Corporate entry: Assemblies of God

Functions
Religion

Details

The Assemblies of God (AOG) Church began in the Solomon Islands on 30 January 1971 when Apakuku N. Nacagilevu and his wife Viniana were sent from Fiji on an evangelistic tour of New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. They returned to the Solomon Islands on 5 March 1971 and began a ministry, renting a house and a hall in which to preach. Missionary Lawrence Larson, also from Fiji, joined them temporarily for an intensive programme, and after seven weeks they claimed they had achieved about 415 decisions to come to Christ, six water baptisms and fifteen people filled with the Holy Spirit, and had issued twenty membership cards. On 6 December 1971, Larson conducted the first official meeting to establish the AOG in the Solomon Islands. Sixty-seven adults were listed as members and a constitution and byelaws were adopted. The national church was inaugurated on 7 June 1974. The first Superintendent was Paul Wright, a missionary from the United States, with Nacagilevu elected as Assistant Superintendent. Two local pastors were appointed and more American missionaries arrived, creating a fast-growing Church. (Ernst 2006, 189-190)

Related Places

Published resources

Books

  • Ernst, Manfred, Globalization and the Reshaping of Christianity in the Pacific Islands, Pacific Theological College, Suva, 2006. Details