September 21, 2009
By an Alliance worker in Indonesia
On September 16, followers of the GKIP, a group that had broken away from GKII (the C&MA national church in Indonesia), burned down a GKII church and two houses in Enarotali. In addition, an Alliance church service in Dekai was disrupted when a number of youth from the breakaway group stormed into the church. There were no reports of violence, but the service was stopped and the congregation left.
The GKII has planned an October 13-16 conference in Enarotali where Alliance missionaries will speak. The buildings that were burned include those that were going to be used for housing the conference and the speakers. We don’t know what the GKII will do now, but we ask you to pray for the church situation there. Pray that new facilities will be secured if God wants the conference to take place there. Please pray for the church in Dekai also.
In desperate attempts for power and authority, members of the breakaway group continue to reveal the intent of their hearts by their actions. Pray for confession, repentance, and revival in the church for God’s glory.
In the middle of these challenging times, God is doing an amazing work in refining His Body. Two [groups of believers] interior valleys have rejected the breakaway group and returned to the GKIP. I just heard recently that one GKII church in the Baliem Valley concluded its mission conference with an actual cash offering to missions of more than $10,000US. In the midst of trial, we do not lose heart but rejoice in Christ.
Thank you for remembering the needs of the Church in Papua.
Learn More
Click here read about the exciting history of Alliance ministry in the Baliem Valley.
Check out our Alliance work in Indonesia.