Rencana: 2012

July 2012 - Jakarta, Sulawesi Tenggah,  Serpong, Lippo Cikarang, Bali

April 2012
The grass runway was lined with hundreds of the local Moni tribe as small MAF plane landed in Pogapa in the highlands of West Papua. No, they were not there to see me. They were there to collect food as Moni land has been in famine for eight months.

Even though Pogapa is only a small village, the three public meetings were packed with between 500 and 700 Monis packed into the church building. What’s amazing is there was no church in the area until John Cutts arrived in 1984. John with the help of the locals built a house for his family and an airstrip. He was soon joined by a number of evangelists converted through the ministry of his parents.

Today not only does Pogapa have a thriving church nearby villages also have churches. The impact is incredible. Polygamy has decreased, value are now valued more highly than picks, no longer are ‘favourite’ wives killed when their husband dies… It truly is an example of the gospel changing a community in a life time. Even though the region has been Christianised I gave a salvation altar call focussed on the young people with around 30 comitments to Christ.

In the leadership training I focussed on relationship priorities, healthy leaders and churches. There was a lot of interaction. The woman are especially bold and want to share their opinions.

I was joined for the trip by a team from Timika ROCK who had purchased food and raised money to help the Monis during this difficult time.

At end of my four nights – no hot showers, mobile phones, internet – I willingly unloaded dollars and rupiah to support John Cutts and his ministry to the Moni. I agree with Pastor Jerry from Timika ROCK: John Cutts is our new hero. (visit www.philipeast.wordpress.com to find out more out John.)

Not only did I enjoy hot showers in Timika and a variety of food, I ministered a number of times. The Good Friday service at the ROCK church went well. After preaching about the ‘Cross’ and the ‘Blood’ of Christ we celebrated the Lord’s supper. And we had time for people to experience the touch of Jesus. Over 20 responded to the call for salvation and then we had a time for prayer for sickness and deliverance.

One week, two places of ministry, 11 meetings, including 5 leadership seminars. Thanks to all those who supported the trip, especially the Eden Hill Family Church.

February 2012
I have just spent 3 weeks ministry in Indonesia during which time I ministered in Jakarta, three locations in west Java, and Palambang in Sumatra. I also released my third book, Kuasa Kerajaan (Power of the Kingdom). Already I’ve heard positive reports both about the meetings and the books.

As I taught a mix of Isa (Jesus) followers and seekers at a secret location west Java – all Sunda – I realised I was in the midst of something ‘special.’ Without exception, when I asked why they became followers of Jesus all mentioned receiving a miracle. The development of this unique ministry has taken 15 years of hard work by Alex, a foreigner, and his team. As Jesus said the ‘harvest is plenteous but the labourers are few.’ Even though it is hard work among the Sunda, Alex’s ministry is having impact.

I spent 2 days speaking to church leaders in west Java where no church buildings allowed and even large home meetings shut down. The city’s religious leaders proudly declare there is no church in their region! But when people get the Kingdom revelation buildings and large gatherings are no necessary. I also spoke at a secret church meeting in a well disguised location – and on a Saturday night. Even though less that 30 gathered, I felt a special touch of the Lord.

It was great to do a Sunday of ministry for both Abba Love Jakarta and with GBI WTC in Serpong. They really are making a difference in Jesus name to thousands of people. Not just talk but feeding the poor, helping them get a better life. Both impressive ministries.

I spent the final 4 days of this trip in Palembang, Sumatra. I did 7 meetings in a variety of locations, including an army base where I ministered to around 70 – there were several high ranking officers in attendance. I am sure my message about the priorities that Jesus gave were a challenge. The Lord used me to minister to a couple of mid-sized churches to speak about Kingdom – and seeking broader influence for Christ. I pray that the young pastors and their churches are seeking the Lord about their role in Kingdom advancement.

July 2011
One month, four islands, 31 meetings, ministering to over 6000 in these meeting: this is a brief summary of my ministry last month in Indonesia. By the end of it was running on energy drinks and the Spirit’s anointing; however, I sensed I was having significant impact. Here’s a brief summary:

Sumbawa: My first week was with a couple of my heroes: Ps Abraham and his wife Dina. They pastor in Bima, Sumbawa, which is 98% non-Christian. We held a couple of public meetings in an army base – and the hundred or so were hungry for the Word. I also spoke for a couple of their branch churches. One in a village that they are starting the first ever church. It was a great privilege.
Timor: Week two was spent with Ps John Adu’s SJA (AoG) in Kupang. This 2000 member church is impacting the province with over 340 churches. John and his wife, Hilda, are Kingdom heroes. Not only do they pastor a large church they have adopted four children along with their own three. One of them, three young Abigail attended all four nights I preached in Kupang and one night even prayed over dinner. As well as speaking five meetings to main church I spent two morning with around 12 young people training to church plant in animist villages.
Bali: I then spent a week in an island flooded by bule (while folks). Before five days holidays with Jan, I spent a weekend ministering for Rev Ayub and GKPB, Bali Protestant Church, in West Bali. The 300 plus people who attended from this 100% Christian village were receptive. It’s always a privilege to minister in Blimbingsari.
Jakarta: My final two weekends were spent in the Jakarta region. I started with two nights and one day for GBI Lippo Cikarang. I worked hard speaking seven times to over 3000. Great church. Great place to minister. Then I spent five days with SJA (AoG), including two seminars with around 200 of their pastors where I ministered about ‘knowing the times and what to do’ and ‘Jesus is everyone’. It was exciting to conclude my time in Jakarta with five meetings for SJA Grogol. The church, which was started in the 1950s by American missionaries, was very receptive. Not only did I teach a number of times the Spirit used me in the prophetic. My challenge was to reach into new realms of influence and blessing empowered by God’s grace.

Report January/February 2011

31 days, 13 different churches, 9 different towns, 4 different islands, numerous plane flights and road trips. That’s a brief summary of my most recent trip to Indonesia. Here’s some of the highlights.
Back in early January I travelled to west Bali to speak for the Bali Christian Protestant Church (GKPB). What a thrill that was to minister in an entirely Christian village, Blimbingsari, in a Balinese style church building. Great group of around 300 folks. These are the descendants of the early Christian converts in the 1930s sent to west Bali to die or survive in the jungle. Have a look at my blog, www.philipeast.wordpress for more insights.
Jan, my wife, joined me for a week in Timika, Papua. We finally ministered as a modern day Priscilla and Aquila. Jan did a number of sessions with the teachers at the ROCK school as well as two nights of parenting seminars at ROCK Timika which were very well received. I did a number of seminars for ROCK as well as two other GBI churches.
Three nights with five meetings meant I was busy in Jakarta. The highlight was a meeting that finished at midnight where I spoke to around 100 leaders from ROCK Jakarta at their regular late Friday night prayer and celebration meeting. Great bunch of people.
The road travel was terrible. In two days I was driven over 11 hours along some very rough roads and then ministered at night. I was only in Sumbawa for five nights, but I ministered in four different places. It was a privilege to minister to Body of Christ (the island is less than 2% Christian), many of whom have paid a great price to preach the gospel. In one town of 10,000 I ministered at the first church to be established in the town, and it’s only 10 years old. Now that is a Kingdom beachhead.

Report December 2010
I was only in Indonesia for a week, but had to opportunity to speak to around 4500 people with over 100 adult commitments to Christ. I conducted 7 meetings for Bethany Manado in North Sulawesi, including 2 Christmas celebration services. It felt strange singing Christmas Carols in early December but the locals enjoyed it and they were receptive when I spoke.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of my time in Manado was preaching the 3 Sunday services with over 3000 in attendance. In the morning I shared some relationship insights from the teachings of Jesus with a focus on ‘forgiveness from the heart’ (Matthew 18:35). For the evening meeting I sensed I needed to speak prophetically about ‘moving from passivity to determination.' I spoke from the story of Elisha and Joash where the prophet rebuked the king for only hitting the ground three times (2 Kings 13:14-19). The church had just celebrated its 10^th anniversary and I sensed to maintain momentum they cannot simply repeat what they have done in the past. After praying for the 50 or so that responded to the salvation altar call, I encouraged those dominated by passivity to break it's hold in prayer. After the final meeting the pastor said: 'you have brought a special message to us.’

Before flying to Malaysia, I did a meeting for 100 businessmen in Jakarta. I shared a message about Christ’s financial principles: seek first the Kingdom, give your first fruits, give in secret, don’t worry, pay your tax (this got some nervous laughs) and be a strategic giver. In the prayer time, I asked them to forgive those who had manipulated them and to ask God for wisdom so they could be a Kingdom givers. I received some very interesting feedback by sms: 'I really thank God that I know you. I have served in a ministry since 1992. My husband and I have been manipulated many times. We need to deal with God regarding our bitterness and start to be smart.’ I concluded the trip with a 3 day conference in beautiful Penang and a couple of Sunday services in Kuala Lumpur with Hope of God church. Great folks.

Report November 2010
I started and ended this trip speaking for a number of churches in Jakarta‑it was a solid time of ministry. The 12 days in between were spent in East Kalimantan and Central Java.
My time in East Kalimantan was great. I spent 2 nights in both Balikpapan and Samarinda as a guest of GBI ROCK‑a progressive church movement.
My first night in Balikpapan I spoke to leaders from both ROCK and a number of other churches about the Sons of Issachar. The teaching about ‘knowing the times’ and ‘what to do’ was well received. The second night I spoke about God’s plan for blessing. People left rejoicing in promises of the living God.
The 2 nights I spent in Samarinda were great. Over the two nights 25 responded to the call of salvation. The meetings were very powerful, especially the first night when I spoke about forgiveness from heart. I really sensed my ministry about forgiveness and blessing made a significant difference in the life of those who attended.
Semarang, Central Java, was a pleasant surprise. Like many of my meetings, I didn’t know much about the church. I was a guest of GBI Crown Palace, a 6 year old church. About 100 leaders, mainly young, attended my leadership seminar. Then on the Sunday around 150 and 300 attended the services with a number of decision for Christ. I sensed I helped stoke the momentum in the Church. As a bonus, while in Semarang I got to listen to and then have a meal with long time China missionary Dennis Balcombe.
It was then to Karanganya, a town near Solo. Leaders travelled up to 2 hours to be in the 2 mornings of seminars. They represented 60 different denominations with churches ranging from 50 to 400 people. It was hot work for me and my translator, Arnold Sigik. As many of the churches are stagnant or in decline I ministered day 1 on understanding the times, knowing what to do, and implementing relevant change. Then on day 2 I spoke about healthy leaders and churches.  The feedback was positive. It was hard work but I know we made a difference. I filled in my nights ministering for Bethany Solo, Klaten as well as speaking in a village church.
A real positive was that every place I went to in Central Java and East Kalimantan are keen to have me return.

Report October 2010

It was a tough trip. I think, and later my doctor confirmed this, I have been preaching and travelling too much. It caught up with me this trip, however, thankfully the trip ended on a good note.
My first days were very busy in Semarang, Central Java. GISI Semarang kept me busy ministering in a number of their churches as well as a seminar for local leaders which was attended by leaders from churches as diverse as the Mennonites, Baptists and Pentecostals. After leaving Semarang I went to Bandung and it was a very dark four days. For 30 hours I was so sick I barely had the energy to answer sms'. It was terrible. I had to cancel a meeting and the few meetings I did with difficulty.
It was only after a jab from my doctor in Jakarta and taking a number of pills did I start to make a recovery. Fortunately by the time I arrived in Sumba I was started to feel well. I was in Sumba as a guest of the ROCK church in Waikabubak. I was in for a pleasant surprise. The weather was great, the scenery beautiful and a great church. Even though it's less that five years old they have a school for 150 children, a church of over 300 people and a number of branch churches. One night over 300 packed the building plus gathered outside as I minister. About 100 made adult decisions for Christ after I spoke on the Father's Love. It was a great night. I also did a leaders seminar in around 150 people, mainly young people attended. On the Sunday I spoke in the main church as well as a branch church. The worship was relevant and they were receptive to the Word with a number of decisions for Christ.
I was impressed with ROCK's contemporary worship and outreach. They have a number of workers in the nearby animist villages. In one, in partnership with Joyce Meyer's feed the children program, they have an education and feeding program for the children. Village transformation is already underway. It's fantastic.

Report September 2010

In the late 1970s, with Aussie Jeff Hammond leading the way, they walked for days into Lore Valley, Central Sulewesi, bringing the Gospel. Many are still ministering in the valley and some of their children are now leading churches.
My word to the leaders in Lore was very simple: the world is rapidly changing and like the Sons of Issachar (1 Chron 12:32) they need to understand the time and know what they do–or they will quickly become irrelevant. The quality of the people and the beautiful scenery made up for the tough conditions and hours of driving I had to endure. After my final meeting in Lore I was driven four hours over a rough road to Palu where I ministered for two night for the Gereja Pentakosta there. Both nights about 200 gathered to hear me speak. Great people. I ended my time in Sulewesi with Bethany Makassar where the worship, as always, was wonderful.
I started my trip ministering at 2500 meters above sea level at Tembagapura in the mountains of Papua. It was great speaking to around 200 folks each night and also I did a meeting for the ex-pat church in which I spoke in English for the whole meeting‑a unique experience for me. As an added bonus I got to see the Freeport mine which is at 4000 meters and I got to glimpse some snow. After a short helicopter flight I arrived in Timika where I partnered with two Australian church leaders, Ned Davies and Steve Cowan, at the ‘Equipping the Leaders’ conference hosted by the ROCK church.
Each morning over 250 senior leaders from 55 churches gathered to hear the teaching. My seminars focussed on fulfilling Christ’s mandate with relevance and the Spirit’s power along with wisely implementing change. At night’s Ned had the bumper crowd dancing and worshipping with passion. Mick Jagger would have been impressed with Ned’s energetic dancing. Following the conference I received numerous comments and FB messages thanking us for the teaching, especially the messages related to relevance and change.

Report August 2010

Teen music idol Justin Bieber can be heard blaring and many young people use Blackberry’s, while at the same many churches in Halmahera, North Maluku hold tightly to their reformed liturgy (it’s a remanent of the Dutch era). I did my best to bring church leaders an understanding of the radical changes happening in Indonesia.

I have just returned from 17 days in Indonesia during which time I ministered in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan; Malang and Lawang, East Java; and 6 places in North Maluku. All up during the trip I spoke 22 times and saw over 300 decisions for Christ, including one Australian, along with many leaders being challenged to be like the sons of Issachar who know the times and know what to do. Inspired by the recent Randy Clark meetings at Churchlands, I also pressed in to see people healed – and many reported God had touched them.

My first weekend was spent at the fast growing Bethany Church in Palangkaraya – they are really experiencing a time of God’s favour. I ministered to over 1500 people with around 160 adult decisions to follow Christ. I also spent one night speaking to around 100 leaders about ‘healthy leadership’. I was so excited to see the creativity in the church and their desire to impact their community for Christ. As a bonus, one morning I was taken by car and then a motorised canoe to see several Orang Utans in the wild.

The middle part of my trip was spent in East Java where I ministered a number of times for Bethany Malang and its branch in Lawang. I was again impressed by their hunger for God. While I Malang I also launched my new book: Kuasa Kemakmuran (Power of Prosperity). And I have already received positive feedback.

I spent the final 6 days of this trip in North Maluku. I did 10 meetings and saw over 110 decisions for Christ. I did 5 leadership sessions challenging leaders to ‘update’ and seek a ‘fresh touch’ of the spirit. And then prophetically, I believe, I warned of the failure to do so will dramatically lesson their ability to impact young people. A highlight was speaking at a traditional church on a Sunday morning. While the leaders were wearing their sashes and pastor spoke from his raised pulpit, I wore a batik and spoke in front of the people. I spoke on the priorities that Jesus gave us. I gave a salvation altar call and many result. I then prayed for the sick and many reported healing. My final meeting was at gold mine and number of the Australians joined the locals with one Aussie giving his life to the Lord.

While it was a demanding trip, with too much travel, I know many lives were touched and the investment that I and those who supported me certainly has had an impact.

Report June/July 2010

They are my heroes. Some came by plane, others by foot or boat, and many with their young families. I’m so glad they arrived before the miners, loggers and preachers of false religion arrived.

During my time in West Papua I saw the fruit of the evangelical missionaries from America and Australia who arrived to preach the Gospel to unreached tribes as recently as the 1960s. In many areas I ministered every village has a large church building – it’s usually the most prominent building in the area. While many of them love Jesus and their church, there are many distractions, especially politics and worldliness. Sadly, the faith of many is dormant while at the same time they are very loyal to their church.

One of the highlights of my 17 days in West Papua was two mornings I spend with around 100 pastors of the Kemah Injil Church (spiritual offspring of CMA missionaries). I spoke, with the help of 3 translators, about healthy leaders and churches and sought to impart the need to implement change, creativity and be seeking a fresh touch of God. It was a challenge not only because I had multiple translators but because they are very liturgy bound. I did my best to boldly challenge them to move with the times as I fear many young people will forsake a liturgy bound church for the fun and freedom that the fast encroaching modernity offers. After each meeting we had a time of prayer and they were genuinely seeking God. I was honoured at the conclusion of my time with these pastors to be the special guest at Bakar Batu (rock bbq) which they had spent hours preparing. Sweat potatoes, pork and chicken were in abundance. It was tasty and a great privilege.

All up while I was in Papua I conducted 20 meetings spread across Sorong, Timika and Biak. In some of the revival meetings I did a simple altar call giving people an opportunity to first time commitments as adults to follow Jesus. All up we saw around 100 decisions with many weeping as they encountered the living God in a heart and head commitment to leave behind ritualistic faith and pursue real Christianity.

While the nominalism and liturgy bound ways of many churches disturbed me, it was exciting to see a number of new generation churches including the GBI ROCK movement that ministered primarily for, exercising creativity to connect with the next generation. Thanks GBI ROCK for bringing Christianity into the 21^st Century in Papua. Also, in a number of leaders from the older style churches I saw more than a flicker of hope for a new move of the Holy Spirit.
After teaching about the Kingdom (getting back to a focus on Jesus & commandments) a native GBI pastor ‑ got up spontaneously to share and said:
    ‘ I’ve been a pastor for 30 years but I’ve got too involved in the issues of my village and have neglected my relationship with Jesus.’ Powerful – and very humbling.

Here's some of the positive feedback I received from one of the leaders at GBI ROCK Sorong:
    ‘We were so blessed by your teaching in Sorong. This is a breakthrough. It’s a new season. God bless you abundantly.’

Report February 2010
During this trip I ministered 24 times – a mix of leadership seminars, church services and even a high school meeting. I started in Surabaya then went to Lawang, near Malang (all in Java) and then to Makassar (Sulwesi) followed by Banda Aceh and Sabang (Aceh) before concluding in Tangerang, near Jakarta.

It was an exciting (and exhausting) time of ministry with many leaders equipped and encouraged, and people helped to do their bit to extend the Kingdom. Here’s some trip highlights:

East Java: It was great to connect again with Bethany in Surabaya and Malang. I did a variety of church, youth and leadership meetings. The feedback was great and it was a real privelige to do my bit to help maintain the momentum of the Bethany miracle (over 100,000 gather in Surabaya every Sunday).

Makassar: Like the Dutch (they built a big fort during colonial times) I believe Makassar is a strategic city. During this visit I conducted 7 meeting for Bethany plus taught for 5 hours at an evangelical bible college. The focus of my teaching was the Raja (King) and the Kerajaan (Kingdom). Many of the meetings were powerful, especially to the young leaders, as they got their eyes back onto Jesus and extending His Kingdom. I think we sometimes make following Jesus far too difficult. During 2 of the Sunday meetings I did a salvation call and over 100 came forward. Wonderful. When I left Makassar after 5 night I sensed I’d had real impact – and the feedback I have received, especially on Facebook confirmed this.

Aceh: After a two year hiatus it was back to Aceh. It’s remarkable the good things that have come out of the tragic tsunami just over 5 years ago. They they now have new roads, facilties… and the civil war has ended. On the kingdom front the results are mixed. While many churches are growing – it’s with outsiders. As I ministered at a training school in Banda Aceh I spoke about the importance of contextualisation and the need for different stratgies for different people groups. Teaching was hard work but I’m confident it helped many. Hopefully they will develop a twofold strategy in line with the Acts church that met in the temple and house to house, and as a result be able to have greater impact on the local people. I also travelled to Sabang, the most westward part of Indonesia, to minister and relax on one of their world renound beaches. I enjoyed my time there unwinding.

Tangerang: I spent my final 2 nights with my great friend Dr Bambang in Serpong. I also did a couple of meetings for my friends at GBI WTC. It was a great time – especially the meeting in the theatre.

Report October 2009

Here are two thoughts I brought back from 17 days of ministering in Indonesia: ‘woe to me if I don’t preach the Gospel’ and ‘the only thing we should boast in is the Cross’.

During this trip I had the opportunity to minister in Jambi and Palembang (Sumatera), Kupang (Timor) and Serang/Tangerang (near Jakarta). All up I ministered 21 times, Including 9 leadership seminars about the Kingdom (it’s all about Jesus and His work).

Here’s a few trip highlights:

I spoke for Bethany in Jambi and Palembang. During each of the Sunday meetings I did a salvation altar call and many responded. There is a great interest in God in Indonesia and churches like Bethany are good at attracting people to their meetings. I especially loved the meetings in the karaoke bar in Palembang (I wrote a blog about it – have a look). When I spoke to the leaders about the ‘Kingdom’ – get our focus back to Jesus and His will – there was a wonderful response. Many leaders wept as the realised they’d be distracted from that which is most important.

My five days with Peter Youngren were incredible. He really is an iconoclast. Peter ‘pulls no punches’ when discussing the many distraction in Charismatic circles. He is concerned that we’ve taken the focus off the Gospel – and we’ve substituted it with time consuming but ineffective activities. Many have forgotten what Christ has done, and instead have turned to ‘dead works’. Each night of the festival he preached the Gospel clearly and as Mark 16 promises - signs will follow. Blind eyes were opened, the lame walked and the deaf heard. Incredible. I lady near me walked unassisted for the first time in 15 years and I saw her the following night rejoicing in her healing. It was a wonderful demonstration of the unadulterated gospel. And Youngren sees the gospel work wherever he goes. He’s just come back from Pakistan where he saw many Muslims/Hindus healed. He’s ‘doing the stuff’. As he says: ‘I’m not into healing or prayer – I’m into the Gospel – and when its preached clearly it changes lives forever.’

During each of the three days of leadership seminars I started off speaking about the Kingdom. And then Peter spoke for two hours about the Gospel. He taught about the old and new covenants – and how that we, to our detriment, preach both law and grace. As a result we don’t experience the fullness of God’s plan. Have a look at his site (www.peteryoungren.com) or watch his TV programs. It will change your life – and ministry (but he’s not for the fainthearted). My time with Peter has certainly got me sharpened in my focus and re-evaluating my sermons to make sure I’m preaching the real Gospel (I’m casting out Hagar: Gal 4:30).

Report July 2009
I have just returned from my longest trip to Indonesia (25 days), and as a result of it and my nine day trip to Timor in May, I now have a greater understanding of the church in Indonesia, especially the smaller ones in Timor and Java.

It was my first experience of preaching extensively in East Java, I spoke in Surabaya, Malang, Madiun and Mojokerto. As I travelled the countryside of Indonesia’s most populous island I was again reminded of the industriousness of the Javanese people. Then as I ministered it became clear to me that the church needs to contend for relevancy if they are going to have impact on the broader community.

After preaching for Bethany in Malang, I had a spare night so I attended the Kong Hee revival meeting in Malang. I got to spend some time with him – he’s a dynamic young man whose ministry is having a deal of success in Singapore and impacting other parts of Asia. Kong, along with some of the senior leaders of Bethany I spent time with on this trip, have big faith. They are into doing big things for God. After ministering in Java, I had eight days holiday with my wife, Jan, in Bali. Then I ministered for a weekend in Pontianak, Kalimantan. While I was Kalimantan, Jan ministered in Jakarta. Yes, Jan was there when the bombs went off, but because we don’t spend a lot of time at high class establishments, she was not in any danger.

Report May 2009
What a trip. Six days in Kupang (West Timor) during which I spoke 13 times in 10 different places. It was a trip with a number of firsts, including speaking a number of times for a traditional protestant church (GMIT) as well as in a Catholic church.

My primary reason for being in Kupang was to support the work of Ps Gunawan Setiadharma’s Makanan dari Tuhan (Food from the Lord) ministry. It’s an amazing ministry that unites 19 of the 22 denominations (a total of 110 churches) for a feeding program that helps 5000 people. The churches from an area rotate the feeding program through the churches and before the food is given out one of the pastors speaks. Not only is it helping many poor people, the cross pollination is helping the churches. The traditional churches are getting an impartation of life from the charismatic ones, and the charismatics are learning about service.

The majority of my meetings were in small churches in the villages. One of the meetings, in Desa Bokong, involved an hour’s trip on a motorbike across some very rough terrain. When I arrived they rung the bell to call the locals to church and slowly the local farmers arrived at the church. Even though it was a traditional church, the meeting was lively and wanted prayer for the sick. Before arriving back at Kupang I also went to another nearby village to ministry. I was a difficult day but it really connected me with a couple of churches ministering to simple farmers. I also sensed it was a privilege to be them as I was the first white preacher they've ever had.

There was little glory or gold in this trip, but it was a great opportunity to learn more about the body of Christ in Indonesia, especially the church ministering to farmer and fishermen. Also, I sense many were blessed and over hundred responded to the call to make an adult decision to follow Christ.

Report February 2009

I have just returned from West Papua, Indonesia where I ministered in four locations from snow capped mountains to steamy forests. For the first part of the trip I was joined by Ps Steve Cowan from Perth. He ministered in the Timika and Tembagapura areas, and later in Biak. And was well received wherever he went.

While ministering in Tembagapura to Freeport mine workers I sipped hot tea to stay warm and stayed in heated accommodation. In Dekai to escape sweltering heat and humidly I was thankful for a pristine but air-conditioned room and then when it came to preaching I was quickly bathed in sweat.

I ministered to people from various Papuan tribes as well as from various parts of Indonesia, and took a total of 12 flights (some scary , especially when we were flying directly towards a mountain) plus slept in 10 different places. Here’s a brief summary:

Timika: following stirring meetings with Peter Youngren and Graham Cooke late last year I decided to prepare a three part series on the ‘Kingdom’ to especially deliver while in Papua. A lot of Kingdom teaching has been floating around Indonesia and I wanted to bring my perspective and hopefully balance. While refreshing an understanding of the terminology, I challenged the audience from a variety of churches to break out of various stereotypes and family/cultural expectations, and be who God has called them to be.

One especially liberating action I got the native Papuans to do, after breaking the stronghold of passivity, was to run around the building (a non-passive action). As they did this they received spontaneous applause from the congregation made up of people from other parts of Indonesia.

And I exhorted leaders to be equippers and releasers rather than prison warders. In the midst of the liberating Kingdom revelation, I made sure I reminded the people not to forget Jerusalem (local church, family and friends). I had great feedback about the teaching.

Tembagapura: having heard a lot about the Freeport mine I was looking forward to seeing the massive mine. While the mine visit was great, what especially blessed me was the quality of young men (both Papuans and those from other parts of Indonesia) that attended my two revival meetings. It was wonderful to have over 150 men gather who were smart, humble and hungry for God’s word.

While the focus of the meetings was magnifying God and motivating God’s people to do magnificent deeds, I gave a salvation altar call each night and between 15 to 25 came forward. It was a wonderful time and I’ll definitely be seeking to return next year.

Wamena: is a popular place for tourists, especially from Europe, due to its magnificent scenery and interesting Dani culture. I did 4 meetings for the ROCK church and I felt a clear call to ‘life up Jesus’ and ‘equip saints for great deeds’. I challenged them to break passivity, live in purity, contend for change (many churches in Indo are stuck in a rut with every service virtually a replica – it can be very boring) so they can stay relevant, and to seek God’s enablement to live a dynamic life.

By the time the final meeting had concluded I felt I’d fulfilled my prophetic purpose.

Dekai: the 2 days here were the highlight and the hardest part of my trip. I left the cool of Wamena and arrived 40 minutes later via MAF to a sauna. The only escape was to a pristine but air conditioned room at a construction camp or in the car being driven to the meetings.

It was humbling to see people from various tribes come great distances to the meetings as was the support of the local pastors and government officials (there many police on duty during the service). I later found out I was the first person from outside Papua to do a revival meeting in this region. What an honour.

Each night the building was packed with 200 plus people with others outside. The building was like a sauna. I was bathed in sweat within a few minutes of starting to preaching.

Despite this, my messages were well received. I majored the first night on breaking the giant of passivity and the second on doing great things for God, even when we’ve had a difficult start to life (using the example of Jephtah). Each night between 20 to 30 came to salvation.

Even though I left Dekai totally exhausted, I knew that I had been a privileged man. I’ll definitely be back – and next time they said they would have the meetings outside. Wonderful!

After taking 3 days to return to Jakarta, I spent some time ministering for my friends at a couple of GBI WTC branch churches. Even though I was very tired, the people were receptive to my message about getting God involved in the challenges of life (Isa 38:1-5).