Pray with Indonesia, June 8, 2025

Lectionary Selection: John 14: 8-17

Prayers for Indonesia

O God, we thank you for your provision and love, which are always there for us. We realize that without God, we would not have lived our lives until now. We ask that God’s steadfast love do not depart from our lives.

We are grateful for the Sumba Christian Church and Theological Seminary of Sumba Christian Church on Sumba Island to carry out ministry through evangelization and Christian education.

We bring the struggles of the Sumba Christian Church and the Theological Seminary of Sumba Christian Church when facing various social problems, such as poverty, violence against women and children, human trafficking practices, drought and other climate-related issues, and various other social problems. We bring to you all those suffering from depression and other mental health issues. We continue to hope that the Holy Spirit will enable us to be the witnesses of Christ by becoming agents of change for the people of Sumba.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Mission Moment from Indonesia

The mission of the Sumba Christian Church is to present the kingdom of God in the lives of the people of Sumba. In 2024, a commemoration of the 143rd anniversary of the gospel’s journey to the island of Sumba was held. This commemoration gives spirit to all congregations in the Sumba Christian Church to continue to proclaim the word of God through living testimony and holistic service. There are many challenges faced by the church in its ministry, such as slavery practices like human trafficking, high stunting rates due to undernourishment, and violence against women and children. The Synod of the Sumba Christian Church has made various efforts to face these challenges, including carrying out activities along with Oase Intim and Sumba Christian Church Theological Seminary (STT GKS) in developing a contextual church ecclesiology so that the presence of the church can have a significant impact not only for the congregation in the Sumba Christian church environment, but also for the entire Sumba community.

STT GKS, as the theological seminary of the Sumba Christian Church, and as an educational institution, continues to develop and make maximum efforts to produce graduates with academic quality and social commitment. They are equipped not only with knowledge of theology but also other skills that will aid them when they are in the church environment and society, including knowledge of health, animal husbandry, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and computers. Most of the STT GKS students are from poor families, but this does not prevent them from continuing their studies.

STT GKS also collaborates with several institutions to carry out Ecotheology Cinematography Workshop activities. This activity was carried out because of concerns about damage to forest ecosystems due to forest burning by irresponsible individuals, as well as soil damage due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that occur on Sumba Island. Students are trained to make videos about the ecological damage that occurs in Sumba and its impact on human life and that of other life forms. The videos that have been made are then posted on social media as a form of campaign to all Sumba people so that they do not destroy nature and thus preserve the nature of Sumba.

Global Ministries strongly supports the Sumba Christian Church Synod and STT GKS in funding human resource development activities. STT GKS, for example, conducts coaching for the Congregation Assembly in the congregations where each lecturer brings coaching material according to the needs of the ministry in the congregation. Moreover, Global Ministries continues to support the faculty of STT GKS in their doctoral studies.

Written by Rev. Arniyati Dangga Mesa, M.Th., Chairperson of the Sumba Christian Church Theological Seminary (STT GKS)

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