The Tongan Pentecost of 1834: a revival in the kingdom of Tonga: a possible key for renewal and unity for the Tongan Church today

Manase K Tafea

Etd

The Tongan Pentecost of 1834: a revival in the kingdom of Tonga: a possible key for renewal and unity for the Tongan Church today

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Manase K Tafea. The Tongan Pentecost of 1834: a Revival In the Kingdom of Tonga: a Possible Key for Renewal and Unity for the Tongan Church Today. Asbury Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/bdcd703d-5398-431e-a3d6-506f85579b7c.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

M. K. Tafea. The Tongan Pentecost of 1834: a revival in the kingdom of Tonga: a possible key for renewal and unity for the Tongan Church today. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/bdcd703d-5398-431e-a3d6-506f85579b7c

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Manase K Tafea. The Tongan Pentecost of 1834: a Revival In the Kingdom of Tonga: a Possible Key for Renewal and Unity for the Tongan Church Today. Asbury Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/bdcd703d-5398-431e-a3d6-506f85579b7c.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Manase K Tafea

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

The Tongan Pentecost was a revival that took place in the kingdom of Tonga when 'Aisea Vovole Latu preached in the village of 'Utui in 1834. During the service the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way, empowering the congregation until prayers, singing, and testimonies began in such a way that the preacher could not control them. The fire of the Holy Spirit which started in 'Utui spread within a month to all the islands in the Tonga group. The king and the people were converted, resulting in unity and a new motivation for mission and evangelism. After a year, the momentum of this Tongan Pentecost spread to the other Pacific islands, first to the Fijian and Samoan groups. Although the Tongan people today tend to remember the history of the 1834 Tongan Pentecost, their experience of the Holy Spirit is, by and large, limited and perfunctory, resulting in division and lack of purpose. Therefore, the purpose of this project dissertation is to rediscover how the Tongan Pentecost of 1834 affected the Tongan worldview, establishing a sense of unity and mission, and to see if a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit can renew that sense of unity and mission today. In this project I examined the history of the 1834 experience. With a questionnaire I discovered that: (1) the experience actually happened; (2) it created unity and purpose; and, (3) the experience could be renewed in an effort to reunite and motivate the Tongan church toward mission and evangelism. The Methodist Church in Tonga has gone through disappointing divisions, resulting in five branches today: the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, the Free Church of Tonga, the Church of Tonga, the Tokaikolo Church, and the Constitutional Church of Tonga. Since the Tonga Methodist family of churches of the West Coast of the United States of America has experienced the same divisions as the churches in Tonga, I used the Easter Camps I conducted there as case studies. My intent was to test the principle of downward mobility as a means of creating humble spirits (especially among the leaders) and subsequent openness to the power of the Holy Spirit so the Tongan churches can overcome their divisions. The result was positive and conclusive.

Publisher