Nurturing Prophetic Faith: Reflection on 30 Years of Global Ministries
by Rev. Dr. Mery Kolimon from the Evangelical Christian Church in Timor (GMIT), Indonesia
Learning with Global Ministries
I served as a board member of Global Ministries for eight years (2009–2017), representing Southern Asia. The round-trip from Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, to Cleveland, USA, or to Indianapolis was long and exhausting (more than 24 hours one way), but I am grateful because I learned so much from those meetings. I witnessed how Global Ministries lives out a bold, inclusive, and prophetic faith. One of the topics that was discussed in depth was racism. Global Ministries also created safe spaces for vulnerable groups—such as families struggling with gender and sexual diversity—to share their testimonies and inspire and transform the church’s ministry. I have always been inspired by the moral courage of Global Ministries in speaking out and embracing vulnerable groups, whatever the consequences.
The decision of Global Ministries to include partner representatives from various regions around the world as part of its governing body shows that, for Global Ministries, its partners are not merely recipients of its services but companions on a shared journey of faith. Since the beginning of my membership in Global Ministries, I have participated in in-depth theological discussions at board meetings regarding accompaniment. There is a strong commitment within Global Ministries to mutuality—that is, to go beyond the legacy of colonial mission practices that placed churches in the global North in a position of superiority. There is an effort to transform these into more equal, reciprocal relationships.
In 2015, during my tenure on the Global Ministries board, I was elected moderator of my church, the Evangelical Christian Church of Timor (GMIT). My experience walking with Global Ministries on the board helped shape a leadership perspective oriented toward justice, particularly regarding the church’s involvement in public issues and its embrace and accompaniment of vulnerable groups. Global Ministries’ prophetic choice to stand with victims of injustice and to clearly express its position regardless of the consequences has been a meaningful lesson for me.
My experience as a board member has further strengthened my understanding of equal relationships among churches worldwide. Although our churches are separated by differences in geographical location, language, and nationality, and are shaped by unjust global structures, in faith we are called to embody the unity of the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit binds us together in one hope and empowers us to resist forces that divide and discriminate against people based on skin colour, ethnicity, nationality, and gender identity, as well as to fight against the exploitation of nature and the destruction of life that God loves.
Personal and Community Transformation
On this occasion of Global Ministries’ 30th anniversary celebration, I would like to bear witness to my personal learning about church leadership. I learned from Rev. James Moos that, especially when making difficult decisions, a church leader should strive to articulate their understanding of the issue with a strong, clear theological vision. At the same time, s/he needs to remain open to reaching a collective agreement, even if the final decision differs from his/her own thinking as a leader.
Regarding transformation at the community and structural levels, a good example of Global Ministries’ contribution is its educational ministry in Timor-Leste (East Timor). In 2006, IPTL (Protestant Church of Timor-Leste), in collaboration with Global Ministries, established an elementary school in Lisadila, a rural area in the Liquisa District. The school has since grown to the high school level and is planning to develop into a university. Through this school, people living in poverty and far from cities can access quality education. Today, the school has become one of the high-achieving institutions owned by the church and the local community. In addition, the provision of Global Ministries scholarships for many IPTL students and pastors continues to offer hope for leadership development within IPTL.
In West Timor (GMIT), the relationship was established even before Global Ministries existed. The partnership between GMIT and the United Church of Christ began in the 1960s. It began as a result of the rapid church growth that GMIT experienced following the 1965 anti-communist period of terror. Followers of indigenous religions fled to the nearest official religion as a way of escaping the accusation that they were communists. As a result, GMIT experienced a rapid influx of new members who knew very little about Christianity. This, in turn, produced a crisis in leadership and ministry to serve so many new, unchurched members. In about 1968, the National Council of Churches of Indonesia, DGI (now PGI), acting on GMIT’s behalf, asked the United Church Board for World Ministries to send mission co-workers to serve in theological education and lay leadership development. Thus, in 1970, Walter and Beverly Snowa arrived in West Timor to provide training for village church elders and lay leaders. After their departure in 1979, UCBWM sent John and Karen Campbell-Nelson to continue this work, beginning in 1983. In 1993, John and Karen were among the first mission co-workers to be jointly appointed by the UCBWM and the Disciples’ Division of Overseas Ministries.
Long-term Partnership
John and Karen Campbell Nelson served with us in West Timor for more than 30 years. Their ministry even extended to collaboration with Global Ministries partners in other regions of Eastern Indonesia, such as Sulawesi and Maluku, as well as with IPTL in Timor-Leste. Such long-term partnerships make it possible to truly know one another, build trust, understand context, and enable a meaningful presence. Short-term interventions are certainly helpful in sustaining efforts during times of crisis, but they tend to have a more one-directional impact. In contrast, long-term cooperation allows for mutual understanding of context and a meaningful, reciprocal presence.
Several friends from IPTL have also testified that such long-term ministry has enabled Global Ministries to become one of the most faithful partners in all circumstances. Since the difficult times of the East Timor struggle for independence and the post-independence period, some partners left IPTL. In contrast, Global Ministries built its cooperation on the basis of justice and human rights. What is unique about Global Ministries—from the presence of Rev. John Campbell-Nelson, Rev. James Moos, Rev. Vijayakumar, Rev. Tom and Dr. Monica Liddle, and others—is that they are still fondly remembered by Timorese people because their focus was not merely on partnership but on relationships that went beyond institutional ties. They have been regarded as part of the family and as brothers and sisters of the people of Timor-Leste, especially the IPTL community. This focus has laid a strong foundation and left a strong impression of a shared sense of belonging as fellow human beings.
As reflected in the theme of this celebration, drawn from Ephesians 4:1–6, the Apostle Paul exhorts the congregation in Ephesus to strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit—one body, one Spirit, one hope. This 30th anniversary celebration of Global Ministries provides momentum to seek ways to expand and deepen its relationships with partner churches, fostering stronger reciprocal ties.
Hopes for the Future of Partnership
I look back on the past 30 years with gratitude for the partnership between Global Ministries and GMIT. We are thankful for Global Ministries’ prophetic role in confronting the powers of evil, its consistency in upholding social and ecological justice, its courage in voicing dissent within oppressive power structures, and its steadfast commitment to justice and truth without fear of the consequences. In today’s global poly-crisis, such prophetic courage is much needed.
I hope that in the future, Global Ministries will continue to be a faithful and prophetic partner to its ecumenical partners around the world. In a context of rising xenophobia, Global Ministries and its partners need to increasingly support one another and draw inspiration from the Holy Spirit for shared ministry—defending the vulnerable and boldly bearing witness to God’s love for all.
To this end, I hope there will be greater space for exchange between Global Ministries and its partners. There needs to be a way to share the richness of faith experiences among Global Ministries’ partner churches—both among partners in different parts of the world and also between these churches and the two founding denominations of Global Ministries in the USA, namely the Disciples and the UCC. I hope that the Global Ministries’ leadership team will encourage and facilitate stronger exchange and mutual learning among church partners.
Rev. Dr. Mery Kolimon is from the Evangelical Christian Church in Timor (GMIT), Indonesia. She is currently a professor of Missiology and Feminist Theology at Artha Wacana University in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, and serves on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and as Vice-chairperson of PGI (the Communion of Churches in Indonesia). She is a renowned feminist scholar and activist, and she served on the Common Global Ministries Board (2011-2017).