A handbook of councils and churches profiles of ecumenical relationships

(Gereja Kristen Pasundan, GKP)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 33,000

Congregations: 51

Pastors: 51

Member of: WCC (1960) – CCA – CCI – WARC

Periodicals: Berita GKP (GKP News, monthly) and Majalah Wawasan

(both in Indonesian).

When Batavia (now Jakarta) was founded in 1619 it already had a Protestant congregation. The evangelization of the Sundanese people in West Java, however, did not take place until the middle of the 19th century. This missionary work in one of Indonesia’s strongest Muslim regions grew out of the witness and dedica­tion of Christian lay people. It was not the result of organized efforts by western missionary societies. A Dutch judge started fruitful work in evangelization, with the help of Javanese and Sundanese evangelists whom he trained in his home. The mission spread to the wider area of Jakarta and Banten and Bogor. The Nether­lands Missionary Society started work in the Priangan area which spread later to the whole of West Java. Several congregations were established after 1852. The Sundanese Protestant Church of West Java came into being in 1861.

From the beginning the work encountered strong Muslim refusal. Despite resis­tance, individual Muslims converted to Christianity. During the second world war relations with the Netherlands Missionary Society were totally cut off. Revival movements occurred in the church in the 1970s. New congregations were estab­lished in several parts of West Java, Jakarta and the province of Banten.

The structure of the church is presbyterian-synodal. Congregations are not fully autonomous. Each congregation is guided by its pastor and the elders and deacons who are appointed for five years. There are five districts, each grouping a number of congregations. The general assembly of the synod is held every five years. An executive committee is responsible for ongoing activities. Among the challenges the church is facing are ministerial training, lay education, informal education (an electronic course for drop-outs), preparation for in-depth dialogue with Islam, and inter-religious dialogue for women and youth.

The active cooperation of the GKP with Mission 21 is based on its historical relationship with the Basel Mission.

Protestant Christian Batak Church

(Huria Kristen Batak Protestant, HKBP)

Church Family: Lutheran

Membership: 3,500,000

Congregations: 3,500

Pastors: 1,500

Vicars: 550

Member of: WCC (1948) – CCA – CCI – LWF

Website: www.hkbp.or.id

The Batak Protestant Christian Church is the fruit of the work of the Rhineland Mission (Germany) which began to work in the Batak land of North Sumatra in 1861. The Batak people had strongly rejected earlier attempts to evan­gelize them. The history of the mission and the church cannot be separated from the person of I.L. Nommensen, “the apostle to the Batak people”, who arrived in 1864 and stayed until his death in 1918 as ephorus of the church. One of his great insights was the use of indigenous workers. The first school for Batak evangelists was established in 1868. Already in 1881 a church order was introduced, which enabled the church to grow strong in organization and size. The HKBP became autonomous in 1930. From 1940 onwards it was entirely self-governing, self-sup-porting and self-propagating. Today it is the largest Protestant church in Indonesia, with congregations in many parts of the archipelago and also in other countries.

The HKBP understands itself as a church of Christ, established by the work of the Holy Spirit, an organism that “lives from age to age and from generation to generation across the borders of continents, nations, races and languages”. It is part of the universal church, holding to one baptism. It has its own confession, adopted in 1951, which is based on the holy scriptures, on the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian creeds, the Reformation and more recent confessions like the Barmen Theological Declaration of 1934. According to the latest revision of its constitution, the HKBP has a vision of developing itself to be an inclusive, dia­logical and transparent church that, together with other Christians and people of other faiths, strives for the improvement of the quality of life of the people in the light of the love of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God. The mission of the church is carried out through its three departments: Diakonia, Marturia and Koinonia. The main concerns are bringing the gospel to non-Christian people (e.g. among Javanese and Tamil in Medan, tribes in Riau, in areas of transmigration), provid­ing social services (e.g. care for orphans, for the blind, for drop-outs), gender jus­tice, schools (nursery, elementary, high schools and technical, 145 in all), hospi­tals and health centres, HIV/AIDS, environment, violence and poverty.

An important institution of the HKBP is the Nommensen University which was opened in 1954, in response to the felt need for higher education in the new nation of Indonesia. It has, among many other colleges, a faculty of theology. The church also runs a theological seminary, a teacher-preacher school, a Bible women’s school and a deaconess training school.

It is the conviction of the HKBP that it is God’s plan to save the Batak people in order to be a blessing for Indonesia in particular, and for the world in general.

Protestant Christian Church in Bali*

(Gereja Kristen Protestan di Bali, GKPB)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 12,000

Congregations: 72

Pastors: 61

Member of: WCC (1976) – CCA – CCI – WARC

Although in the 1930s the government of the Dutch East Indies did not give its consent to the appointment of an overseas missionary in Bali, the Christian Church of East Java, without official approval, sent one of their ministers there. Through the Church of East Java, the mission of the Netherlands Reformed Church also participated in the work. By the thirties some congregations had emerged. During the second world war the congregations grew and new ones were formed so that they are now spread over a great part of the island. Although from the beginning no important decisions were taken without the consent of the delegates from the congregations, the church did not consider itself fully autonomous until 1948 when the first synod met.

Asia

Significant developments took place after 1950. The church contextualized the gospel in the local culture of Bali through architecture, symbols and teaching. Through traditional decoration, woodcarving, painting, dancing and music, the church is also engaged in the development programme of the government. In embodying the kingdom of God in Bali, the Protestant Christian Church in Bali is making Christ known to the people through its departments and institutions. The spiritual formation department is helping people to grow mature in spirituality. The diaconia department is assisting people to be self-sufficient economically. The work of the mission department is to provide people with education. The Dhyana Pura Institutions which look after Dhyana Pura Hotel, Dhyana Pura College and Wisma Nangun Kerti (guesthouse) are being used to help people live responsibly in the island of tourism.

(Gereja Protestan di Indonesia, GPI)

Church Family: Reformed

Member of: WCC (1948) – CCI – WARC

Periodical: Berita GPI (in Indonesian)

The Protestant Church in Indonesia is the former East Indian State Church of the Dutch colonial era, a continuation of the church of the period of the East India Company in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1835 Calvinist and Lutheran con­gregations came together in Batavia (Jakarta) to become the Protestant Church in the Netherlands East Indies. Its status was recognized by the colonial government in 1927.

The GPI is a corporate body which is now composed of twelve autonomous churches, four of which are members of the WCC in their own right:

Evangelical Christian Church in the Minahasa (GMIM)

Protestant Church in the Moluccas (GPM)

Protestant Evangelical Church in Timor (GMIT)

Protestant Church in Western Indonesia (GPIB).

The others are:

Indonesian Protestant Church Gorontalo (GPIG) 11,103 members

Indonesian Protestant Church Donggala (GPID) 30,114 members

Indonesian Protestant Church Baggai Kepulawan (GPIBK) 29,008 members

Indonesian Protestant Church Papua (GPI-Papua) 30,202 members

Indonesian Protestant Church Buol Tolitili 11,027 members

Christian Church Luwuk Banggai (GKLB) 42,611 members

Evangelical Christian Church Talaud (GERMITA) 14,734 members

Indonesian Ecumenical Christian Church in California 188 members

The congregations of the GPI are those of the autonomous churches. It is a cor­porate body which deals with issues on behalf of the twelve member churches and is responsible for some joint programmes. The leaders meet annually. Every five years a conference is held bringing together the delegates of the churches. The major concern of the GPI is to strive for closer ties between the regional churches, and for the unity of the church throughout Indonesia.

Protestant Church in South-East Sulawesi

(Gereja Protestan di Sulawesi Tenggara, GEPSULTRA)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 30,000

Congregations: 89

Pastors: 64

Member of: WCC (1991) – CCA – CCI – WARC

The Bible reached South-East Sulawesi in 1916, during the time of Dutch colo­nialism, through the efforts of the Mission of the Netherlands Reformed Church. The missionary activities began with the opening of a school for teacher training in a place about 150 kms from Kendari, the capital town of the Province of South-East Sulawesi. The first students from among the indigenous people were also the first to be baptized. The teachers founded elementary schools in the villages, until 1930. Besides teaching they served the people, and formed groups of Christian families, who were to become the nucleus of the church. In 1957 the mission handed over the responsibility to the local pastors and the date was marked as the founding date of the Protestant Church in South East Sulawesi. The GEPSUL­TRA is not an ethnic church. The name refers to the region where the church was born and exists. The language used in the church is not the local language but mainly Indonesian.

The church understands its calling in terms of uniting, witnessing and serving. It has four priority programmes: training in theology and faith; ecumenism, wit­ness and church development; financial and diaconal self-reliance; training and building of groups such as the laity, women, youth, Sunday school and adults. The clergy of the GEPSULTRA are trained at the theological seminary of the church which is a member of the Association of Theological Seminaries in Indonesia.

Protestant Church in the Moluccas

(Gereja Protestan Maluku, GPM)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 575,000

Dioceses: 27

Parishes: 720

Pastors: 782 (438 men; 344 women)

Member of: WCC (1948) – CCA – CCI – WARC

Periodical: Assau (in Indonesian)

The Moluccas are the “spice islands” to which Columbus thought he was sail­ing when he discovered America in 1492. The islands cover a land-water area as large as the Philippines. The Christian faith was preached there as early as 1546. The Dutch East India Company and the Netherlands Indies government gave the inhabitants of the Moluccas some military and minor government positions, but did little to improve the economic and social conditions of the people. The church suffered much under the Japanese occupation during World War II. A quarter of the ministers on the island of Ambon were killed and the population of several villages massacred. Much church property was destroyed. Another serious blow to the church was the revolt of the Republic of South Moluccas in 1950, which was repressed by the Indonesian government. All churches in Ambon were destroyed and many others burned or wrecked in Ceram. A great refugee problem

Asia

was created which was only solved after many years. It took a long time for places of worship and congregational buildings to be restored.

The church is working hard, not only to rebuild the country physically, but especially mentally and spiritually. The Protestant Church in the Moluccas is focusing on building a “theology of life” and a “spirituality of brotherhood and sisterhood” in its quest to overcome violence and conflict. The church hopes that in the years to come the reconciliation process which is underway will succeed.

(Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat, GPIB)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 600,000

Congregations : 280

Pastors and Evangelists: 430

Member of: WCC (1991) – CCA – CCI – WARC

Periodical: Tabitha (in Indonesian)

The Protestant Church in Western Indonesia (GPIB) is a member of the Protes­tant Church in Indonesia (GPI). It was set up in 1948 to provide a spiritual home for those members of the other member churches of the GPI (situated in Eastern Indonesia) who for various reasons had migrated to the western part of the coun­try. The GPIB has grown considerably, partly because of the natural increase of the families that formed the initial membership, but also because others have joined the church. It is a national and multi-ethnic church, scattered over 25 of the 32 provinces of Indonesia. The GPIB has many congregations in remote areas, which are marked by poverty and lack of means of communication. Spiritually these communities are very much alive. Apart from the Sunday morning worship, weekly services are held in people’s homes, which are attended by as many mem­bers as come to church on Sunday. The life of the church is characterized by the differences between these financially poor, rural congregations and the congrega­tions in the cities. In order to bridge the inequalities the GPIB has introduced a centralized fund for salaries from which all the pastors are paid, according to a fixed salary scale. The system functions well. From the time it was founded, the GPIB has never been dependent on any external financial assistance. The church is self-reliant.

The GPIB is organized in 17 regional coordination offices, which have a large amount of autonomy. The highest governing body is the synod which meets once every five years. A smaller annual synod decides on on-going matters of pro­gramme, budget, etc.

(Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor, GMIT)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 2,000,000

Congregations: 2,161

Pastors: 634

Member of: WCC (1948) – CCA – CCI – WARC

Periodical: Berita GMIT (in Indonesian)

The first Dutch pastor came to Timor in 1612. There was no continuous min­istry until 1821, party owing to the scarce commercial interest of the Netherlands East Indies Company in the islands. The Netherlands Missionary Society was active in Timor from 1821 to 1863. The church grew slowly and spread to the islands of Roti and Sawu. The Dutch Church in the Indies (Indische Kerk) took over the administration from 1863 to 1942. Only after the 1930s did the GMIT grow and spread to the interior regions of Timor and Alor. Due to mass Chris­tianization the church faced the problem of an insufficient number of leaders to minister to the needs of the people. The church became autonomous in 1947. By that year it had gained a membership of 224,000 in 315 congregations served by 80 ministers. The territory of the GMIT now includes all of the East Nusa Teng­gara province, except the Sumba island, and some of GMIT’s congregations are in Sumbawa island, West Nusa Tenggara.

The church still faces the problem that there has been little economic and cul­tural development in the region. A good deal of education is needed to assist Chris­tians in the transition from a traditional society into the modern period, and to face the effects of rapid social change. The whole church needs to be responsibly involved in community development through schools, health centres, orphanages, literature and vocational training centres. The church attempts to motivate lay people to be active in various church ministries in order that the priesthood of all believers may become real. The primary concerns for 2003-2005 are to promote three models of the church’s ministry: fellowship, diakonia and witness. GMIT also aims to build partnership with churches around the world, especially churches in Asia. It maintains special relations with the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the United Church of Christ (USA), the Uniting Church in Aus­tralia, and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

(Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun, GKPS)

Church Family: Lutheran

Membership: 201,000

Congregations: 598

Pastors: 178

Evangelists: 80

Member of: WCC (1973) – CCA – CCI – LWF – UEM

Periodical: Ambilan pakon Barita GKPS (monthly, in the local language)

Website: www.gkps.or.id

This church, autonomous since 1963, is concentrated mainly in North Suma­tra, among the approximately 300,000 people who speak Simalungun, a Batak dialect, and has congregations in Java where the church has followed its people. The GKPS traces its beginnings back to the work of the Rhenish Mission in the

Asia

The church organization combines congregational and synodal features. An ephorus and a general secretary, elected once in five years, head the church. Church headquarters in Pematang Siantar are conveniently near the HKBP The­ological Seminary where the church’s pastors are trained; other students attend Abdi Sabda Theological Seminary in Medan, Jakarta Theological Seminary, and the seminary in Jogyakarta. The church maintains many elementary and sec­ondary schools. It has a development service, contributing drinking water sup­plies to the village people, motivating rice growing, poultry raising, cattle breed­ing. Its medical clinic, “Bethesda” in Saribu Dolok and in Pematangraya, helps to relate health services to the community needs.

The GKPS has close ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church in Australia and some districts of UEM members in Germany.
Toraja Church (Gereja Toraja)

Church Family: Reformed

Membership: 350,000

Congregations: 891

Preaching stations: 325

Pastors: 452

Member of: WCC (1967) – CCA – CCI – WARC

This church in the Toraja area of Sulawesi (former Celebes) grew out of the efforts of missionaries sent by the Mission Society of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, beginning in 1913. Early on in its history, schools and teacher-training colleges were established, and a hospital was built in 1929. In 1947, after the second world war, the church became autonomous. A Bible in the native lan­guage was published in 1960 which is also used by Roman Catholics. In the late fifties and early sixties, the Toraja Church endured persecution at the hands of the fanatical Darul Islam movement. Christian villages were attacked, houses and churches burnt, and people tortured and killed. The government restored order in 1964. Peaceful relationships with the surrounding Muslim communities remain a daily concern of the Toraja Christians.

The church has grown considerably. About 80 percent of the total population in Torajaland belong to the Toraja Church, and another 30 percent of its mem­bers live in other parts of Indonesia. The Toraja region is a very isolated area of Sulawesi which can only be accessed by road. The congregations are scattered in remote places. Education and skills development are high priorities. If the church does not succeed in providing training opportunities the young people will leave the region. Another concern is deforestation and conservation of the environ­ment. The issue of gender is becoming prominent in the church. The majority of the pastors are women.

The Toraja Church continues to wrestle with the dynamic relationship of the gospel and cultures (traditional customs as well as the impact of modernization and globalization). The crucial challenge is how to be a faithful church of Jesus Christ in the midst of a pluralistic society marked by rapidly changing values. The church participates actively in local, regional and national ecumenical activities.

Population: 127,914,376

Christian 1%