The Church in Micronesia

Hezel, Francis X. (2008-05-01). [www.micsem.org The Church in Micronesia]. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–10.

• Has attachment: File:GR8ZIFLE.pdf

Abstract: The church has a long pedigree in Micronesia. Import it may be, but it is surely one of the very oldest–older than the store, the government office, the pool table, the baseball diamond and the bar. It is even older than the school, an institution that the church itself introduced to the islands. Today, more than 300 years after the first church was established in Micronesia, Christianity has found a lasting place in the social landscape and is woven into the life of people everywhere in the region. You can’t drive any road for more than a few minutes without passing a church; you won’t be able to visit any outer island, no matter how remote or sparsely populated, that doesn’t have a church. The church, once brought by Westerners, has been digested by the local cultures everywhere and is now a standard part of these island societies.

When we use the word “church” here, we mean Christianity in all of its variety–from the mainline Congregational or United Church of Christ, to the Catholic Church, to the evangelical churches founded by Liebenzell, to the later evangelical churches such as the Baptists and the Assemblies of God, including also the Seventh Day Adventists and Latter Day Saints. Denominational differences are of little concern here; they will be blurred to keep our focus on the institution of the Christian church itself. This article offers a backward look at how the church began, how it has impacted on the islands and been shaped in turn by local cultures, and what challenges it faces today...