The Persecuted Church in Indonesia

The focus of the persecuted church this month will be on Indonesia. Indonesia is made up of 18,306 islands, 6,000 of which are inhabited. Indonesia is currently listed as a hostile nation, wherein the government attempts to protect Christians, but they are still victimized with violence because of their Christian beliefs.

The religious affiliation currently in Indonesia is 80% Muslim and 16% Christian. The Indonesian government holds a belief called “Pancasila,” where people are technically allowed to choose the religion they follow, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, but Muslims are given preferential treatment.

Two families in West Java, Indonesia have recently been forced from their homes because the families converted to Christianity and baptized. A Voice of the Martyrs contact reported that, “They were summoned by a Muslim leader [in the village] and told they should leave the village because Christians make the village unclean.”

The Voice of the Martyrs reports that in May of 2008, Muslim warriors attacked a Christian village, burned the homes and threw bombs. They killed a 47-year old woman and her 6-year old granddaughter, smashing the woman’s skull with an ax, and hacking the girl’s stomach with a machete.

Prayer Request

Some Christians had gathered in Indonesia to pray that the hearts of Muslims would be open to the gospel. A video tape of the prayer service leaked to Islamic organizations and Daniel and 40 other Christian leaders were arrested in Indonesia in April, 2007. Daniel, an evangelist, was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Please be praying for Daniel and other prisoners who are currently serving prison time or are being persecuted in any way in Indonesia. If you’d like to write a letter of encouragement to Daniel, you can do so through Prisoner Alert.

Please pray for continued growth of the body of Christ in Indonesia, that the Lord will strengthen them in body and spirit to stay strong in their faith, that they will keep spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and that the Holy Spirit will draw many Muslims and people of other religions to the Heavenly Father and that they will be saved.

God bless.