Should anyone think that is remarkable, wait until you hear the rest of the story. Joshua Avia heads up the Hosanna International Network of Churches (HINC) which he founded sixteen years ago in New Zealand.
Joshua, who is originally from Samoa and his New Zealand born Samoan wife Helen founded the Hosanna World Outreach Centre in Taita Wellington in 1994 and the HINC in 1999. Last year, they moved to Australia to lead the Hosanna Network Australia and in January 2009, they launched the new Hosanna Church in Brisbane.
But there is more! Part of Joshua Avia 'Vision Australia' was to plant churches all over Australia. He started the first Hosanna Church in Melbourne, then in 2001 in Sydney and 2006 in Brisbane. Today, they have seven churches in Australia and are planning to plant many more.
This year, the HINC will start one church a month - 12 new Hosanna churches to commence during 2009; one new international church each month.
"January it was Brisbane; February it was a new Hosanna church back in New Zealand; March it was to California - a new Hosanna church began in Los Angeles. In April, one new church in Melbourne, and in April, one started in Sydney," Joshua Avia explained. "In May, we will launch Hosanna churches in India."
The congregations of these Hosanna Churches are multi-cultural with their base being from the wide network of Pacific Islanders around the world. However, Joshua assures us with a smile, in his Brisbane Hosanna church there are some 'white' people, Italians, Indians, Chinese, and many other cultures.
Joshua Avia was one of the Hosanna Network delegates at the recent Baptist World Alliance Living Water Australasian-South Pacific conference held in Cairns where he gave a video testimony for Australian Missionary News IPTV. He also spoke on Church Planting in the South Pacific.
"In Sydney in April, Pastor Enoka Peni and our Hosanna Church in Fairfield held a sports tournament in which they invited the Bulldogs Rugby League chaplain Ken Clendinning. There were over a 1000 people attend as part of our Hosanna Sydney outreach," Joshua Avia told Mark Tronson of the Australian Missionary News IPTV.
Joshua came to Christ as a teenager. He grew up in Samoa as a Methodist, and when he was 14 years old, he got saved in the ministry of Youth for Christ where the Lord led him to acquire the skills in leading others to Jesus. He later attended an Assembly of God church.
"When I moved to New Zealand I began attending a palagi (European) Assemblies of God church where I discovered the nature of the music and that style of singing as an important part of that church culture," Joshua Avia explained.
Eventually, "I became a missionary from the Assembly of God to the Baptists" to initiate a Hosanna Baptist Movement. With the Baptist Union of New Zealand and Australia's blessing and support, Joshua and Helen commenced their life's mission in service to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Hosanna Movement keeps expanding.
Joshua and Helen have four children, they are all involved in the life of the Hosanna Brisbane Church and their worship team, and the music is lively and involves noticeably exciting singing to the Lord.