About
Sixty-seven years on the same corner.
Port Moresby’s first Baptist church — founded by missionaries for expatriates, now led by Papua New Guineans and sending leaders out across the Pacific.
Our story
From a borrowed room to a sending church
In the early 1950s a handful of Baptists in the new suburb of Boroko — Australian public servants, missionaries passing through, their families — began meeting wherever they could find a room. In time they decided to regroup properly and build.
On 31 October 1959 the doors opened. Rev. Jim Waugh had brought a work team from New South Wales to start the building; the men of the congregation finished it. Don Doull, the pioneer missionary to Telefomin, opened it officially. Victor White, a veteran of India and Pakistan, was the first pastor. It was the first Baptist church in the capital.
The congregation was formally constituted in 1964 as an English-language church, and from that base Baptist work spread: Mount Hagen in 1968, Tokarara in 1973, then Madang, Lae and Arawa. The Tokarara fellowship — started to reach students at the university and the Public Service College — eventually grew larger than the church that planted it.
The people in the pews changed too. What began as a church of expatriates is now a church led and largely filled by Papua New Guineans, with expatriates among them rather than around them. And the direction of travel has reversed: a church that once received missionaries now sends them. Pastor Julian Kivori, who served here from 2009 to 2021, went on to direct Capitol Ministries across the South Pacific.
The building is much as it was — a roof, louvres, a concrete floor. What happens under it has changed a great deal.
Milestones
How we got here
| Early 1950s | A fellowship forms. English-speaking Baptists in the new suburb of Boroko begin meeting in homes and borrowed rooms. |
| 31 Oct 1959 | The building opens. The first Baptist church building in Port Moresby. Victor White is the first pastor; Don Doull opens the building. |
| 1964 | The congregation is constituted. Formally organised as an English-language church with its own board and membership. |
| 1968 | Mount Hagen Baptist Church. Twenty-two members form the next Baptist town church, following Boroko’s lead. |
| 1973 | Tokarara Christian Fellowship. Planted to reach students at the University of PNG and the Public Service College. It outgrew the mother church. |
| 2021 | Hosting the Evangelical Alliance. The Port Moresby chapter of the Evangelical Alliance of PNG is re-launched here, with leaders from more than ten denominations. |
| Today | Two services, one congregation. English at nine, Tok Pisin at eleven, and settlement churches at Morata, Nine Mile and Mangomine. |
What we believe
Our beliefs
We are an evangelical Baptist church affiliated with the Baptist Union of Papua New Guinea. We believe:
- The Bible as the inspired Word of God.
- Jesus Christ as both God and man.
- That we are released from the penalty of sin through Jesus’ death on the cross.
- That we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
- That the Holy Spirit empowers, guides and comforts the believer.
- Believers’ baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the ordinances.
- That members should seek and live a life that sets an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Our values
- Unity in Jesus Christ as Christians.
- International and inter-communal solidarity.
- Bible-centred beliefs.
- To love, forgive and serve all God’s people.
- The Great Commission as our marching order.
- Sharing regularly in fellowship meals, outings, study of God’s word and hospitality in our homes.
Our vision
A dynamic, mission-minded church growing obedient, compassionate disciples, trained and equipped to impact nations, Boroko, the National Capital District and Papua New Guinea with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by word and actions, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Our mission
- To pray and make disciples through outreach.
- To identify and train people in the use of their spiritual gifts.
- To encourage regular corporate worship.
- To provide a caring community that supports one another.
- To enable wide participation in church leadership and decision-making.
Leadership
Who leads this church
Authority for the administration and supervision of the church’s activities rests with a Church Board elected each year from among the members. The pastoral team serves alongside it.
Senior Pastor
Pastor Duli Asi
Pastor Asi has led this congregation since 2023. He holds a Master of Theology and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Community Counselling from the University of Canberra, and has published in the Melanesian Journal of Theology. Before coming to Boroko he was Principal of the Baptist Bible College at Kwinkya — which he helped reopen after seven years of closure — and Dean of the Christian Leaders’ Training College campus in Port Moresby.
Church Board
Elected annually by the members
The Board holds responsibility for the administration and supervision of the church’s activities, admits new members, and oversees the annual review of the membership roll.
Church Office
Weekday enquiries
The office handles membership enquiries, bookings, bulletins and pastoral appointments.
Membership
Becoming a member
You are welcome to worship here as long as you like without becoming a member. Membership is for those who want to commit to this congregation and share responsibility for it.
Who can join
Membership is open to all those who confess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who have been baptised by immersion, who agree with the church’s mission statement, and who are willing to be committed to its vision.
How it works
- Speak to the Church Secretary and say you would like to join.
- Meet with the Senior Pastor and a representative of the Church Board.
- Your name is printed in the Church Bulletin on two consecutive Sundays.
- The Church Board makes its decision.
- You are welcomed during a worship service.
If you already belong to a church elsewhere
Dual membership is available. Many people here are in Port Moresby for a season and have a home church in another province or another country — you do not have to give that up to belong here.