goodmorningpapua.com – Change is unavoidable, the church is also expected to move dynamically by improving services to the people, especially the implementation of the three missions of church, namely koinonia (fellowship), marturia (witness) and diakonia (serve).
This hope was conveyed by the Acting Governor of West Papua, Komjen Pol (Ret.) Drs Paulus Waterpauw, M.Si when he met face-to-face with the PGGP (Papuan Church Association) West Papua Province, Wednesday 24 May 2022 in Manokwari.
Koinonia or fellowship is the church’s first duty as a place of fellowship for God’s people with an attitude of sharing and loving one another.
Marturia or witness; is the next duty to be a witness of God’s saving work against sinners so that the good word can be conveyed to all people.
Diakonia or serve. It is the church’s duty to serve anyone who wants to come to God. The church must set an example to serve, because Jesus previously served us first.
“I’m sorry that I criticize many churches that have not massively implemented their three missions, especially serving specifically, the church only focuses on scheduled services, such as routine services, but daily services by visiting the congregation’s homes are rarely done,” he explained.
Unlike the priests who serve in minority areas, they continue to build personal relationships with their congregations through pastoral visits to homes and pray together, even though they have to travel long distances but do it sincerely.
“If the priests are no longer intense in building communication relationships with the congregation, don’t be surprised if in not too long a lot of congregation members move to other places,” he explained.
Priests are also reminded to stay focused on serve, not to worry about worldly things because God has already arranged all of our lives. ”If we conduct the service well, for other things, God will answer later,” he explained.
Paulus Waterpauw conveyed this criticism because during his 18 years of service in Papua he observed that most of the church services did not reach people’s homes. ”I served 18 years in Papua, that’s the situation I saw. Unscheduled home visits are rare, I hope in the future this situation will not happen again, but pastors make pastoral visits active,” he explained.
It is said, religious leaders, community leaders are government partners in the success of development. “Without the support of leaders, including religious figures who have people and congregations, development will not run smoothly,” he explained.
Chairman of the West Papua PGGP Rev. Shierly Parinussa STh said he was ready to support the Acting Governor of West Papua for the success of work programs that lead to improving people’s welfare.
“You chose to come to us, you really care about PGGP, let’s support him in prayer so that he will be given health so that all duties are carried out responsibly,” said Priest Sherly.