5 and 9 of every quarter is set aside for churches to bring in their charity offerings into the storehouse of the Adventist Possibility Ministry (APM) known as the COI,” Pr. Kundapen said.
He added that charity offerings coming from the church members required to assist the VIPs are; garden foods, clothing, kitchen utensils, beddings, store goods (rice, tinned fish, cooking oil, soap, Colgate, etc) and money (cash offerings for buying other staff like, wheelchairs, walkers and other materials for building VIP’s houses and VIP’s medical treatment).

The CoIs’ purpose and its function
Centre of Influence (CoI) is a building that is dedicated to the VIPs to cater for their needs. This is done through three (3) different ways;

  1. It serves as a worship and learning centre for the people living with disabilities (PLWD)
  2. It serves as hospitals/clinic/aid posts to treat the sick
  3. It also serves as a storehouse to store away other supplies for the VIPs.

The APM in local missions and main CoI
As part of PNG for Christ 2024 mega evangelistic event which will be held on April 26 to May 11, ground works for the APM has already been set for Jiwaka to play host to this massive religious event for the Sabbath Keepers in PNG and around the world.
The APM is one of the priority areas where church leaders in the Western Highlands Mission (WHM) and Jiwaka, the host province are addressing apart from the major health awareness and spiritual transformation of the multitudes.
To this date the APM is recognised as the 29th fundamental believe in the SDA General Conference at the United States headquarter.
The main CoI building is located in Minj, Jiwaka. With an estimated cost of K500,000, the building construction has already started with a local company Steel Works sphere heading the construction of the duplex. A double duplex building with parking space and office setup to coordinate the rest of the 54 COIs in Jiwaka and the country as well.
The main COI will later become the National Care Centre Facility (NCCF) that will accommodate all the donations and distribution of needed necessities to the VIPs around the country.

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