Two new churches in Java are facing the threat of closure in a rising tide of persecution in Indonesia. The Family of God Church in West Jakarta received its official permit earlier this year, but has yet to meet because of local protests. Pastor Timotheus said the church has received threats from Islamic Defenders…
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Indonesia is often called the largest Muslim nation, but this gives a wrong impression. While a large majority identify as Muslim, most of these barely know enough about Islam to be considered true Muslims. Indonesian folkways prevail, despite the saturation of the country with mosques of different sizes. These are built by generous gifts…
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Christian missionary organisation Operation Mobilisation (OM) has thanked its supporters for backing its work in Indonesia with prayer following the devastating 7.4 earthquake which struck in the Central Sulawesi region on 28 September. Over 2 million people were affected by the impact of such a large-scale disaster. Homes, hospitals, water and communication lines were…
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On Friday 28 September 2018, a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia, leading to a six-metre-high tsunami hitting the city of Palu. More than 1,400 people are confirmed dead but rescuers fear this number will rise significantly, says Tearfund. Many buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed. Thousands of homes have collapsed along with hospitals, hotels…
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Amnesty International has slammed the decision by Indonesian authorities to imprison the governor of Jakarta. Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as ‘Ahok’, was accused of blasphemy. The prosecutor demanded the judges sentence Ahok for one year’s imprisonment for ‘insulting or making hostility’ towards a certain group in public, under Article 156 of the…
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Indonesia is a vast country of 17 000 islands, only 6 000 of which are inhabited. It straddles the equator from Sumatra in the west to Irian Jaya in the east. It is mountanous with several active volcanoes. In northern Sumatra 168 000 people were killed by the tsunami in 2004. The population is…
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The Dutch East India Company Church received some thousands of ‘converts’ into its fold after its arrival in Indonesia in 1605, but these had largely converted for social purposes. The Bible was, however, translated into Malay, the trade language, by 1733. Earnest Protestant missionary efforts did not commence until the nineteenth century, when numbers…
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