Members of the Samoan community worldwide are mourning the death of the church leader Dr Samani Pulepule.
Dr Pulepule led the Samoan Assemblies of God in New Zealand as well as the world wide movement which represents 530 churches.
New Zealand MP, Su'a William Sio, says Dr Pulepule led the way for the church which has rejected many traditional Samoan cultural practices that placed a burden on families.
"They were creating a movement which placed (first) families' spiritual as well as quality of life, which didn't necessarily require them to go out of their way and burden themselves with debt and all sorts of risky situations."
Su'a William Sio expects Dr Pulepule's peers will pour in from all over the world to pay their respects at his funeral which is expected in New Zealand next week.
