Niue
319
Total Church Membership
2
Congregations
1
Family History Centers
History
The first Church members in Niue were Fritz Bunge-Kruger and his family, who arrived in 1952 to do missionary work. He traveled about the island and showed movies, and then, with the contacts he made, started a home Sunday School. It soon grew to an attendance of 80. They moved to a local dance hall for meetings and on 29 May 1952, a Mutual Improvement Association was organized.
The following August, 26 converts were baptized by Elder Thayne Christensen. Other baptismal services followed, and a total of 65 were baptized the first year. Because of persecution during open air meetings, activities were held quietly at first, but at times entire villages attended. The first Niuean missionary was Sionemologa Tagavaitau.
On 12 February 1955, work commenced on the Alofi Chapel with a handful of members raising money and doing much of the building by hand. They were assisted by labor missionaries. The building was completed in 1958. Additional Church buildings were erected later.
About a third or more of the Niuean members have moved to New Zealand. Devastating hurricanes hit the island in 1959, 1960, and 1990. Many homes were leveled. Members in Niue, particularly the youth, have often distinguished themselves in island competitions.
In January 2004 a super tropical cyclone destroyed the vital birth, death and marriage records of the island. The Church had microfilmed these records starting in 1994, which preserved the information that had been destroyed. In February 2004, copies of the microfilmed records were presented to the Niueans.
For Journalist Use Only
Richard Hunter
New Zealand
Phone: 64(9)488-5572
Mobile: 64-21-240-7804
E-mail: Hunterra@ldschurch.org
Africa
Total Church Membership
849,568
Members
2,721
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
6Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,298,181
Members
2,113
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
10Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
507,748
Members
1,296
Congregations
Missions
35Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,637,503
Members
18,423
Congregations
Missions
175Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
120Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
599,065
Members
1,308
Congregations
Missions
17Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
11Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,320,129
Members
5,629
Congregations