Jul 09: Indonesia, East Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara Timor)
Indonesia
Republic of Indonesia
Asia
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Geography
Area: 1,919,317 sq kmThe Republic’s 17,500 islands (6,000 inhabited) stretch over 9.5 million sq km of the Indian/Pacific Oceans, with 33 provinces, 5 of which have special status. Includes the world’s second-largest rain forest and vast coral reefs.
Population: 232,516,771 Annual Growth: 1.19%
Capital: Jakarta
Urbanites: 53.7%
HDI Rank: 111 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Peoples: 784 (26% unreached) All peoplesUnreached Peoples Prayer Card
Official language: Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia). Its increasing use is unifying the nation and lessening the importance of smaller languages to the younger generation Languages: 722 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Muslim| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 36,853,908 | 15.85 | 1.6 |
| Evangelicals | 13,010,751 | 5.6 | 2.8 |
| Muslim | 186,734,219 | 80.31 |
Challenge for Prayer
The need for mature, spiritual church leadershas never been greater. The importance of developing pastors is heightened by rapidly multiplying Pentecostal/charismatic churches. The pastor plays a significant role in Reformed and Lutheran traditions from the Netherlands and Germany. The ability to train and equip quality leaders, however, is far outstripped by the need for them. Pray for:a) The development of effective lay leadership. Only 40% of congregations in the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) have a pastor. Trained lay leadership is therefore essential.
b) Continuing training and discipleship for church leaders in general and pastors in particular. Many pastors have been serving faithfully despite inadequate preparation; many need training (or re-training), new zeal and, in some cases, to be born of the Spirit for the first time.
c) Theological education and training are vital needs. Pray for these:
i The Bible schools that focus on training pastors for ministry. These are usually less academic, focused on effectively teaching and discipling pastors. Many of these are evangelical and often provide pastors for rural congregations.
ii The more than 100 degree-level seminaries and 22 Christian universities, the majority of which are not evangelical. Pray for an increase in the number of evangelical faculty members and pastors in the large and influential regional Lutheran and Reformed seminaries and universities especially.
iii The 11 evangelical seminaries relating to the Asian Theological Association as well as those in PASTI and PESRATPIM – evangelical and Pentecostal associations, respectively. All are bulging with students and potential. Pray for an outflow of life through graduates to old and new churches and to the mission fields of Indonesia and beyond.
iv A notable example of how academic and practical trainings combine successfully is ETSI, whose graduates claim to have planted over 6,000 churches since 1979, almost all among predominantly Muslim peoples. ETSI has 33 satellite campuses. They focus on academics and require each student to minister in a village and plant a church before graduation.
d) The spiritual quality and commitment of current pastors and spiritual leaders to be high. This is even more vital than discipling and recruiting new pastors and spiritual leaders. Pray especially that current developing leaders might have a willingness to go to the harder areas of the country for Jesus’ sake.
For an additional 11 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Indonesia.East Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara Timor)
Indonesia
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
West Timor:a) A great outpouring of the Spirit in 1965-68 resulted in renewal within the Church and thousands of conversions. About 20% of Timorese were converted; the vast majority stayed with their faith through the decades, despite the changes those decades brought.
b) The wide-scale killing and destruction that followed East Timor’s (Timor Leste) vote to become independent of Indonesia resulted in a number of refugee camps holding thousands of people in West Timor. Today, the remaining camps are populated by ex-militia and their families who cannot go back to Timor Leste. Hundreds of these families are involved in prayer and Bible study groups. Pray that this development would grow and impact many more lives.
c) Sabu people on Sabu Island and West Timor(130,000) are predominantly professing Christians. A significant minority still practice animism; Sabu is a spiritual battleground. There is great hunger for the limited Scriptures available in the local language.
d) The Ambenu Timor and Belu Tetun in West Timor are largely Catholic. Most are nominal, but God is at work among a notable minority of believers.
For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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