| Balinese
Pastor and Son Seek New Ways to Minister to a Hindu
People
AIMS
News: Posted 12/1/2005
 While
ministering in a small Hindu village on the island of
Bali in Indonesia, three pastors met a lame man who
could not walk or work. They prayed for him, and he
was completely healed. The villagers became angry. They
beat the pastors and vandalized the house where they
were staying. When the villagers discovered the men
were from a church pastored by a Balinese man, they
calmed down, but they banished the healed man from the
village.
The
island of Bali is known for its lush beaches and vacation
resorts. Although Indonesia is primarily Muslim, Bali
is 98% Hindu. Its 49,000 Hindu temples add to the mystique
that attracts Indonesians and people from around the
world. But one pastor and his son have looked past the
island's charm and seen a people who are lost without
the hope of Jesus Christ.
New
Church Reaches a Lost People
In
1996, AIMS' partner church in Indonesia planted a church
on the island of Bali. Half Balinese, "Pastor Elijah"
watched his congregation grow to 30 cell groups with
200 members. Many Balinese people trusted Pastor Elijah
simply because he was Balinese himself. They listened
to what he said, and several joined a cell group that
Elijah formed for them. But when he began to pressure
them to attend services at the church, they pulled away,
saying that they no longer wanted to follow Jesus.
|
"The
knowledge is not just for me to have but for every
minister in Bali." |
"The
cost of discipleship is high," wrote Patrick Johnstone,
author of Operation World (1). "Converts to Christ
often face ostracism, persecution and financial loss
when they break with their familyís and communityís
way of life."
When
Pastor Elijah and his son, "Abram," attended
the AIMS conference in Indonesia last year, they both
decided to officially focus on reaching their people
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Abram stayed behind
to attend Bible school while his father returned to
Bali. Today, 40% of Pastor Elijah's congregation is
Balinese. Thirteen new Balinese converts have been baptized
this year alone.
Building
New Bridges with the Community
When
Abram returned in August to participate in the advanced
track of the AIMS Equipping for the Harvest conference,
he realized that pressuring the Hindu cell group to
attend church services was not the best method for reaching
them. He now wanted to restore his relationship with
them.
"I
want to meet with the former cell group - to love them,
pray for them and serve them," said Abram. "I
can teach them the basic principles about serving and
worshipping Jesus. They may have to continue to join
their village Hindu ceremonies, but in their hearts,
they can pray to Jesus. Then maybe, their community
can see that they are Christian."
But
Abram doesn't want to stop there. He plans to share
the new information with his father and train all the
cell group leaders in his church how to minister to
other people groups like the Balinese.
"The
knowledge is not just for me to have, but for all ministers
in Bali," said Abram. "We have to share with
them how to minister to unreached people groups, pray
that God gives us divine appointments and helps us build
relationships."
Abram
also plans to study agriculture so he can help the Hindu
villages in Bali with their crops. He believes that
this knowledge will provide him with an open door to
share the Gospel with them. "Once they get saved,
then the Balinese people can become ministers and missionaries
for their own people!"
(1)
Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Operation World:
When We Pray God Works, 21st Century Edition (Waynesboro,
GA: Paternoster USA) 2001, pp. 382.
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