“And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Luke 9:23

This Bible verse is familiar to many, but what does this really look like for the global church? In Indonesia, the cost of following Jesus can look different for each believer, but there is a cost. Here are some examples of the persecution that can happen when an Indonesian becomes a believer:

Community

In communities, most believers see the cost through avoidance and shunning by neighbors. Other kids may be told to avoid the kids that are Christians. Believers may be left out of important neighborhood events. In more animistic societies, they can be the targets of spells and other demonic spiritual attacks. In extremely conservative neighborhoods, the persecution can take the form of violence against a family, their animals, or their house. 

There have also been instances of community leaders confiscating ID cards from new believers. When this happens, life becomes much more difficult for the individual. They often can’t find work or marry.

 As for churches, there may be attacks on the buildings themselves. Two notable instances of this in the 21st century occurred on the island of Lombok and the city of Surabaya. In early 2000, widespread church burning occurred in Lombok, causing believers to escape by boat to other islands and resulting in many churches completely destroyed. In 2018, three separate churches were bombed in the East Java city of Surabaya.

Family

  Family persecution most commonly looks like shunning the new believers. This is especially devastating for a culture where family relationships are a major part of life. Families depend on each other for financial support, caring for children and elderly members, and help in other areas of life. Spells, demonic spiritual attacks, and violence can also be from family members.

Government

  Generally, Indonesia is a country that welcomes its six official religions equally, a fact that is a source of pride for many of its citizens. There are instances of individuals being arrested for violating blasphemy laws. A few years ago, a former governor was arrested on blasphemy charges for speaking against the predominant religion, serving two years in jail. 

Most people don’t realize that an Indonesian citizen’s religion is listed on their identification card. This determines things like who you can marry (you can’t marry across different religions) and where you can send your children to school (they must attend a school of the same religion as listed on their ID card). The process to change the religion listed on an ID card from Muslim to Christian is extremely difficult and frequently stalls in the bureaucratic process for months or years. However, if a Christian wants to change their ID to Muslim, the process is very quick and simple.

Ways to pray for Indonesian believers:

• Pray for courage to follow Jesus in spite of the cost
• For protection from those that disagree with their beliefs
• Pray for the government to protect the rights of all Indonesians

The post The Cost of Following Jesus in Indonesia first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Recently, a woman attending a mountain house church was baptized. This Muslim background believer (MBB) has been attending the house church for several months. After she was baptized, she explained, “When I believed, I felt some peace but still felt distracted, but now there is a new more complete peace that I feel.” 

For Muslim-background believers, it is common for the act of baptism to be a bigger deal than a verbal decision to follow Jesus. Why is that? The weight of these decisions is reversed from the Western world for MBBs. In countries like America, the verbal decision of following Jesus is a major decision. It is not something people say if they don’t really mean it. Once the decision is made, usually life changes come with it. At that point, baptism is usually the next logical step, though not as much emphasis is placed on it. A church will typically walk alongside the new believer, discipling them in their new faith and eventually encouraging them to be baptized, the outward sign of obedience to Jesus.

For Muslim-background believers in countries like Indonesia, actions are much weightier than words. It is easier for someone to say they believe. The act of baptism is harder for many new believers. There is a finality to it. It is an outward sign that shows others that they are truly leaving their old ways behind. They are starting a new life following Jesus. It is common to have someone profess faith, but not want to move forward with baptism for a long time. For many in the Muslim world, persecution becomes much worse after baptism. 

Please pray for courage for new believers to take this step of faith. Pray also for protection for those that do.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The post What Baptism Means for Muslim Background Believers first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

1. Seeking Allah Finding Jesus – Nabeel Qureshi

Nabeel Qureshi gives his own testimony of how he went from devout Muslim to a follower of Jesus. Through his college friend, David, Nabeel began to search truth and critically evaluate Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. He then looked at Islam and the Qur’an with the same critical eye and discovered truths about Muhammad and the Qur’an that he never knew about. After asking God to reveal truth to Him through dreams, God gave him three dreams that clearly pointed to Jesus. He suffered persecution from his family through his decision to leave Islam and follow Jesus. Seeking Allah Finding Jesus is an incredible book that will strengthen your own faith and help you learn more about Islam so you can share with your Muslim friends.

2. Women Who Risk – Secret Agents for Jesus in the Muslim World

Despite enormous risks to themselves and their families, former Muslim women are now influencing their husbands and their children and bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ. No matter where they live, these women are the God-ordained spiritual gatekeepers of their families. Even though the level of oppression that women face under Islam is unfathomable to many in non-Muslim nations, these brave women stop at nothing to share their faith.

The Doyles believe that women are a major reason why more Muslims than ever are coming to faith in Christ. Over the years they have discovered that once God sets a Muslim woman free, she becomes an unstoppable force for God. Women Who Risk takes readers into Muslim homes in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and other hot spots to see the power of Christ at work.

3. From Cairo to Christ – How One Muslim’s Faith Journey Shows the Way for Others

If I were to become a Christian, it would mean not only changing my religion but changing my whole identity and bringing shame upon my family. My whole family is Muslim, and my society and culture were Muslim. . . . Changing from Islam to Christianity would mess up my life forever.

So writes Abu Atallah, who grew up in Cairo as an ordinary Egyptian Muslim. He was deeply embedded in his family, religion, and country. For a time he was part of the Muslim Brotherhood. But as he came of age, he began to encounter people who followed a different way, who called themselves Christians. And a radically new life became possible at great cost and risk, yet with great joy. From Cairo to Christ is the remarkable story of how one Muslim man was drawn to the Christian faith, and how he later became an ambassador for Christ with a ministry in the Muslim world. Atallah has personally helped hundreds of Muslims come to Christ.

The post 3 Book Testimonies From Muslim Background Believers first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Nina began to read the Bible on her own and actually read most of it! She came back to her friend and said “Okay I read it and I believe it! What do I do now?”

Her friend discipled Nina for a season and taught her how to have a relationship with Jesus. She experienced a lot of persecution from her family when she told them her decision.

God’s Provision in Hong Kong

Nina then had an opportunity to move to Hong Kong to work as a house helper. (Many Indonesians work as house helpers in other countries to get a better paying salary).

God obviously provided for Nina in Hong Kong because she started to work for a Christian family. The husband was the pastor of a church in Hong Kong.

Nina continued to grow in her faith as she lived with and worked for this family. She began serving in the church and her love for Jesus deepened each day.

After years of living in Hong Kong, the church sent Nina back to Indonesia so she could go to seminary school there. When she finished, she could not return to Hong Kong because of Covid19. She got involved in a church in Indonesia and decided to stay and serve at that church. The church in Hong Kong blessed her decision.

Making Christ Known in Indonesia

Nina was offered a position at the church to be head of the Missions Department that is over multiple church plants. She has a huge burden for Muslims in Indonesia to know Christ.

In her new job, she joined a training for Indonesians to learn how to share the gospel with Muslims. After the training, she reached out to the team and asked if she could continue to learn from them and also go out sharing with them as they met Muslims.

She told them how God worked this out so perfectly and she invited her friend to learn as well. Nina then asked the team to come train her church and the church plants. She wanted more Christians to learn how to share their faith with Muslims.

Nina helped lead some trainings and put into practice what she was learning. She often went out to meet people and share the gospel with them. She also shared with many of her friends who were Muslim.

Although Nina’s family still won’t talk to her, she has remained steadfast in her faith and knows the surpassing worth of living life with Christ. She desires her fellow Indonesians to find a relationship with the Lord as she did. She spends her days sharing about Him and encouraging Christians to be bold in their faith. Continue to pray for Nina and the Indonesians that she has impacted through her ministry.

The post Muslim Woman Becomes an Evangelist for Jesus first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Hardships and Persecution

Darrel grew up in difficult circumstances. His family moved to the big city to find work. Finding work, housing, and food were common struggles for the family.  Darrel remembers having to walk the woods to collect greens to boil to eat for their meal. These hardships were mostly because of the result of persecution upon them. Sympathy was not to be found from family and community, this was their karma for not doing their part as a Balinese family.

Darrel understood his parents’ decision and would even tell others that he was Christian. He was, however, ashamed and embarrassed by his faith and life situation around his fellow Balinese friends, and he would often shrink away when pressed or picked on about his faith identity.

Life stabilized a bit for the family, even to the point that they bought a small plot of land near the city and started building a small house.  Darrel started showing signs of illness and fatigue at this point. Each day he started feeling worse and eventually was paralyzed. Doctors could not tell them what was happening and the community just pushed them to become Hindu again. For weeks his condition worsened. Pastors and ministers came to pray for Darrel, but no change occurred. A foreign doctor visited and informed them that he was suffering from Guillain-Barre. His condition was so severe that the doctor told them that chances of survival were slim.

Surrendering to God

Darrel’s father was tired and hopeless. He knew God was present and cared, but he felt hopeless for his child. They sat together in the one room house they built and prayed. This time it was a prayer of surrender, “Lord my child is suffering. Please take him to end his pain.”

Immediately Darrel seemed more alert. His father said, “Darrel, I think God is working. I think he wants to heal you. Try sitting up.” From laying, Darrel went to sitting, from sitting to standing, from standing to taking small steps, from small steps to walking, from walking to running. Darrel and his dad were in tears of disbelief at what was happening. In the course of five minutes, Darrel went from helpless on the bed to running circles in the house. God had healed and saved Darrel.

Darrel was no longer ashamed of his and his family’s faith. He had experienced Christ’s power personally, and now has no doubts about his position in Christ. He now shares with his fellow Balinese about how God is with us through Jesus Christ.

“Most Balinese need to experience God’s miraculous hand personally as I did in order to be open to the Gospel. Pray for them in Jesus name and let God do the work.” – Darrel

The post Experiencing the Healing of God first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Many Christians in these areas cannot even get building permits to have a public gathering place for church. Their governments and communities make it very difficult for them to do this. So they gather together in homes to fellowship, worship, and study scripture together. Sometimes in extremely persecuted countries like Iran or China they are called underground churches. If they are caught worshipping God and reading the Bible together, they could be imprisoned or killed. So they have to be very secure when the gather together.

Practical and Reproducible

This is why house churches are practical and reproducible in many countries around the world. Meeting in smaller groups doesn’t attract a lot of attention. They can meet in different homes on different days in case secret police are tracking them. Believers also don’t have to pay for a building to have church. In many developing countries, Christians do not have the funds to pay for all the expenses to have a building, equipment, etc. House churches make it easy for them to gather and worship together.

It is also easy to reproduce a house church! Say someone in a house church starts sharing the gospel with their coworkers. Then their coworkers place their faith in Jesus. Instead of inviting their coworkers to their house church, they start a new church with the group of new believers. The person discipling them, leads the church and trains the new believers to share their faith with their families, friends, and neighbors. If more people come to faith, they can join that church or the person who led them to faith can start a new group with them. This is how house churches reproduce quickly and the gospel spreads rapidly. A house church that reproduces to the 4th generation is called a church planting movement.

Acts 2 Church

House churches may sound similar to small groups or Bible studies in your church. In fact they are very similar! But house churches keep all the functions of a church described in the New Testament. They study scripture, worship and pray together. There is teaching, communion, baptism, giving and sharing the gospel with others. House churches actually look like the New Testament church described in Acts 2:42-47.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

From this passage we can see what church looked like in the early days. And church should look like this today too!

The Acts 2 church included:

• apostles’ teaching (now the apostles’ teaching is the Bible)
• fellowship
• breaking of bread (communion)
• prayer
• signs performed
• believers together
• everything in common
• sold property and possessions to give to those in need
• met together everyday
• ate together in their homes
• praising God (worship)
• favor with all people
• growing numbers of those being saved (evangelism)

These are the core tenants of what church should look like. No where in the Bible does it say you have to rent or buy a building to have church. Meeting together with believers is what matters and you can do that anywhere! Is it okay to have a designated building for church? Of course! Just remember that “church” is the people, not the place.

Does your church look like the church in Acts 2? What is missing? What is being added? God has placed each of us in our families, jobs, and neighborhoods for a reason. He wants to use us to share the gospel with those who don’t know Him yet. Maybe God will use you to start a house church with your family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors!

The post What Does House Church Look Like? first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Usually, an Indonesian Muslim truly comes to faith when they choose to get baptized. It means that they have really counted the cost of leaving Islam to follow Christ. Counting the cost is extremely significant because they are leaving their old ways and have considered the cost of following Christ. This means that they are aware of any persecution that might follow. Persecution when a Muslim comes to faith usually includes these things:

Being disowned or killed by their family members

In Islamic families when a family member becomes a Christian, it brings great shame and great sin upon the whole family. To restore honor, the family usually chooses to disassociate with the Christians in their family, hoping that by doing so they would feel the pressure to convert back to Islam. The other extreme would be to kill a family member that becomes a Christian. In Indonesia, family defines everything. Their identity is defined by the group they belong to. When one person does something that brings honor or shame, the entire family is affected.

Being ostracized from their community

In rural areas, it is very common to see a new believer being ostracized from their village. Many new believers living in close-knit communities are forced out of their villages. Muslim communities feel betrayed when one of their own follows a different belief system. Often, those who come to faith will be shamed by their community, lose their job or have difficulty finding a job. They may also face death threats, will be hunted down and killed to restore the honor of the community.

The Quran says multiples times that Muslims should kill infidels. (Qur 9:5, Qur. 9:73) The society they have always called home now thinks of them as traitors. To leave Islam is seen as the greatest sin a Muslim brings upon himself and his family. The prophet Muhammad said, “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.” (Al-Bukhary 6922)

Being shamed into recanting

In honor-shame cultures like Indonesia, relationships and reputation matters. It takes years of working hard to gain respect and honor from their community. When someone living in a Muslim community chooses to follow Christ, he/she immediately loses their honor from the Muslim community and therefore has a bad reputation within that community. Word gets around fast and soon enough the whole community shames the new Christian. Family members and religious leaders (imam) will try to persuade the Christian to renounce their faith by any means possible.

Following Jesus definitely costs a former Muslim. The Bible says in Matthew 10:34–35, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’” Pray for our Muslim background brothers and sisters to stand firm in their faith and be comforted by the Holy Spirit as they experience persecution. Praise God that more Muslims have comes to faith in Jesus in the past 15 years than the previous centuries combined!

The post What Happens When a Muslim Comes to Faith in Indonesia? first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Legal to become a Christian

How do we respond to persecution?

“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12

It is clear that persecution comes with following Jesus. It is something to expect as long as we are in this broken world that is against God. Our instinct reaction is to pray for God to save believers from persecution. But in the Bible, most times the believers pray for their strength to endure, instead of asking God to take them out of that situation.

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

God calls us to love and pray for those who persecute us, as Jesus did. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44

Persecution actually leads believers to have more boldness to share the gospel! “And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.” Philippians 1:14

Prayer Requests for Persecuted Believers in Indonesia

• Pray that Fenny, the victim of a church bombing, will receive effective medical treatment despite her difficult circumstances. 
• For pastors facing financial crises, especially those who rent worship space. 
• Pray for Kandhi, who, along with her daughter, Meice, witnessed her husband’s murder by Muslim terrorists. 
• That Cut Fitri will be reunited with her children, who were taken when she left Islam.
• For Rosyid and Misbach, who minister among some of the most radical Muslims in West Java. 
• Pray for Pak A and his wife who are experiencing extreme persecution from their family and community. Praise God that 4 house churches have started from Pak A’s boldness in sharing the gospel.
• Pray for D and A whose families have found out they are followers of Jesus. Ask God to help them remain steadfast in His despite family pressures.

The post Persecution in Indonesia first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

In this past year there have been 360 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution or discrimination. 5,898 Christians were killed for their faith and 4,765 believers were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned.

We are called to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted. Ask the Father to strengthen, encourage, and comfort these believers who are suffering so that they remain steadfast in their faith.

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” Ephesians 6:18

1. Pray for believers to rejoice amidst persecution, knowing their reward is great in heaven

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10–12

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” 1 Peter 4:12–14

2. Pray for persecuted Christians to not fear

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10–11

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

3. Pray for them to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.” Matthew 10:16–18

4. Pray for persecuted believers to have boldness to declare the gospel

“But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” 1 Thessalonians 2:2

5. Pray for them to be comforted so that they can comfort others who are persecuted

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The post 5 Prayers for Persecuted Christians first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.