Nazarene history was made on the historic island of Guadalcanal, infamous for its place in the World War II Pacific Rim theater. For the first time in 20 years, a Solomon Islander became district superintendent of the Solomon Islands.

But except by the grace of God, Dickson Manongi nearly missed the moment as medical personnel at the nearby hospital struggled to insert an IV into his severely dehydrated arm as a result of suffering from possible malaria. During the morning session, the assembly — not expecting that he would be released from the hospital — prayed fervently for his health.

As the people began to gather for the evening service, Dickson and his wife, Doris, arrived — to the joy of the crowd — still bearing the IV shunt in his wrist, with the promise to return to the hospital as soon as the service was over. Dickson, along with five others, was ordained in a ceremony by Church of the Nazarene General Superintendent David Graves.

A spontaneous celebration began as Graves then announced the appointment of Dickson Manongi as the new district superintendent of the Solomon Islands. It is no surprise that not even severe illness could keep Manongi away from the assembly.

Over the last couple of decades, he has worked tirelessly beside others to establish the work of the Church of the Nazarene and to develop and encourage its leaders in the Solomon Islands, while also working full time as secretary to the Minister of Health and Medicine. During this last year he visited each circuit pastor to help develop leadership skills and to hear each pastor’s heart.

His vision for the district is clear — aggressively expanding healthy Nazarene churches in the Solomon Islands and beyond. He firmly believes that their mission as a district must extend beyond their own country. As an example, the Solomon Island District, though not financially strong, in March raised a significant sum of money for disaster relief in the country of Fiji, which was devastated by Cyclone Wilson.

--Church of the Nazarene Asia-Pacific Region