also today: Trinidad & Tobago

Answers to Prayer

1 For two centuries Tonga has been a Christian kingdom

2 The Jesus March of 1995 included almost half the country's population

3 The indicators of hope for spiritual change:

a) The rapid growth of evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal groups within and outside the mainline denominations

b) The impact of SU, with a group in nearly every village and through whom many have been converted

Challenges for Prayer

1 The Tongan Church has had a glorious history of missionary outreach, but for decades the vision has languished

2 The 20 th Century has been one of spiritual decline

3 Tonga has the world's highest national percentage of Mormons, but probably half of those baptized as Mormons would not consider themselves such

4 The less-reached. The growing Chinese community is the only unreached people group

5 Support ministries

a) The JESUS film which has been widely used in Tongan and English

b) The Christian TV station

c) Christian literature

also today: Trinidad & Tobago

Geography

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Area 747 sq.km. Archipelago of 171 coral and volcanic islands 600 km east of Fiji, 36 being inhabited.

Population (2000) 98,546 +0.28%AGR

Capital Nuku'alofa 32,000.

Peoples

Polynesian 98.3%; Other 1.7%.

Literacy 100%. Official language Tongan. All languages 5. Languages with Scriptures 3Bi.

Economy

Subsistence agriculture and some tourism.

Politics

British Protected State 1900-1970.

Religion

Though avowedly Christian, there is freedom for all religions.

Churches in Tonga

Missionaries from Tonga

44 in 5 agencies to 9 countries

Missionaries to Tonga

25 in 7 agencies from 10 countries

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Internet Links