The Juneau Church has been a multicultural church for quite some time, and the church family has recently grown again. Juneau has a high population of island cultures, including Samoan. The Samoan members of the Juneau Church sought to reach their own community with a meeting designed for Samoans.
Oliva Safotu, Oregon Conference pastor, was asked to come and be the speaker. Safotu combined solid biblical principles and humor to communicate the message each evening.
Each evening featured music, a message and a sit-down fellowship dinner. What a joy to visit, laugh and eat together. It turns out that Safotu is also quite a musician, as he delighted the group every evening with his piano playing along with Lui Iputi on guitar, who gave an island feel to the music.
Other church members also attended the meetings faithfully even though they couldn’t understand the language. There were a few English words sprinkled in so the non-Samoans could get the drift of the subject.
Within the Samoan community are strong ties to Mormonism. In the islands, the two largest church communities are the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Seventh-day Adventists. They are familiar with each other, and the faiths share family ties. As families reached out to their relatives there were struggles, even within the same family.
The Juneau members praise God that 14 individuals gave their hearts to the Lord and joined the Adventist Church. More baptisms are expected.
When you come to the Juneau Church you can be assured there is something for everyone. From Sabbath School programs, lesson study and church services to fellowship meals, Sabbath afternoon Bible studies and Adventist youth evening meetings, you really can be at church all day and have a wonderful time with the family of God and enjoy a little taste of heaven.
Juneau Church holds meetings especially geared toward reaching the local Samoan community.
