Bruce Allen with FMI says of Jakarta, “It is sinking eight to 10 inches a year. The city is overpopulated. It was designed to only be home to a few million. It has 10 million [people], and 30 million in the surrounding areas. Traffic is a major headache, pollution, litter, and water issues.”

However, two of the capital project leaders recently resigned, and President Widodo is facing pressure on his legacy project from hesitant investors.

Although the first phase of the new city is only 80% done, President Widodo announced he will start working next month from an office in Nusantara once water access is available.

The goal is for the new capital to be officially inaugurated in August for Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day.

“[President Widodo] would really like to see it finished before he leaves office toward the end of this year. So he’s pushing for it,” says Allen. “But, ‘Is it really going to be ready?’ is the question.”

FMI church planters in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

As construction continues, God has already established His Church for ministry in Nusantara.

Allen says, “FMI has been supporting church planters on Borneo for over a decade. But once it was announced that this new city was going to be developed, our leadership team for partnerships on the island said we need to start church planting in Nusantara now so that by the time this influx of civil servants from all these different islands come to be part of the government in Nusantara, there are Christian churches waiting for them.”

One FMI church partner on Borneo already has 30 congregation members meeting together and worshipping in a home.

“They’re looking to also do construction for a church site,” says Allen. “They have all the permits. But as you might imagine, with all the construction materials being purchased for the government project, how expensive it is for this congregation to save funds from their offerings to buy the construction materials.

“The construction costs for [the church building] materials are about $15,000. While that might not seem like a whole lot for a building for us here in North America, that’s a substantial amount in Indonesia.”

Want to support FMI church planters in Indonesia? Click here to give at FMI’s website.

Then, pray for FMI church planters in Indonesia — especially those preparing for ministry in Nusantara. Ask God to grow their churches and establish a widespread Gospel witness for this young city.

Header photo of a busy street in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of Adrian Pranata/Unsplash)

Indonesia plans to move the political capital to Borneo, with the financial capital remaining behind. The new city could be ready by the end of 2024.

Will the move help?

But will this move lift any pressure on Jakarta? Bruce Allen with FMI says, “In the immediate term when you’re moving all the politicians in Parliament, all the representatives, and all that sort of traffic, it will help ease things. Is it going to stop the sinking of the city into the sea? I don’t know that. This chain has thousands of islands that are volcanic. They go through a lot of disruptions.”

Allen says the financial capital may also move away from Jakarta in the future.

Plus, to save Jakarta, Indonesia will sacrifice several natural habitats on Borneo. It remains unclear if the Indonesian government sought permission from indigenous peoples to build on the land. Allen says, “This is an area where orangutans and other species live in the wild. And this move will be taking away some of that. That’s something to watch.”

FMI church planters

In the meantime, FMI wants to establish a strong presence in the new capital, even as it is being built. Allen says, “Right now on this island, Kalimantan, FMI supports 14 church planters. It’s the vision of the leadership team there (and I concur) that we should add eight more church planters in 2022 and 2023. That way, by the end of 2024, we’re set.”

Ask God to strengthen and build churches in the region. Allen says, “Ask God to raise up the indigenous church planters to have a vision for outreach there. Then also pray that the Lord would increase the vision of the supporting partners, those brothers and sisters in the Lord here in the West.”

And as Jakarta continues to sink (some parts by several centimeters per year), ask Him to give Indonesian authorities wisdom.

The header photo shows flooding in the streets of Jakarta. (Photo courtesy of VOA Indonesian Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Jakarta suffers from severe overcrowding, with congested traffic and a significant waste problem. The city is also sinking into the ocean at a rate of 25 centimeters per year.

Bruce Allen with FMI says, “When Jakarta was designed, it was only designed to handle a few million people. The plan that has been talked about for many years was that they would divide the capital in two. The administrative, or the political side of the capital, would move to a totally different island, and yet the economic capital would remain in Jakarta.”

Allen compares the arrangement to the United States. Washington D.C. serves as the political capital, but the money flows through New York City.

Opportunities for ministry

The new capital city will be built in an area that holds very little population right now. But the new city will bring an influx of people. That’s an opportunity for local churches, Allen says.

He recently spoke to FMI partners on Borneo. “They’ve noted that new mosques are already being built in this area before a lot of people even arrive. The Muslim majority, they’re preparing for this influx of population. Yandi, our Director of Partnerships on the island, is saying we need to do the same thing. We need to have the church planters there now. We need to be fortifying what exists right now in what is a rural area, soon to become an urban area.”

People will flock to the new capital from islands and cultures across Indonesia. Pray for a strong Christian presence in the city.

The header photo shows a rural area of East Kalimantan, near where the new capital will be built. (Aidenvironment, 2005, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Agus’ family practices Animism, the belief that souls possess everyday objects and plants . Agus did too, until seven dollars introduced him to the Gospel. Bruce Allen of FMI tells the story.

Unlikely Friends

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country. Out of more than 263 million people, 229 million are Muslim. Christians do make up the second-largest group, but at only 26 million, Christians are outnumbered nearly 9-to-1. Despite these odds, Agus met and became friends with multiple Christian students at his school.

One Teacher’s Impact

Agus also had a Christian teacher who had conversations with him about the Gospel..

“Agus started to have a conversation with his teacher about who made these things like the rocks and the trees and the rivers. The Christian teacher explained the Christian belief of Creation. And this God who designed the universe, loved his Creation,” Allen says.

The story of creation, rebellion, love, and redemption fascinated Agus and left him wanting to know more.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

A Bible Shortage

Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to get a Bible on Borneo. EvenChristians often do not have a Bible of their own. Believers may only have access to Scripture during church services or as part of small groups of 5-10 built around a single Bible.

FMI just finished a large Scripture delivery this summer, but the need is still there.

“A few days after this campaign, I returned to the US. I’m getting emails, I’m getting phone calls saying, ‘All that you gave us, we have already distributed. We’ve already shared the Gospel with so many people. We need 1000 more Bibles immediately,’”Allen says.

Against all odds, Agus received a Bible from this delivery. It only cost a stranger $7.

Shortly after receiving the Bible, Agus gave his life to Christ. Almost immediately, he went on to share the Gospel with his family. Though his parents did not join him in faith, they were glad to see their son making up his own mind and gave a local pastor permission to baptize Agus.

Thanks to this series of small miracles, Agus is joining Church life. Now, he has Christian friends and a Bible to call his own.

Distributing Bibles in Indonesia (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Miracles don’t need to be flashy or earth-shaking. Conversations, small donations, and friendship can change lives even in the face of persecution.

“We just need to remember that even when we hear these stories of persecution, that there are people that the Lord is drawing to himself. Jesus said, ‘if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all types of people to myself,’ and he’s still in the business of doing that,” Allen says.

Don’t Downplay Your Impact

The Gospel came to Agus through the smallest of sacrifices. Someone donated $7 to have a Bible printed, shipped and delivered through FMI’s Tangible Resources program. Do the same for someone else here.

But it didn’t stop there; someone also prayed for him. Join them in prayer for Agus, his family, and his continued journey of faith.

Pray for believers like the schoolteacher who took a risk and shared the Gospel. Ask that more Bibles and stories of the Gospel will reach the people of Indonesia and overcome the barrier of hundreds of local languages.

Header photo provided by FMI: Agus (left) receives his Bible from Yandi (right).

We talked yesterday about Indonesia’s plan to move the capital from Jakarta to Borneo. The decision wasn’t just based on geography and the economy. Overpopulation was also a major factor.

In the Muslim-majority nation, Islamic authorities have been paying people to relocate to less-populated areas of Papua, Indonesia. Some people even move over 2,000 miles. However, this is impacting rural Christians.

Bruce Smith, President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates says, “When you take the majority population and you move them into areas like Papua, which is in the far eastern part of the Indonesian region, you then start changing the demographics of that area. Where Christians had been the majority in Papua, now they’re being overtaken by Muslims that are being migrated into that arena.

“The believers in these areas are standing as strong as they can, but many have no Bibles in their own heart languages. As you can imagine, they need the encouragement and the wisdom of the Scriptures in a language they can fully understand.”

Wycliffe Associates is working to accelerate Bible translation in Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world. Christians there face daily persecution, and many are still without the Bible in their language.

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe Associates)

Wycliffe Associates provides computer tablets and training to mother-tongue translators around the world, so they can translate the Bible quickly and safely.

“These Bible translators are determined to do everything necessary to share the Scriptures with the people of their language groups,” Smith says. “They have waited for generations to experience God’s Word in the language of their hearts. All they need are the tools and the training.”

Wycliffe Associates’ Tablets for National Translators (TNT) initiative provides the national translators with computer tablets loaded with translation software. The translators also have the option of working offline for privacy and security.

“If paper copies of Scripture translations are discovered, they could easily be destroyed. Tablets are absolutely essential,” says Smith. “Whole language groups are still waiting. Our response to their requests will mean committed Christians can translate God’s Word quickly and safely.”

One language group in Indonesia has had Scripture in their language for more than 25 years. When Muslims tried to establish a presence there, Christians were unfazed, because knowledge of the Bible is now deeply rooted in their community.

(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe Associates)

The cost of providing a mother-tongue translator with one tablet and training is $300. Wycliffe Associates has received requests for 1,525 Tablets from Papua New Guinea, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

If you would like to support Indonesian Bible translators through Wycliffe Associates, click here to donate!

“They will make any sacrifice, take any risk, to make Bibles available to their people.”

To date, Wycliffe Associates has distributed 6,008 TNTs in 67 countries.

It’s not a new idea. History points to multiple efforts to move Indonesia’s capital city, beginning in 1945. This time, though, science is on Widodo’s side, says Allen. “Literally, Jakarta is sinking. This megalopolis of Jakarta and its suburb is already 40% of its area below sea level, and continues to sink up to eight inches a year.”

Back when Jakarta emerged as the capital city, planners considered it well suited to hold five to six million people. However, “this metropolis is now home to 30 million people. That’s creating a lot of problems, traffic, gridlock, pollution, litter, issues with groundwater.”   

Why East Kalimantan?

(Photo by Nanang Sujana/CIFOR/Flickr/CC)

Widodo chose the area based on the availability of land, low risks of natural disasters (unlike the volcanic and earthquake activity of other islands) and existing infrastructure. However, the mere idea of moving a capital city not just a few miles, but almost a thousand kilometers away creates logistical nightmares for city planners.

“They’re going to build a whole new city on the island of Borneo, taking two regions in the province of East Kalimantan, which is a portion of Borneo. Widodo said he hopes we location will begin by 2024. Now is the time for all the planning and all the building that needs to take place.”

Issues the government factored in whilst considering relocation were, “‘Can we build a whole new city that will accommodate all the people that it would take for all the government offices (and the homes) for about one and a half million civil servants?’– things like that. ‘Where could we place them and do it safely–do it smartly in a new territory?'”

Another challenge: the economic factor. Allen says that since this is their party, the government will fund that part of the project. “But the government is also hoping that there’ll be a lot of private investment, especially in the construction sector. They expect the cost will be about $33 billion to construct this new city. The state wants to fund about 19% of it, and the rest would come from public and private partnerships, private investment.”

A crazy idea?

Indonesia isn’t alone taking on the arduous task of moving a capital city. It’s happened in the United States (albeit in 1790), Turkey, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and, most recently, Myanmar (2005).  The primary motivator in those moves was moving the seat of government closer to the people. Another idea behind it is that transferring away from isolation tends to lower corruption.  

(Map cred: Wikimedia Commons)

Now that there’s a decision, the question of building before moving in or building as you go needs an answer. Allen notes that the area is underdeveloped, so it’d be like starting from scratch. “It’s going to straddle two different districts. Those two districts are already home to about 900,000 people combined. But you’re going to add 1.5 million civil servants to that mix, so you’re going to be more than doubling the population of that area.”  

New opportunities

With roughly 6000 islands in the archipelago, Indonesia is known for its diversity. Allen goes on to say there’s a tremendous opportunity coming: “One of the challenges doing ministry in Indonesia is the fact that these people are diverse (and all the little subcultures), and they’re spread across many islands. Now with this movement of people, we’ll be able to hit representatives of each of those islands without having to go to the islands. The people are coming here.” 

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

FMI has developed church planting partnerships across Indonesia for more than 20 years. In 2012, the ministry began supporting workers in Western Kalimantan. Now, the network includes 20 pastors and evangelists on Kalimantan. 

Laying the groundwork

While East Kalimantan has a Muslim majority population, it is home to many people from the Dayak tribe who have embraced Christianity. Yandi, FMI’s director of partnerships on Borneo says, “We can help these Christians strengthen themselves and prepare to serve the Indonesians – mostly Muslims – from other islands who will move to work in the new capital.”  

He further explained that opportunities for evangelism around the new capital would be “wide and good at first, but those from the majority religion will probably try to [quickly] limit our evangelism with various local regulations.” To that end, Allen urges us to pray wisdom for FMI’s leadership in Indonesia. “We’re looking to take full advantage of a new window of exciting opportunity to share the Gospel with people from so many different islands while that window of opportunity remains open.”

Headline photo courtesy SWXXI/Flickr/CC

And while FMI has been empowering national church planters and pastors in Indonesia for the last 20 years, it’s only been since 2012 that the ministry has been working specifically with partners in Kalimantan, Borneo’s Indonesian controlled land.

Good Neighbor Tactic

“Many new people are moving here. We’ve had an influx of several Muslim families and we see new mosques being built. So, this migration is a great challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity,” FMI’s Bruce Allen shares.

(Graphic courtesy of Forgotten Missionaries Int’l)

As MNN has previously shared, one tactic Christians in Borneo use to share Christ with the newcomers is by being a good neighbor.

When these Christians find people moving into the villages, they often visit the newcomers, welcome them to the community, and offer to pray in Jesus’ name with them in their new home, especially when they are sick.

“The answers to prayer that the people see astound them. They go, ‘Jesus does this? Jesus cares for me?’” Allen says. “That’s very different than the Muslim concept of prayer.”

And this difference is drawing people to ask more questions about Jesus.

One Woman’s Request

In fact, after some Christians had prayed with a Muslim woman, the woman asked if the church would start a women’s ministry. This way she and other Muslim women could come and learn more about Jesus without fear.

“If it’s a women’s ministry that’s, let’s say taking place in a home, more women will be encouraged [to come]. ‘Well, I’m just going over and having tea at my friend’s home,’ rather than ‘I’m going to church on Sunday morning,’ and people or friends from the mosque will be going, ‘What are you doing?’ Allen explains.

“But no one’s going to question her going to her friend’s home for tea and having a conversation about Jesus or engaging in Bible study because it’s outside the structural context of a church. So, we see some great things happening already and Muslims coming to know Christ.”

Growth and Support

Furthermore, churches in the region are already experiencing growth. The pastor who implemented the good neighbor tactic shared with Allen that his church has grown to a congregation of 80 people in a rural village which is home to only 120 families.

As minorities in a Muslim-dominant society, many Christian congregations in Indonesia have long encountered discrimination and persecution. But, these issues may intensify in coming months as the threat of ISIS grows across southeast Asia.
(Photo, caption courtesy of FMI)

FMI has already begun supporting five more church planters and pastors in Borneo, however, it’s clear there’s a need for even more support, including specific ministries to reach and teach women.

So please, pray for stability and wisdom within Indonesia’s government throughout this significant and historical move.

Pray also for Borneo church planters and for more to be raised up. Pray for open hearts and open minds to the Gospel, like this woman who specifically requested an opportunity to learn more about Jesus, despite being a Muslim.

Come alongside FMI supported partners in Indonesia here!

Get more details about Indonesia’s capital city move here.

Further Assessment

Currently, a national development planning agency is in the process of doing technical assessments of things such as soil conditions, ease of access for construction teams, and more. More than likely the area the capital is moved to will be specifically designed just for government use. In other words, they’re looking for a location which is in pristine condition and only needs to be developed.

Training conference with FMI in Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

It’s important the location is in pristine condition not just for the ease of access and a smoother development period, but it also helps keep costs low. The government is looking at spending around $74 million on the move. However, in previous years it would have taken much more than that just to move the capital city across the island of Java. With that said, the government is doing well at making the move as cost-effective as it can.

Why the move, though?

“While Indonesia sits in the ‘ring of fire’ of volcanic activity and earthquakes and things like that, Jakarta’s right on the coast and it’s right near where a lot of tectonic plates do shift. And so, that’s why there’s a lot of this settling going on and sinking [of] up to seven inches a year,” FMI’s Bruce Allen shares.

Combined with the fact the island is literally sinking back into the ocean, Jakarta was originally designed to sustain 3 million to 5 million residents. The city has gone long past that threshold and is actually one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. And with housing that many people over capacity, Jakarta can’t function properly as a city, for example with waste management. Even if the capital city wasn’t being moved off of the island, the verdict is it still needs to move somewhere else.

Multi-layered Decision

A less severe reason for the move is that the government wants to be more centrally located in the country. Java is one of the larger far east islands making up the country. This makes it difficult for Indonesian citizens on the other side of the country to participate in government or even access its government. On the other hand, Borneo is centrally located in the country.

And not only is Borneo centrally located, but it actually shares the island with two other countries: Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia currently owns the largest portion of the island, which is called Kalimantan.

In the past year, FMI’s partners in Indonesia have seen a lot more development take place on Borneo, which is known for being rugged.

“You know, when we think of, say, you’re going to Borneo, you think of wild remote areas. And so, it really would need to be developed and that’s what’s happening,” Allen explains.

“But that’s even great for ministry because with new roads comes better access to the people who live at the end of that road. And so, new churches are getting established and launched as well. So, this potential shift of a capital actually presents some challenges and opportunity for increasing ministry in Indonesia.”

Island Migration

And there’s expected to be an influx of Indonesians migrated to Borneo as a result of the capital move. Part of this is because many of the people want to have their voice in the government, support politicians, and even lobby for certain political agendas.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“With the move of all those people has come a dramatic increase in the number of mosques that are being built and even a larger footprint for radical Islam,” Allen says. “And so it would be very strategic and important for FMI and for the Church, in general, to say, ‘We want to fortify the evangelical presence on that island. We need to be planting more churches, we need reach more people because more people are coming here.’”

In preparation for the move, FMI has begun supporting five more pastors on the island. However, there are many more who need the help. In fact, FMI has been helping pastors and church planters in Indonesia for the past 20 years, but it’s only been since 2012 that the ministry has had the opportunity to come alongside pastors and church planters on Borneo.

“There are hundreds of people groups across those 17,000 plus islands, about 6,000 … are inhabited. But more than 720 languages are spoken in Indonesia,” Allen shares. “Well, now the church planters in Borneo are saying ‘Wow, we can reach the different people groups of Indonesia much more easily because they’re coming to us.’”

Some churches on Borneo are already seeing growth in their church from this early migration. One of the ways many congregations on the island are inviting newcomers to their church is simply by being a good neighbor. They’re visiting these people when they move in, welcoming them to the community, and praying for them in their homes when they’re sick.

How to Pray and Help

And the answers to these prayers have been impactful. Many of these newcomers are realizing that Jesus cares about them and loves them. Allen shares it’s a concept foreign to people of the Islamic faith.

So please, pray for the government’s wisdom in this move, a smooth transition, and for stability in the country during this time. Pray also for FMI’s partners as they prepare to share Christ with even more people and adjust their current ministry life. Finally, ask God to open people’s hearts for evangelism and to the Gospel message.

And it only takes $120 a month to support a pastor or church planter in Indonesia. Will you help empower these Christians to share the Gospel message on Borneo?

Get more details and how to donate to FMI’s work in Indonesia here!

*Borneo is also called Kalimantan by Indonesians.

Pastor Yuda’s primary congregation, which meets in the northern region of Kalimantan (the island popularly called Borneo).
(Photo, caption courtesy FMI)

Indonesia (MNN) — Muslims and Christians aren’t known for working together. But in rural Indonesia, Muslims and Christians in a small village are going “against the grain.”

Four radical Muslims brutally attacked Pastor Yuda, an indigenous church planter in Borneo supported by Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI).

“Pastor Yuda, even as we speak, was being transported to another hospital where there’s imaging equipment so that they could take some brain scans and see if there’s any bleeding in the brain, bone chips of skull–anything that would need to be removed,” reports FMI’s Bruce Allen.

“The local people [Muslims] are coming together with the church members to try and find out who the person [was] who hit and attacked Pastor Yuda, and bring that person to the police.”

Muslims and Christians: the clash

It’s been said time and time again: not all Muslims are terrorists. While this is most certainly true, there is a small percentage of Muslims in Muslim-majority Indonesia bent toward acts of terror and violence.

In the middle of the night, four radically-aligned Muslims from the Melayu tribe began their attack by hurling large rocks at the church building, trying to destroy it.

When Pastor Yuda awoke and took in the scene, “they started to run,” Allen shares.

“He ran after them, simply to ask what they were doing and why they were doing it…. One turned on him, produced a metal hammer, and began to pound Pastor Yuda’s head with it, causing severe injury.”

(Photo courtesy FMI)

A neighbor, who was also awakened by the noise, came to Pastor Yuda’s aid and was able to “rush” him to a hospital. But, in rural Borneo, any type of transportation isn’t fast, and it isn’t smooth.

“It’s tough going when you’re trying to ride a motorcycle, ride a van, do anything in that area because it’s all ‘off-road’ type of transportation,” says Allen.

When Pastor Yuda and his neighbor finally arrived at the nearest medical clinic, all the doctors could do was stitch up his wounds and give him pain-killers. In the following days, Pastor Yuda was transported to another island where he could receive brain scans and further treatment.

Though vicious, the attack is having some positive unintended side effects.

Side effects

(Photo credit: IndonesiaTravelingGuide.com)

Pastor Yuda’s village is 98% Muslim, and “the leader of that village, although he’s Muslim, does not want any conflict between Muslims and Christians or the church members in that area,” Allen shares.

Attacks like these also have the potential to pit tribal members against Christians. Fortunately, “many of the people in his congregation are from the very tribe of these attackers,” says Allen.

Typically, Pastor Yuda’s village hums with the quiet activity of farmers belonging to either the Melayu or Dayak tribe. The unusual facts surrounding this attack leads FMI’s leadership team to suspect outsiders.

“The church has been under small attacks in the past–usually from outsiders, usually from a radical Muslim group,” shares Allen.

Journey of healing

This unfortunate incident in rural Borneo has united Muslims and Christians. But, as any survivor of head trauma knows, the journey ahead for Pastor Yuda and his family could be a long one.

(Photo credit: GeneticLiteracyProject.com)

Depending on the exact extent of Pastor Yuda’s trauma, he could be facing at least several weeks of bed rest and pain medication, with the potential of surgery and recovery-based therapy.

“We’d just really appreciate prayers from the Mission Network News audience for his recovery, and for his family and his church,” says Allen.

“Obviously, any financial support we can give will help; there are immediate medical expenses.”

FMI plans to give an initial gift of at least $1,000 to Pastor Yuda and his family. If you’d like to contribute to his recovery, please click here and select “Support for Overseas Partners” in the drop-down menu.

“They don’t have Obamacare; they don’t have a lot of the things that we would have in place, in terms of traditional insurance and healthcare coverage,” Allen notes.

Prayer Points

• Please pray for Pastor Yuda’s speedy and full recovery.
• Pray that all the necessary funds to cover medical expenses will be provided.
• Pray for the continued cooperation between Muslims and Christians, and pray that this attack will create opportunities for Christians to share the Gospel.

More stories about FMI’s ministry here.

(Image Indonesia Seal courtesy Wikipedia)

Indonesia (MNN) — The situation Indonesian Christians find themselves in is diverse. There is much hope related to the newly-elected president and his public statements concerning religious minorities. In other areas, there are huge challenges.

In today’s story, we’ll focus a little bit on the tools and training Forgotten Missionaries International offers through its conferences. The majority of the story is about why they do what they do.

Java and Borneo are home to about three dozen church planters supported by FMI. In the larger archipelago, more than 720 languages are spoken by its various indigenous tribes. A former Dutch colony, Indonesia now ranks the fourth-largest in population and has the largest Muslim-dominated nation in the world.

FMI’s Bruce Allen was in Java and Borneo earlier this month, primarily to “assess the health of the ministry and help them strategize for continued growth or outreach.” Many of the church planters supported by FMI work in rural areas. “It was quite an adventure to get out to some of these places, to conduct field visits, to go to the church planter’s ministry site and meet with their church leadership elders or deacons, as well as talk with some of their church members.”

FMI wrapped up their visits just in time to help lead a pastoral training conference. “We’re talking about some very practical things that will help their home as well as their ministry: financial management, building and sustaining healthy marriages, and Bible studies from the book of Genesis and Exodus.” There’s nothing like drinking from a fire hydrant. Aside from field visits and training conferences, Allen says, “We met with the national leadership team, and we were focused on developing strategies that will help them move forward with outreach in the midst of some very challenging situations.”

What kind of challenges? Minority Christians are often discriminated against in employment and education, and they sometimes face outright persecution. Yet FMI’s church planters have a courageous vision to fan out across the islands to reach their countrymen for Christ.

Now we come to the “why” of these meetings. We’d like to introduce you to Mahkuta. At the start of his journey, a friend introduced him to the Gospel. He was curious about Christians and the Bible. Allen shares, “His friend introduced him to a pastor who helped explain the Gospel to him. Mahkuta actually left the island of Sumatra to get a theology degree, to understand [the Bible] better. While he was in Java, he became a Christian.”

Things went great as Mahkuta enthusiastically shared his story with anyone who would listen. The only people that didn’t know about his change of heart were his parents–who were Muslim. He finally plucked up the courage, sent them a letter, and braced for their reaction. “At the same time he was writing a letter to his parents, his parents were writing a letter to him,” Allen says. “His parents were informing Mahkuta that they had just put their faith in Jesus Christ, along with six other families from their village.”

Ecstatic, Mahkuta moved back to his home village on Sumatra, helped with church planting and discipleship, and extended outreach to the villages surrounding theirs. Allen says that “in recent months, Mahkuta moved back to Java, and he’s one of our newest church planters, just in the last few months starting a new church in Java.”

(Photo courtesy Forgotten Missionaries International)

It’s because of men like Mahkuta that FMI emphasizes training, discipleship, and more. His is not the only story like this, which is great news considering the footprint of the Islamic State. “God is calling and drawing people to Himself,” raves Allen. “We’re thrilled to be able to partner with the people who are on the frontlines making that happen.”

Pray for pastors like Mahkuta to be bold about their stories with Jesus and that FMI can continue to freely offer training for the upcoming church leaders.