The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea is a Protestant church denomination located in Papua New Guinea that professes the Lutheran branch of the Christian faith. The Church is incorporated by a 1991 Act of the Parliament of Papua New Guinea and it has a baptized membership of approximately 900,000 members.
It is a member of the: Lutheran World Federation (LWF) (1976) World Council of Churches Pacific Conference of Churches and is in fellowship with the Lutheran Church of Australia.
History
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea grew out of the work of the Neuendettelsau Mission Society (1886) and the Rhenish Missionary Society (1887), both from Germany. During World War II all missionaries left the area, and many mission stations, churches, schools and hospitals were damaged. In spite of this, the indigenous church leaders and local Christians stood firm in the work of the church. After the war the Lutheran churches in Australia and North America were asked to help reconstruct the church in Papua New Guinea, working together as the Lutheran Mission New Guinea. In 1956 expatriate missionaries and indigenous church leaders gathered and formed the present indigenous church. At the time of its founding the church was called Evangelical Lutheran Church of New Guinea (ELCONG), and its founding bishop was an expatriate missionary from the American Lutheran Church. The first indigenous bishop was elected in 1973. In 1975, on the eve of the country's independence, the name of the church was changed to Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCPNG). In 1977 the church was officially declared autonomous and another local Lutheran church organized by the Australian Lutheran Mission joined with the ELCPNG. It has long had close relations with the Gutnius Lutheran Church, largely in Enga Province, whose origins were American Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and shares clergy college in Lae.
Aims and Beliefs
The ELCPNG believes that the church is the body of Christ on earth so that people can grow in faith and live as brothers and sisters. This function of the church is seen in the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments, bringing people closer to God so that they may inherit eternal life. The church teaches that the Holy Spirit enables and strengthens this work. The stated aims of the church are :
to strengthen fellowship among members - koinonia
to strengthen the practice of worship - liturgia
to strengthen the work of evangelism - martyria
to strengthen the work of holding fast to the word of God as proclaimed by the Apostles -theology and confession - theologia to strengthen the work of service and welfare - diakonia.
Church Governance and Functions
The church has seven departments: evangelism, education, lands and properties, ministerial training, medical services, development services, finance. There are 17 districts divided according to geographical and population needs. Circuits cover smaller areas within the districts; within the circuits are the local parishes/congregations. The church runs 81 health centres, 224 primary schools, 18 high schools, 6 secondary schools, 3 community school one teacher training college, 3 nursing college, 5 girls' Bible schools, 3 seminaries and a training centre for evangelists.