{"id":17748,"date":"2025-11-24T09:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T08:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/?p=17748"},"modified":"2025-11-20T15:49:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:49:55","slug":"greetings-from-indonesia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cgk.nl\/en\/zending\/groeten-uit-indonesie\/","title":{"rendered":"Greetings from Indonesia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above the town of Makale in Tana Toraja stands a large statue of Christ. His arms are raised in blessing over the surrounding area. \u201cA beautiful message,\u201d writes missionary consultant Rev. Arjan Witzier in his travelogue. \u201cThe statue itself, well, tastes differ.\u201d He was with missionary deputy Rev. Willem van \u2018t Spijker in the summer in Indonesia <\/a>to visit our sister church Gereja Toraja Mamasa (GTM). The bond with the Christian Reformed Churches is deeply rooted. \u201cWe are a daughter of the CGK,\u201d is heard everywhere he goes. At the same time, it is clear that this church has now matured and become independent. A look behind the scenes of a working visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strong and well-organised church<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The GTM has a well-structured organisation based on the synodical-presbyterial system. There is a central board with an important steering role. Among other things, it is responsible for the placement of ministers, the sermon schedule and the national coordination of diaconal and missionary work. Even the men's, women's and youth work is coordinated nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central administration also reassigns ministers to different congregations every five years. Ministers may remain in one place for a maximum of two terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a meeting with the board in the new office of the church association, which is currently under construction. They tell us that they are facing three major challenges: staffing, theological level and finances. The first is going well; there is no shortage of ministers. However, further training and deepening of knowledge are desirable. The biggest bottleneck remains financial capacity. Support from the Netherlands is being withdrawn, which is seen as a loss. Our conversation partners emphasise that asking for help is not a sign of dependence, but of friendship. \u201cFriends ask friends for help,\u201d they explain. In Indonesia, it would be shameful if a friend discovered that help was needed but he had not been asked to help. For us Dutch, this is an important reminder that different cultures view requests for help differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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