papua new guinea: overcoming barriers
Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you wanted to talk to someone but they did not speak the same language as you? You wondered: How can I communicate across the language barrier? Maybe you tried to exchange a few words and failed, or you were misunderstood. This is what often happens in Papua New Guinea. With over 800 languages spoken (representing more than 10% of the world's languages) and almost as many traditional tribes, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most diverse countries in the world.
In spite of this great challenge, the ministry of TSCF (Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship, the IFES movement in PNG) has been growing over the years. Since it was first founded in 1966, 100,000 graduates have gone through the movement and gone on to reach out to their respective communities with the good news of Jesus.
Our friends in TSCF write: 'We have many ministry opportunities, particularly to the rural communities of PNG. We have numerous testimonies of what God did through the meetings or fellowship during visits to various ethnic groups. We have seen people being saved, delivered from satanic bonds and healed. The Lord has done wonderful things and this despite the ethnic and cultural barriers. Each ethnic group is different from the other and yet often all barriers have been broken down because God was moving to restore people to himself.
'We have a message and a mission, a vision and a strategy to reach out to the young leaders of this nation using a holistic approach that touches all aspects of their lives. We want to see every young leader become responsible, to become a person with integrity. We have been investing in students and God has raised up a lot of people who are currently serving in leadership capacities in public, private, NGO and religious arenas.'
Praise God for over 1,000 who come to Christ each year through the ministry of TSCF! Praise God for the work of his Holy Spirit in that land and pray that despite the cultural and linguistic barriers, the name of Christ will continue to be proclaimed, understood, accepted and honoured to the glory of God.
Comment: Do you have a story of how God overcame linguistic or cultural barriers in your student group? Please share it with us.
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