Manam believers get help
Three tribal believers in Papua New Guinea travel to the mission center to teach the Firm Foundation Bible lessons to three Manam men, who then take the lesson and teach it to the believers in their home village.
The Manams first heard the Gospel in the late 1990s. The missionaries there began shepherding and discipling the new believers. But in 2004 a volcano erupted on the island where the Manam people lived. All 10,000 Manams were relocated to the mainland.
In recent years many of the Manams have moved back to the island and attempted to replant gardens and establish their homes once again. One faithful believer, James, began teaching the other Manam believers.
Realizing his need for help, he and two other Bible teachers went to a conference of tribal believers and met with the representatives from another tribal church. Three believers offered to meet at the mission support center and teach the Manam men from the Firm Foundation Bible lessons.
Missionaries Matt and Christine Hamb serve at the mission center but have a heart to go help disciple and shepherd the Manam believers. They realize that the church is still in its infancy due to the many interruptions in their discipleship. Their desire is to live among the Manam believers and be able to address each problem as it arises.
“We believe that the sooner we can make the move to be closer to the Manam church the better we will be able to help the Bible teachers,” Matt wrote. “This will also allow Christine to be involved in the lives of the women who are not getting any discipleship at this point. Our main ministry will be partnering with the already established, maturing believers in seeing the body continue to grow and reach out to those around them. True discipleship can only happen when we live out our daily lives with those whom we are discipling.
“Later this month we will meet again with both the other tribal Bible teachers and the Manam teachers to begin going through the book of Romans with them. This is the first time the Manam believers will have been taught through Romans so we are looking forward to seeing the church established in their position in Christ.”
Up to this point Matt has only assisted the teachers while they did all the teaching. He is thankful for the help the tribal believers have given him. However, James, one of the Bible teachers learning from the other believers, shared with Matt that he is broken-hearted over the lack of unity and problems in the Manam church.