Who We Are

The Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS)—known in Samoan as the Ekalesia Fa‘apotopotoga Kerisiano i Amerika Samoa (EFKAS)—is the largest self-governing, Protestant mainline denomination in American Samoa. Rooted in the Reformed and Congregational tradition, the CCCAS embodies a distinctly Samoan expression of Christian worship, church leadership, and community life.  With more than 100 member congregations across American Samoa, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, the CCCAS is a global fellowship united in doctrine, governance, and a shared commitment to the Gospel.  Its headquarters is located in Kanana Fou, American Samoa, which serves as its center of ministry, theological education, and church administration.

The CCCAS(EFKAS) traces its heritage to the work of the London Missionary Society (LMS), whose missionaries, led by Rev. John Williams, introduced Christianity to Samoa in 1830.  The Gospel was received with remarkable openness by the Samoan people, and within a short period after its arrival, the entire Samoan archipelago—Upolu, Savai‘i, Tutuila, and Manu‘a—embraced the Christian faith.

For more than a century, all Samoan congregations—including those on the islands of Tutuila and Manu‘a, which were incorporated into the United States as the Territory of American Samoa in 1900—remained under the ecclesiastical oversight of the London Missionary Society (LMS) and, later, the Ekalesia Fa‘apotopotoga Kerisiano i Samoa (EFKS), which formally adopted its name in 1962. Throughout this period, the congregations in American Samoa continued to share in the theological, liturgical, and pastoral life shaped by the LMS and EFKS, maintaining a unified Samoan church identity across political boundaries.

But as the political landscape in American Samoa began to shift in the 1950’s as it transitioned from U.S. naval jurisdiction to civilian government, local congregations also began discerning their own ecclesiastical identity. While maintaining deep spiritual and historical ties to the EFKS in Samoa, congregations in Tutuila and Manu’a recognized the need for a self‑governing church capable of addressing the unique pastoral, cultural, and ministerial needs of Samoans living under U.S. territorial jurisdiction, which were different from the needs of Samoan congregations in Upolu and Savaii.

After years of prayerful deliberation and consultation, in 1980, the congregations in Tutuila and Manu‘a declared independence from the EFKS in Samoa and formally established the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS).

Since its establishment, the CCCAS has grown into a vibrant global fellowship of more than 100 congregations across American Samoa, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.  Today, the CCCAS stands as a living expression of Samoan Christianity—faithful to Scripture, grounded in the Reformed tradition, shaped by Samoan identity, and committed to service, stewardship, and the flourishing of Samoan communities across generations.