thousand people were ready to
worship God and hear the
Word. Tommy Smith, our mis-
sionary to Indonesia, did an
excellent job of translating as I
preached, and many were
blessed by the Spirit of God.
Meanwhile, across town, in
central Jakarta, Harold McLeod
was ministering at the Petam-
buran congregation, which is
located adjacent to the girls’
dorm (the Women’s Ministries
Raymond Culpepper (left)
with Tommy Smith preaching
Project of 1988) at Bethel Sem-
at Gereja Bethel Indonesia
inary. This congregation is
Rose of Sharon in Jakarta.
known for their ministry to the
poor and the needy through
education and medicine.
Later that afternoon, while I ministered to 3,000 people atten- community is experiencing transformation. By caring for and
ding the new Senayan City Mall branch of the congregation of helping the community, this local church has seen more than 100
Niko Njotorahardjo in central Jakarta, Peggy was joined by Tina called out of the darkness of Islam into the light of Christ.
McLeod and Poppi Smith for a pre-Synod Ladies Ministries leader- From an area of blight and poverty, we quickly sped down the
ship seminar at the national offices of Gereja Bethel Indonesia. expressway to join Pastor Niko Njotorahardjo for a tour of the
Pastors’ wives and female ministers (pastors and evangelists) from newly constructed 12,000-seat Sentul City Convention Center
all across Indonesia had gathered for this two-day training in some 45 minutes from downtown Jakarta. Although uncomplet-
which the wives of Church of God leaders ministered from their ed at the time, we paused together to have a mini-prayer meeting
hearts with their Indonesian sisters. there with Pastor Niko and his executive staff, where we gave
Java is the most densely populated island in the world with thanks for God’s blessings on our Indonesian partners.
more than 90 million residents, although it is roughly the size of On Wednesday night of the synod, I was honored to be the
the state of Tennessee. On Monday we flew 650 miles from Jakar- keynote speaker. The 11,000-seat National Badminton Hall in
ta, the national capital in western Java, down to Indonesia’s sec- Jakarta was packed to capacity with ministers from all over
ond-largest city, Surabaya, in eastern Java, where we visited with Indonesia. The 2.5-million-member Indonesian church convenes
Pastor Alex Tanuseputra, who had years ago preached for me in a synod every four years, rotating between the Grand Synod,
Birmingham, Alabama. As we toured his two church locations, a which involves all levels of ministry, and a smaller assembly in
third worship center under construction, and the lovely YWEA which only ordained bishops attend.
Chapel & Training Center, we praised God for the extraordinary In my sermon I sought to cast a vision of prayer, world evan-
way He has blessed the Church of God to impact Muslim Indone- gelism, and a quest for trust. Prior to my preaching, we rejoiced in
sia with the Gospel. praise and worship with more than 600 distinct Indonesian eth-
On Tuesday evening, the 14th Grand Synod of Gereja Bethel nic groups from Church of God congregations from all over
Indonesia opened with the ornate pageantry of singers, praise Indonesia.
dancers, and worship leaders in their traditional native dress of On Thursday and Friday mornings, the synod began with
colorful silk batik. National Overseer Nahuway presented a state of dynamic messages from Douglas LeRoy and Harold McLeod at the
the church message in his engaging, yet sober style, challenging 8:00 revival services.
the denomination to reach out to a harvest of lost souls while On Thursday afternoon, Jacob Nahuway was reelected on the
going forward together in unity and love. first ballot to his second four-year term as national overseer.
Following a very early Wednesday breakfast, we were off to We departed Indonesia with great thankfulness to God for the
tour two cutting-edge ministries of Gereja Bethel Indonesia. In highly fruitful ministries of the Church of God in Indonesia, a suc-
one of Jakarta’s most blighted areas, we visited our Love of cess we enjoy in spite of the fact that this is the world’s most pop-
Immanuel church-school-home for children (see article on page ulated Muslim nation!
19). After being welcomed by Pastor Veronica Backer, we shared a This trip demonstrated to me once again that despite the chal-
message of encouragement for the 50 children of the home. It was lenges we face, or what some may say, the words of Jesus are still
my joy to lay hands on each child and pray for them individual- true: “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
ly. One of the locations of Poppi’s Kitchen feeding ministry, this shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, NKJV).
EVANGEL • JUNE 2009 7
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