Villagers whisper as he walks past. Some avoid eye contact. Others boldly curse him. One man spits on the ground in front of him and mutters, “This is what happens when you abandon your ancestors.” The Christian man says nothing—eyes low, heart heavy. He has just buried his second child in two weeks. Some say it’s his fault—judgment from the spirits, or worse, from God himself. There’s no one to correct this thinking. No shepherd to explain suffering through the lens of Christ. No fellow elder to mourn with him, pray with him, or open the Word. Only a handful of new believers are scattered in a village of over 1,000 people, trying to cling to faith amid tragedy, mockery, and crushing isolation. This is Village G in Papua New Guinea (PNG). And this is why we need missionaries.
I’d like for you to take a moment to think about the last time you suffered anything of consequence. For some of you, this is easy because you are currently suffering or struggling. For others, the suffering was long ago but still easily remembered. We all suffer in many ways: physical ailments, spiritual battles, persecution, untimely deaths of loved ones, and the pain of family issues. Suffering is all around us. We can’t move away from it, no matter how hard we try.
Now, as you’re thinking about this suffering, how many times have you wondered silently or aloud, “Why, God? Why is this happening to me? Is this because of something I’ve done? Is this because of something someone else has done?”
As a Christian living in the United States today, you likely have the benefit of biblical teaching, gospel-centered music, and a community of believers to walk with you. That doesn’t make suffering easy, but it provides you with a biblical framework.
But imagine that you’re living in a remote village in PNG. You’re one of a dozen recently baptized believers in a place where synchronistic Catholic traditions have existed for 50 years, but the gospel has not. There isn’t any wonderful good news about what Jesus has done to save you—only deep, abiding darkness. You are the only believers in a village of over 1,000 people. What do you do when tragedy strikes? What do you do when Aivo nearly dies from a physical ailment? When James dies suddenly? When Frank’s child is born disfigured and dies a few days later? When Frank loses another child the following week? When Ezekiel loses a young daughter during this same time?
This isn’t a hypothetical scenario; all of this unfolded within nine months in one of the villages where I work. It was truly devastating. These tragedies were compounded by the absence of a pastor, a mature believer, or anyone to shepherd this little flock through heartbreak. Instead of comfort, they faced condemnation. Local Catholics said one man died because he left their church. Others claimed illness and loss were signs of sin or punishment for choosing Christ. These believers were verbally abused and utterly alone.
This is why To Every Tribe exists. Yes, we have brought the gospel and we continue preaching Christ crucified. Yet the work is far from finished. The church in this village is young—only recently born—and the believers are in urgent need of discipleship, shepherding, and encouragement to stand firm under pressure.
Right now, there aren’t many Americans lining up to live in the middle of nowhere in PNG. But there are some national men from another part of PNG who are willing to go—to live there, teach them all that Jesus commanded, and help ground these believers in the faith.
There’s only one problem: they’re not ready. Yet.
In addition to planting churches among the unreached, our mission is focused on growing and training national pastors and leaders in PNG. There are hundreds of villages like this one—recently reached, lightly evangelized, and completely unequipped to walk through suffering with gospel hope. The gospel has only been in this region for about 75 years. There has been much evangelism and the planting of churches, but little depth. For example, in the group of 14 churches I’ve worked with since 2010, there are many godly men and women who love Jesus deeply, but who were never discipled beyond the basics of being a Christian.
When I first began working with them, they did not practice communion. I had not witnessed a single baptism. Legalism reigned, and there was virtually no assurance of salvation. I don’t say this to put them down in any way, but this was the state of affairs. They needed to be re-grounded in the gospel: that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—not by good works. And they needed to be taught to grow up in the faith.
This kind of deep, intentional discipleship takes time. But God is at work. Even as I write this while on home assignment in the United States, two pastors I’ve trained are heading back to that same remote village in PNG. They’re going to spend four weeks there—preaching, teaching, and encouraging the believers. Praise God for His work and provision!
So where do you fit into all of this? What has God been stirring in your heart when it comes to missions? Here are three specific ways you can be part of what God is doing in PNG.
You can come.
We need co-laborers. We need a mature Christian to train national pastors and leaders—someone with ministry experience who wants to be part of training indigenous leaders.
We need a handyman with construction experience to maintain and develop our small mission station.
We need a young “Timothy”—willing to learn and grow under a veteran missionary.
You can give.
Our mission station is being developed to better equip national leaders. We have trained pastors for over 15 years, and now we need to upgrade our infrastructure. Perhaps God is calling you to be a generous partner in this vital work.
You can pray.
Psalm 127 reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor do so in vain. We need prayer warriors asking for the Lord to build and bless His work in PNG.
The suffering man in Village G doesn’t need a quick answer to his pain. He needs a gospel-soaked shepherd. He needs to know that Jesus has not abandoned him. He needs to hear that suffering is not a sign of a curse, but a part of this broken life’s journey as we wait for Christ’s return. By God’s grace, and with your help, we can raise up leaders to walk with him through the darkness.
