Revival Centre PNG Marks 40 Years With 374 Baptisms

The Revival Centre of Papua New Guinea has marked 40 years of Christian ministry in East Sepik Province, closing a four-day celebration in Wewak on Sunday, 1 November 2026, with 10,891 members in attendance and 374 new believers baptised. The anniversary marked four decades since the church was founded in the province on 1 November 1986.

Ten thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one people. In one town, for one church, for four days.

And 374 of them walked out of the water as brand-new members.

40 Years in East Sepik: From Nine Converts to 10,891

The four-day anniversary celebration began on Thursday, 29 October, and concluded on Sunday, 1 November 2026, bringing together thousands of church members, pastors, leaders and invited guests, NBC PNG reported on 7 November. According to the anniversary organising committee, a total of 10,891 church members attended, including more than 200 pastors and church leaders.

The numbers only make sense against the beginning. The national movement began on 1 September 1982, when nine people were baptised in the remote village of Karaite in West Sepik, eight men and one woman stepping out of a stronghold Catholic area to declare a newfound faith. Within three months, the church's own history records, 128 more people had received the Holy Spirit.

From there the movement spread to Wewak, Lae, Mount Hagen and Vanimo, and the East Sepik work began on 1 November 1986. Forty years later, the fellowship is in all 22 provinces of Papua New Guinea with 900 assemblies, according to the church's history, and the Wewak celebraton drew a crowd bigger than many towns.

374 Baptisms in Four Days

The anniversary also recorded 374 new members who were baptised and officially joined the Revival Centre of Papua New Guinea, NBC PNG reported. Baptism by full immersion sits at the heart of the church's teaching, built on Acts 2:38 and its call to repentance, water baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Momase Regional Pastor Collen Solmen acknowledged the pioneers of the Wewak assembly during the celebration, while the church's Founder and Principal Pastor, Godfrey Wippon, encouraged members and leaders to remain committed to their Christian calling and to keep spreading the Gospel.

Godfrey Wippon: The Broadcaster Who Became a Pastor

Wippon's own story explains the movement's shape. In 1969 he began his career behind a microphone, reporting and broadcasting for Radio East Sepik in Wewak. Then he became seriously ill with lobar pneumonia, and during that illness he encountered the Christian message of being born again of the water and the Holy Spirit, The National reported.

He was baptised, received the Holy Spirit, and returned to his village of Karaite in August 1982 after thirteen years away. The man who had spent his working life behind a microphone came home to preach, and the first nine converts followed within days.

The radio thread never left him. On 1 September 2026, the church launched its online radio station, The Voice of Revival, marking 44 years of gospel ministry in the country, and weeks later it held its 25th National Rally at Momei Oval in Mendi in the Southern Highlands. The broadcaster became a pastor, and the pastor eventually came back to the microphone.

Baptisms on this scale keep appearing across the Christian world. A Texas church baptised 882 people in one day, as reported in 882 Baptized in One Day at Texas Church: 'Jesus Has Changed Everything', and a 137-year-old church saw 458 baptised in a single day, as covered in 458 Baptized in One Day: Historic Moment for 137-Year-Old Church. A Mississippi church baptised 59 after a campus revival, as reported in Mississippi Church Baptizes 59 After August Revival Reaches College Campus.

A doctor turned evangelist saw his tent revival baptise 3,000 people in one year, as covered in Doctor Turned Evangelist's Tent Revival Baptizes 3,000 in One Year, and 550 people were baptised in the freezing North Sea, as reported in Latest: 550 Baptized in Freezing North Sea as UK Revival Accelerates. At Appalachian State, 700 students chose Christ and 100 were baptised, as covered in Latest: 700 Students Choose Christ and 100 Baptized at Appalachian State Revival.

The open question is what the next forty years look like for a movement that started with nine people in a village and now counts 900 assemblies. If the Wewak weekend is any guide, the answer will be measured the same way the first forty were: one baptism at a time, in front of a crowd that keeps getting bigger.

Nigeria remains the sharpest edge of the global persecution crisis, as reported in 3,490 Christians Murdered in Nigeria Alone: 2026 World Watch List Exposes Crisis, while Franklin Graham has seen pockets of revival after 800 turned to Christ in Manchester, as covered in Franklin Graham Sees Pockets of Revival After 800 Turn to Christ in Manchester. Healing Streams returned with final 2026 services with Pastor Chris, as reported in Healing Streams Returns: Final 2026 Healing Services with Pastor Chris Set for October 23–25.

Chris Tomlin's new album broke his streaming record, as covered in Chris Tomlin's New Album Breaks His Streaming Record, Tops Billboard, and Bethel Music released All The Glory live as its world tour continued, as reported in Bethel Music Releases 'All The Glory' Live as World Tour Continues. Josh Baldwin released Worth Everything, a worship album calling hearts to total surrender, as covered in Josh Baldwin Releases 'Worth Everything' — New Worship Album Calls Hearts to Total Surrender.

Forty years from now, somebody in Wewak will tell the story of the weekend 374 people went into the water. The question is how many of them will still be there to tell it — and how many more will have followed them in.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.