Am Samoa Seventh-day Adventists welcome new church president

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A special service was held at the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church American Samoa Mission at Iakina last Sunday to officially welcome the new church president, Pastor Kenneth Lelei Fuliese Maisa and his family.

It’s been three months since Pastor Maisa was appointed as the president of the newly established Mission. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic requirements and the closing of borders between the two Samoas, Pastor Maisa and his family only arrived at the beginning of this month to begin their new assignment.

The special service was led by Pastor Uili Solofa, who was the SDA District Director for five years before the church reached the latest milestone in its history when it officially became a Mission at the beginning of this year.

Pastor Solofa, who is now the vice president of the church welcomed the new president and his family. Pastor Solofa said that the new president was appointed by God to come and lead the church.

“We welcome you and your family to your new home, the place God had called you both to serve,” Pastor Solofa said.

After the ceremony there was a Sua presentation by the new leader’s family and also the church.

Before being appointed to lead the church in American Samoa, Pastor Maisa was the president for the SDA Samoa Mission for 5 years.

Pastor Maisa was humbled by the special occasion.

"We are grateful to the Lord for choosing our humble selves to come and do His will. 

"This is something we have been praying for day and night. Now that it has officially come true, we have nothing more to say than thank you."

In accepting their calling, Pastor Maisa said they would continue to listen and rely on God to give them the strength and courage to face the journey ahead of them. 

He acknowledged the leadership and the tremendous work by Pastor Solofa and the leadership teams of the past quinquennium and present. They are continually moving God’s church forward.

“Thank you for the tremendous work you have done for the Church in the last five years. You have done so much for God’s church and you changed so many lives to God and His work,” Pastor Maisa told Pastor Solofa.

Speaking as the new leader for the church, the new president’s message to the church and to the world was very clear.

“To the world, this is not the right time for traveling do to business, but for us, it is the right timing ‘To Go’ and bring in the haves that God has prepared. Let us not be distracted with the crisis of COVID-19, let us not make any excuses, let us not wait for the right time — when things are back to normal but let us continue with God’s work. It will be in a new way, but His work must continue. Galatians 6:9 ‘Let us not be weary n well-doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not’.”

HISTORY

SDA in American Samoa traces its beginning to the arrival in 1944 of the missionary sent by SDA in Samoa to start up the church, this marking 76 years since the arrival of the SDA church in American Samoa.

It was during 1891 when the Pitcairn 2 (a schooner built for the Seventh-day Adventist Church for use in missionary work in the South Pacific) arrived in American Samoa for a week before it sailed back off into the South Pacific. After 51 years in 1944, a first missionary from Samoa arrived in American Samoa to start the ministry. He was Pastor Tini Inu Lam Yuen, his wife Fuea and their three young children.

Two years later in 1946, the first SDA church chapel was built in Satala.

The church slowly grew and after ten years in 1956, nine new churches were built in nine different locations in American Samoa including Alao, Alofau, Masefau, Satala, Nuuuli, Iliili, Vaitogi, Malaeloa and Leone.

The first SDA elementary school was established in Satala in 1951 before it was shifted to it new location at Iakina in 1975. In 1957, Pastor Lam Yuen and his family were called back to the work in Samoa.

In 2015, leaders of the SDA Trans-Pacific Union in Fiju, along with leaders of the South Pacific Division in Australia agreed to transfer the SDA church in American Samoa to the supervision of the Trans Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) to prepare the church to become a mission.

The church is celebrating 76 years in American Samoa. The SDA has 21 churches including one church in Ofu, Manu’a. There are twelve pastors serving the ministry and 22 teachers teaching at the Iakina Academy.