Church-Planting Teams
In order to improve the ministry of the church planters, we began a series of leadership training in August that will continue for the next five years. This training is for the board members of each region, as well as the team leaders so that they can better carry out their function as leaders of the church planters in their area.
The leaders in each region continue to build networks with local churches and seminaries to promote the ministry and gain more support, both in finances and prayer. Many regions under Cahaya Suku still need additional staff to work as church planters. We are praying that the Lord will send the right people with the burden to reach out to the unreached people in our country.
By the grace of God in 2011, we were able to share the Gospel with 1,867 people and bring 284 of them to faith in Christ. In all, 52 new house churches were formed last year as well. We are really thankful for God’s grace and for the opportunity to serve Him. We have confidence that the Lord will continue to work through us and sustain us as we work to extend His Kingdom in our nation.
Here are the stories of a few of the believers and seekers we are ministering to through our church-planting teams:
J. is a new believer who was healed from paralysis after we prayed for him. Two months ago he invited one of our church planters to his home. It was a Muslim holiday, and he wanted to introduce our church planter “A” to his friends and relatives.
“To my surprise, he asked me to share the testimony about how he was healed from his illness,” A said. “He shared how Jesus is his Saviour and how He can heal every illness. He wanted his relatives and friends to hear the Good News and experience new life in Jesus.” Please pray for the people of J’s village so that they will be saved.
L is a successful woman in her 40s. She has a few businesses and works hard to support her family. Despite the fact that her husband is not interested, she has joined one of our seeker groups. She possesses a real hunger for the things of God and says that she is ready to set aside her Muslim religious tradition to pursue the truth. L has a lot of influence within her family, and we plan to involve them in the seeker group. Please pray for God to draw L’s husband and siblings to Himself.
Y is a Muslim-background believer. She and her husband are passionate about reaching their family and friends for Christ, so they recently moved away from their Christian community to Y’s home village in West Lampung. It has been a struggle for their children, ages 12 and 9, to adapt to their new Muslim village after having grown up in a predominantly Christian community. They must attend religious lessons and recite the Koran. Please pray for their family and for many doors for ministry to be opened.
Women’s Retreat
In November, we had a women’s ministry retreat that was attended by almost all the women in the West Java region. It was a three-day retreat with five main sessions plus prayer, sharing, and worship times. This was the most anticipated event for the women in our region last year. The main message of this retreat was about the love of Father God and the importance of having a heart full of God’s love.
This retreat was also attended by some women from other regions so that they could share and learn together. It was such a refreshment and great blessing for the women.
Medical Clinic
The past year we have been seeing an increase in the number of people who visit the medical clinic. Last year, 1,436 patients came to the clinic, compared to 1,360 in 2010. The plan to establish a new clinic in another area in South Sumatra is underway. We are identifying potential sites in the city, especially in the slums along the river that runs through the city. These areas are home to numerous unreached groups who have migrated to the city to make a living. We pray that through this clinic we would bless the community and share the love of God among them.
Thank You
We wish to express our deep appreciation to you for supporting us in prayer and finances and for having such concern for this ministry. We realize that we are not working alone to spread the Good News among the unreached people groups here. Thank you for continuing your involvement as we join hands in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, our Lord. To God be all the glory!
PLEASE PRAY:
• For God to work in the hearts of seekers so that they will accept God’s gift of salvation.
• For protection, wisdom, and boldness for the church planters.
• For God to supply the workers needed for the ministry in Papua.
• For the women’s ministry to continue to expand throughout the islands.
• For a new site to be provided for a second medical clinic.
• For the growth of the Indonesian Church in unreached areas.
You can learn more about this ministry, and make a donation by following this link.
