By ICC Indonesia Staff

2/7/2015 Indonesia (International Christian Concern)-In most parts of the world, the coming of a new year is celebrated in a peaceful and joyous atmosphere.  Unfortunately, this was not the case for the GPDI Church in Jatinangor, West Java, Indonesia.  Church closures in Indonesia have been on the rise over the past few years due to an increase in Islamic extremism in the region. Since the forced closure of GPDI by a radical Islamist group named Front Pembela Islam (FPI), church members had no proper place for their Sunday services for months. FPI is known throughout Indonesia for their hate speech and violence against religious minorities and organizations that support of religious freedom.

After the closure of their church, members of GPDI Church were forced to move from place-to-place, ranging from a rundown factory to under the trees outside of their church building. When they worshipped outside of their building, the radicals harassed them by occupying the space in which the church used to worship.  They even threw dirt and cow dung at them to make conditions more uncomfortable for the church members. As a result, many of the faithful, including children, were forced to stand throughout the service.

After lobbying the Indonesian Home Affairs Minister in early December, this group of Christians was eventually granted a short time slot in which they were permitted to worship in their building. So, on December 25, 2014, for the first time since the closure of the church, they were able to worship again in their church building despite the limited facilities. Regardless of the poor building conditions, according to ICC’s representative in Indonesia, it was clear that spirits were high as members of the church joyfully sang praises and danced to the Lord. Despite the time limit set on the church service, the new location was seen as a great improvement from being forced to have services outside with the smell of cow dung surrounding them.

After the service, the pastor invited all church members to lunch at his house, which is attached to the church that was closed by radicals. Unbeknownst to the Christians, the extremists were still watching them. As the church members were eating, they suddenly heard noises outside coming towards the living room. The intruders inspected all of the rooms, kicking over furniture, and chasing out the children who were eating inside the church building. Suddenly the crowd was shouting, “FPI! FPI!” while others were forced to stand by and watch helplessly. According to ICC’s representative he “could sense the feeling of dejection and anger, but yet could not do anything to defend them.” Once they realized that the church members were only having lunch, the group of approximately twenty radicals left; however, the feelings of anger and defenselessness lingered within the hearts and minds of church members. ICC’s representative says, “Let us pray for the change of spiritual, religious and political climate here in Indonesia.”

For interviews, contact Corey Baily, Regional Manager for Asia:

RM-Asia@persecution.org 

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