Congregational Christian Church in Samoa


The Congregational Christian Church in Samoa or Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa is a Reformed and congregational denomination in Samoa.

History

The Congregational Christian Church in Samoa was established by the London Missionary Society in 1830. The arrival of the LMS missionary John Williams played an especially important role in the birth of the denomination, accompanied by missionaries from Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Tonga. Substantial institutions and village churches were established. In 1839, ten years after the arrival of the LMS missionaries, the first Samoan missionaries left the island to do mission in Melanesia. In 1844, the establishment of Malua Theological College on Upolu island, missionaries were trained and sent to Tuvalu, Niue Tokelau, Kiribati, the New Hebrides now Vanuatu, Papua and other Pacific Islands. By 1855, the Bible was translated into the Samoan language. The church grew rapidly. The church adopted its own constitution in 1928. It was called LMS - Ekalesia Samoa until 1962, when it took the current name. In 1980, the American Samoa District left the CCCS, and established the Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa.

Statistics

The church has over 75,000 members and 327 congregations and 300 house fellowships in Samoa alone. It has congregations in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Savaii, Upolu, Manono, Apolima, Tutuila and Fiji. The central office is located in Tamaligi, Apia.

Interchurch organisations

It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the World Council of Churches, Council for World Missions.