Discover
The identity of the nation
Tokelau is a small territory formed by three coral atolls (low, ring-shaped islands built up by reefs) lost in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, administered by New Zealand. It is one of the least populous places in the world: about fifteen hundred people live today across the three atolls, while most Tokelauans, roughly four in every five, live outside the territory, mainly in New Zealand.
The Gospel arrived in Tokelau in the mid-19th century, brought by native teachers from Samoa and by Catholic missionaries from the island of Wallis. Each atoll followed a different path: Atafu became Protestant, Nukunonu Catholic, and Fakaofo embraced both traditions. Since then, church and community life have been deeply intertwined: Sunday is devoted almost entirely to worship and rest, and practically every resident identifies as Christian.
But being born Christian does not always mean knowing Christ in one’s heart. In such a small, close-knit community, following the family’s church is often more a matter of belonging and tradition than of personal, living faith. Added to this is the challenge of distance: those living outside the territory, especially second and third generation youth in New Zealand, risk losing touch with the church, the language, and the faith of their grandparents.
A recent milestone has brought renewed hope. After nearly thirty years of work, Tokelauan translators completed, in 2025, the first complete Bible in the people’s own language. Until then, entire generations read the Scriptures in Samoan, a neighboring language that was not their own. Having God’s Word in the language of the heart is a decisive step for faith in Tokelau to move beyond mere cultural inheritance and become personal conviction.
Tokelau also faces, head on, the threat of disappearing beneath the sea: no point in the territory rises more than five meters above sea level, and climate change has already caused some pieces of land to vanish. Amid this fragility, the small Tokelauan people remain a reminder that no nation is too small to be reached, discipled, and used by God among the islands of the Pacific.
- About 1,000 years ago Polynesian navigators from Samoa reach the atolls and begin settling Tokelau
- 1765 British explorer John Byron sights the atoll of Atafu, the first recorded European contact
- 1845-1860 Christian missionaries arrive via neighboring islands: Atafu becomes Protestant, Nukunonu Catholic, and Fakaofo embraces both traditions
- 1863 Peruvian slave ships kidnap nearly all the adult men from the islands for forced labor in Peru; few return
- 1877 The territory becomes part of the British protectorate area in the Pacific
- 1916 It is annexed to the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- 1926 Administration passes from Britain to New Zealand
- 1948 The Tokelau Act formally transfers sovereignty to New Zealand
- 1963 Assisted migration begins, moving a large part of the population to live in New Zealand
- 2006 and 2007 Self-determination referendums fail to reach the two-thirds vote required to change the territory's political status
- 2012 Tokelau becomes the first territory in the world to generate all its electricity from solar power
- 2025 The first complete Bible translated into the Tokelauan language is completed
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TokelauanPolynesian language spoken daily by the great majority of the population, closely related to Tuvaluan
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EnglishSecond official language, used in schools and government documents
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SamoanStill present in the older churches, since for decades the Samoan Bible was the only one available
Tokelau is made up of three very low coral atolls, Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and New Zealand. Together, they add up to just over 10 km² of land, surrounded by lagoons and reefs. No point in the territory rises more than 5 meters above sea level, making it one of the world's most vulnerable places to rising waters caused by climate change. There is no port for large ships and no airport: the only way to arrive is by boat, on a journey of more than twenty hours from Samoa.
Major cities
- AtafuThe northernmost atoll, of Protestant tradition, with the largest population of the three
- NukunonuThe largest atoll by area, of Catholic tradition, home to part of the territory's administration
- FakaofoThe oldest atoll in terms of settlement, with Protestant and Catholic churches side by side
Climate and temperature
Ota
Raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, Tokelau's most traditional raw fish dish
Palusami
Taro leaves (a root widely used in the Pacific) filled with coconut cream and baked in a banana leaf
Baked breadfruit
A staple of the local diet, cooked in the umu, an oven dug into the ground and covered with hot stones and leaves
Lolo fala
A sweet made from the pulp of the pandanus fruit, a fibrous-fruited tree, cooked with coconut cream
Coconut water
An everyday drink, since the coconut is the most used plant on the island, from the water to the flesh
Inati fish
Fish caught through communal effort and divided among all the families of the atoll, according to the size of each family
Understand
Culture and spirituality
2a · The culture
Inati
A sharing system in which caught fish is divided among all the families of the atoll, according to the size of each family
Taupulega
Council of elders on each atoll that makes community decisions, always seeking consensus
Fatele
Communal singing and dancing that accompanies almost every celebration, with drumming on wooden boxes
Faka-Tokelau
The Tokelauan way of life, based on sharing (inati) and love for one's neighbor (alofa)
- Arriving on a Sunday The day is devoted almost entirely to church and rest; many everyday activities stop completely
- Taking a fallen coconut without permission Resources are scarce and every tree has an owner; taking something without asking is a serious offense
- Photographing people without asking Taking photos of residents or fishing activities without permission is seen as disrespectful
- Entering a house with shoes on In local homes, custom is to remove footwear and sit on the floor, cross-legged
- Short or revealing clothing Local culture values modesty in dress, especially near churches
2b · The field
Areas of spiritual battle and cultural captivity to cover in prayer. Tap each point to understand:
For many, being Christian is part of an inherited family identity, not necessarily a personal faith lived out day to day
Following the atoll's traditional church often weighs more than seeking God from the heart
Each atoll carries its religious tradition almost like a banner, which can hinder unity among Christians in the territory
With most of the people living abroad, many families lose their connection to church life back home
The constant fear of losing the ancestors' land to the sea can turn to despair without a firm faith
Living mainly off outside aid can weaken the sense that God also provides and calls people to work
There is a shortage of pastors and Bible teachers prepared to live permanently on the three atolls
Young people grow up outside the territory and can drift away from both the culture and the faith of their grandparents
Until recently, the people only had access to the Bible in Samoan, a neighboring language that was not their own
Greater contact with life in New Zealand also brings a desire for outside material goods
Tokelau faces no organized persecution against Christians: the Christian faith is, officially, the faith of nearly the entire population. The challenge there is different. Since the 19th century, each atoll has carried the religious tradition left by the first missionaries (Atafu Protestant, Nukunonu Catholic, Fakaofo both), and the custom of following the family’s church weighs more heavily than a personal search for God. Community unity, called maopoopo, is so highly valued that disagreeing with the atoll’s church, or following another Christian tradition, can lead to quiet social isolation, even without violence.
The greatest risk to a living faith does not come from outside, but from an emptying within: the Gospel risks becoming just an inherited custom, repeated without truly being understood or lived, especially among young people who grow up outside the islands, in New Zealand, and have less and less direct contact with the church and the language of their grandparents.
The persecution score runs from 0 to 100: the higher it is, the greater the pressure on Christians.
Tokelau has only one people group listed by Joshua Project: the Tokelauans themselves, a Polynesian people of about 2,900 people living in the territory (and more than 10,000 in total, counting those living in the diaspora). Nearly the entire population identifies as Christian, but the proportion of evangelicals, that is, Christians with a personal, committed faith, stands at only about 3.4%. So, even though the Gospel arrived among this people generations ago, the Tokelauans are classified as partially reached: what is missing is a faith that goes beyond the tradition inherited from their ancestors.
- 0 Unreached 0%
- 0 Minimally reached 0%
- 0 Superficially reached 0%
- 3K Partially reached 100%
- 0 Significantly reached 0%
- 0 Unreached 0%
- 0 Minimally reached 0%
- 0 Superficially reached 0%
- 1 Partially reached 100%
- 0 Significantly reached 0%
Source of people group data: Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net). Estimates, may vary.
Pray
Intercede for this nation
Every nation carries a redemptive purpose. Marks that seem woven into the identity God desires to restore:
Go
Practical details for those who want to go
Local time
Practical points for those who go
- Access to Tokelau is only by boat, on a journey of more than twenty hours from Samoa
- The currency used is the New Zealand dollar
- The time zone is 13 hours ahead of Greenwich, one of the most advanced in the world
- Electricity comes almost entirely from solar panels, since the territory runs on nearly 100% clean energy
- Sunday is devoted almost entirely to church; commerce and most activities stop
Send and sustain
Not everyone goes, everyone takes part
Not everyone goes. Everyone takes part.
Behind every worker among these peoples stands a network of people who pray without ceasing, care for the family left behind, and faithfully sustain the work. Sending is mission too.
Start with your church: introduce this nation, adopt it in ongoing prayer, and walk alongside those God is raising up to go.