Evangelization in Papua New Guinea: Essential Cultural Elements, Missionary Opportunities, Challenges, and Hopes

Evangelization in Papua New Guinea: Essential Cultural Elements, Missionary Opportunities, Challenges, and Hopes
SVD Mission in Contexts: Creative Responses in a Wounded World
Michael Nguyen, SVD 

Before His ascension, Jesus entrusted His disciples with a universal mandate: to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. This missionary imperative is consistently attested across the four canonical Gospels. In Mark, Jesus commands, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). In Matthew, He exhorts the disciples to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Luke and Acts highlight the necessity of proclamation, stating that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Lk 24:47) and “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Gospel of John likewise reinforces this commissioning: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21).

This mission mandate is not confined to the first generation of disciples; it is a continuing vocation addressed to all Christians across history. Evangelization, therefore, entails the proclamation of Jesus Christ to all peoples, transcending geographical, religious, and cultural boundaries.

Papua New Guinea (PNG), a Pacific nation located north of Australia and east of Indonesia, received the light of the Gospel through the Marist missionaries, who arrived in Milne Bay in 1847. They were later followed by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), who began their work in East New Britain in 1882, and the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD), who established their presence in Madang in 1896.[1] Alongside Catholic efforts, various missionaries from other Christian churches also established their presence in PNG during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These combined missionary endeavors contributed significantly to the religious transformation of the country.

Today, nearly two centuries later, Christianity is deeply embedded in the life of the nation, with the Constitution explicitly recognizing it as the foundational faith. Nevertheless, PNG retains a rich and complex cultural landscape. Evangelization in this context assumes distinctive characteristics, shaped by indigenous worldviews, linguistic diversity, and ongoing social transformation.

This essay begins by articulating a theological understanding of the Church’s identity and mission. It then examines the particular context of PNG as a country marked by both cultural plurality and deep Christian affiliation. This is followed by an analysis of the opportunities and challenges of evangelization in a predominantly Christian yet rapidly evolving society, especially in light of the ongoing demographic shift in Christianity from the global North to the global South and the pervasive effects of globalization. Finally, inspired by the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year 2025, under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” the essay offers a theological reflection titled “Hope in the Sacred Garden,” exploring the author’s commitment to mission within the PNG context.

[1] Mary R. Mennis, “Foreword” to Paul B. Steffen, Sios bilong Yumi long Nougini (Madang: Society of the Divine Word, 2022), 11-13.