John Williams, or Ioane Viliamu as he is known to Samoans, the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.) martyr largely credited with introducing Christianity to Samoa and evangelising the Pacific, was honoured in June, his birthday month.

Rev. Williams was born 225 years ago on 27 June of 1796 in Tottenham High Cross in London, England to John and Hannah Williams, according to the Alabama Baptist.

The Alabama Baptist, a religious publication operated by Baptists based in the United States, honoured Rev. Williams with an article celebrating the occasion of his birth. 

The Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.), the largest denomination in Samoa, “traces its beginnings” to the arrival in 1830 of missionaries sent to Samoa by the L.M.S., according to a brief history of the C.C.C.S. found on its website.

L.M.S. missionaries were accompanied to Samoa by missionary teachers from Tahiti and the Cook Islands and a Samoan couple from Tonga. 

“Within a few years, virtually the whole of Samoa was converted to Christianity. A burning zeal for the gospel was engendered within the spirit of the newly converted nation,” the C.C.C.S. states.

“Huge numbers of people soon offered themselves for overseas mission work. In 1839, only nine years after the arrival of the L.M.S., the first twelve Samoan missionaries left for mission work in Melanesia.”

Ever since then, and up to 1975, Samoans have continued to take the gospel message to other Pacific islands such as Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Niue, Tokelau, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Wallis & Fortuna. 

“Many of these early Samoan missionaries never returned home, buried in the many un-named and unmarked graves in the islands of the Pacific,” states the C.C.C.S.

The C.C.C.S. owns a five-storey office building in Tamaligi named after Rev. Williams. It is called the Ioane Viliamu Building.

In 1814, the Reverend had a conversion experience and joined the Tabernacle Church (Calvinistic Methodist). In 1816, he volunteered as a missionary with the L.M.S. and was ordained in September.

On Oct. 29, 1816, Mr. Williams married Mary Chauner. The couple started their journey to the Society Islands. Their first missionary post was on the island of Raiatea where they served for five years. Their work resulted in a congregation of over 2,000 people. 

“Hundreds were baptized,” reports the Alabama Baptist.

“Naked cannibals started wearing clothes. Idols were destroyed. Farms were cultivated, and animals from Australia helped the farmers.”

Next, they went to Raratonga or the Cook Islands. Although the missionary couple experienced success, they endured many difficulties.

Malaria and tropical diseases caused Mary to lose several babies. The couple had 10 children but only three lived to be adults.

After Raratonga was evangelized, they arrived in the Samoan Islands.

Williams used Jesus as an example and sent out native disciples two by two to reach the villages, reports the Alabama Baptist.

A ship, The Messenger of Peace, was built, and Williams traveled to numerous islands. In 10 years, many people responded to the gospel.

In 1833, John and Mary traveled back to England for the first time. John had become a celebrity. Huge crowds came to hear him preach. Young men and women resolved to become missionaries.

In April 1838, the couple left for the islands. 

Upon their return, Williams decided to evangelize the New Hebrides islands. 

“The most savage cannibals in the Pacific lived there. Leaving Mary at the mission station, he landed on the island of Erromango on Nov. 20, 1839. He was brutally beaten with a war club until dead. The cannibals ate his body,” according to the Alabama Baptist.