A crowd of more than 300 stood outside the terminal at Nadzab Airport in Lae, Papua New Guinea. They waited in the hot afternoon sun for someone who had been there before–an American who had captured their hearts during the 27 years she had called this place home. Loving hands had covered the pathway from the terminal with rose petals. Winding through the restless crowd, the sweetly scented trail ended in a heart-shaped ring crafted carefully upon the ground.

The plane descended from the clouds and touched the runway. Those that exited the plane must have wondered who was worthy of such a welcome. The guest of honor finally made her way through the terminal and into a host of outstretched arms. Tears flowed in abundance. Hugs came unencumbered and unnumbered…a fitting welcome for a homecoming.

Thirty-five years earlier, she had visited this place for the first time. The little hands of her children tightly clasped hers as they wandered wide-eyed through the streets of their strange, new home. The heat and humidity were unbearable. The rainy season seemed to last forever. The honesty and civility that characterized her native southern heritage stood in stark contrast to the deception and dishonesty that pervaded this culture. They planned to stay a couple of years, and then perhaps move somewhere a little more ‘hospitable.’ But as the years melted into decades, the people became friends…and the place became home.

It was 1970 when Barbara Owens first accompanied her husband John to this distant part of the globe. They were missionaries…and they had come to start a church. They immediately built a small home on the outskirts of the city, and began inviting people to study the Bible in their home. Soon the crowd grew to capacity, necessitating a move to a rented building. Eventually, only four years after their arrival, they moved their developing congregation into the newly constructed church building of Calvary Baptist Church.

Now, more than three decades later, the church averages 500-700 in attendance. However, the influence of Calvary Baptist Church is greater than the attendance suggests. John Owens never wanted a ‘super-church.’ Whenever the church would grow to several hundred, he would pray and send some of the people to another neighborhood with a newly trained pastor to start another church. A Bible Institute (now a four-year college) was started to train men for this very purpose. There are at least seven other churches in Lae alone that have been started by Calvary. They each average several hundred, and all have national pastors who were trained at the institute. In total, between 40 and 50 churches have been started by men who were saved or trained out of the ministry that began in John and Barbara’s humble home. They are scattered throughout this island nation. (Barbara said it is difficult to keep up with all the churches that the ‘village churches’ are starting!)

When asked how the work had grown to such proportions over the years, Barbara’s matter-of-fact reply revealed what she thought should be the obvious answer. Witnessing – sharing the gospel – was the fabric of this movement that had left its mark upon so many lives. Street preaching…open–air meetings at the market…any venue in which one could engage others in conversation about Jesus was acceptable. Barbara remembers well the day that John was waiting for the local bank to open. Others were waiting too. John seized upon the opportunity and shared an impromptu message…some trusted Christ! This evangelistic fervor, coupled with a desire to train national pastors, led to the fruitfulness that is so evident today.

A small group of family members accompanied Barbara to Lae. John’s mother, brother, sister-in-law, sister, son and daughter were there. Sadly, John was not among them. After a life of faithful service to Jesus Christ, John went to heaven in May of 2005. He had been scheduled to preach at the dedication of a new wing of the church building. The people of Calvary Baptist Church paid Barbara’s airfare. She was asked to represent John at this special service. This homecoming is bittersweet.

The new addition to the church stands waiting for the dedication with a ribbon tied across the doors. The widow of the man who dreamed this dream and built this building cuts the ribbon. Crowds of native believers follow her into this sacred place. The first four rows, occupied by native pastors, provide a fitting testimony to the legacy of John and Barbara’s ministry. The service commences. The singers sing…the preachers preach…the people remember.

Outside of the church, a special expression of love is still waiting to be discovered. A cloth of blue is silently dropped from a memorial of stone. The words engraved on the monument tell the story better than any sermon or song:

CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
Dedicates this Building to God in Memory
of her founding Missionary
The late reverend John L. Owens
Who went to be with the Lord on May 5, 2005
Dedicated this day, Sunday July 31, 2005
3 John 4: I have no greater joy than to hear
that my children walk in truth.
To God be the glory!

The trip is over now. The family is back in the States. A photograph album guards the memories of this sweet story for Barbara and her family. And someday…in a distant celestial city…another homecoming story is waiting to be told.