Evangelism and Church Planting

Christ for the Island World provides supplementary support for twenty-seven pastors to develop new communities of believers in remote areas of Indonesia. The goal is to produce spiritually and financially stable churches where there was little or no gospel witness.

We provide substantial support for ten evangelists. These individuals have employment in education, business or local government but our funding enables them to carry out substantial evangelism efforts. Most of them pastor churches of recent converts resulting from their evangelistic efforts. With their spouses, many also operate preschools where they can share the love of Christ.

We support Field Director Rev. Dr. David Aryana (see About Us for more about David) and two regional coordinators who provide direction, encouragement, and counseling to the pastors and evangelists. They also recommend new workers and locations for new ministries. Here you see David preaching to students, most of whom were Hindus.  

 

HERE IS A REPORT OF A RECENT MIRACLE

The following was provided by CFTIW Evangelist Heber Agan.

This is a true account of Evangelism. There were two Dayak Evangelists. Each of them heard the voice of God in their hearts telling them to go and preach the Gospel to a Dayak village deep in the jungle upstream, a village inhabited by wild people who had never heard the Gospel and were still living in worship of the spirits of darkness. Feeling that the calling was very strong and urgent, the two of them set off by paddling their boat for a week, until they reached their destination. There they moored their boat on the edge of the river and went up to the village. Seeing these strangers, the villagers all ran to their respective houses and closed the doors and windows and then observed their movements through the gaps in the walls. Since they were not invited to enter homes, the evangelists went and sat in the middle of the village's field. There they prayed and continued to pray until around 4 pm. 

The shaman in the village was given an idea by the villagers to feed them food that was mixed with a deadly amount of poison. So, the food was prepared with a delicious aroma but sprinkled with poison. After everything was ready, several women delivered the food to the two evangelists. The two evangelists accepted the food and enthusiastically thanked the women. 

They knew that they were being watched by the villagers. Because they had not eaten since this morning and were very hungry, they were thrilled to get the food. Before eating they both stood up and raised their hands and prayed to give thanks to God, then ate the food with gusto. All the villagers, old, young and children witnessed this event through the gaps in the walls with expectation that soon the two evangelists would die, but after one or two hours passed, nothing happened to them. They both appeared fresher and more energetic after eating than when they entered the village that morning weak from hunger. Since they didn’t die and were healthier instead, the situation changed. All the villagers were surprised and said: "How come they are not dead, they are still alive, even though the poison is very strong and very deadly. It's amazing."

In his surprise, the shaman went to meet them in the field and said: "The strength you have is extraordinary. You are still alive. Do you know that the food you ate earlier was mixed with a large amount of poison? You two should have died, but you are still alive. Your grip on God is very strong and powerful. Ours is defeated. May I know what your grip is?”

Hearing the shaman's statement, the two evangelists were shocked, but grateful because they were both still alive. The two evangelists realized that God had helped them in this matter and to answer the shaman's desire to know what the power and secret of their power were, this was an opportunity to preach the Gospel. Then they answered: "If you want to know the secret of the power and authority that we have, please call all the villagers to hear our explanation". So, the shaman shouted calling all the villagers to gather, so all the villagers gathered: old people, young people and children. 

 

That afternoon the two evangelists conveyed the Gospel to all the villagers and the whole village repented and accepted the Lord Jesus!

The two evangelists stayed among the villagers for some time to teach them the Word of God, then built a Church building there which would eventually become an independent and strong church. From the church in this village, the gospel news was spread to the surrounding animist villages and all the villages and their residents also believed in the Lord Jesus! They built their own churches, and other evangelists became their pastors. Praise God. 

When you read of everyone in several villages coming to faith in Christ, you probably were skeptical since this is unheard of in the western world. To help us understand the Dayak customs and culture, CFTIW Board Member and former missionary to Indonesia, Rev. Richard Lawson, D. Min., shares the following from his experience:

“A note about consensus conversions—Dayaks are generally not controlled by individualistic priorities. They are a very cohesive people. Before any major change a consensus is needed, not just a majority. Impossible in our Western society but not as difficult/strange with them. Among all the peoples I’ve known (and I’ve worked with many) the Dayaks are on the top with honesty, sincerity, and love. They are truly a delight to live amongst.”

NOTE: CFTIW Founder Ken Taylor was a missionary to the Dayaks and the earliest CFTIW workers were in the area also, so it is entirely possible that these two evangelists were products of one or the other! We are overwhelmed with how the Lord is using CFTIW to win many to faith in Christ! We are also thrilled with the prayer and financial support you are providing! God bless you!

 

 

HERE ARE SOME 2024 REPORTS OF WHAT THE LORD IS DOING THROUGH OUR EVANGELISTS

UPCOMING MEDICAL MISSION TRIP

David and Masta will be leading a Medical Mission Team to East Sumba May 22-26.

The Medical Team will include two medical doctors from Bali (one from David’s home church; the other from a sister church in Denpasar). From a base in Waingapu, the goal is to provide basic medical care for up to 400 men, women, and children who will gather at one of two centralized villages; one village organized under our Stefanus Bubu; the other under Agus Supriyadi. The CFTIW Board of Directors has approved $2,300 of funding for this project. This includes roughly $700 for basic medicines and reading glasses. The $1,600 balance is for hotel rooms, meals, and 2 rental cars for 4 people for 5 days. The doctors have offered to pay their own airfare.

Thank you for your financial support that allows us to fund worthwhile projects like this one.

REPORT FROM CFTIW EVANGELIST YAHYA KEO

Yahya (Indonesian for “John”) reports that six new believers have been baptized recently and that several more are preparing to be baptized soon! We praise the Lord for these that are coming to faith in Christ!

Yahya asks that you pray for their children’s ministry which is partnering with Compassion International.

 

HEBER’S REPORT FROM 2023 TTT MINISTRIES

In 2023, Heber conducted TTT (Training the Trainer) training with 26 groups in Indonesia and 5 in Malaysia. The report below is from just six of the groups. We hope to provide reports from the other groups as Heber receives them.

1. Evangelism target that had been prayed for: 192 people

2. Have been evangelized: 186 people

3. Have received and been prayed to accept Christ: 95 people

4. Have been baptized: 47 people

5. Being discipled and attending church services: 88 people

Heber says: “Thanks for your collaboration and synergy in making this occur. It has truly released the burden of my heart for the lost as I know for sure, it is yours too.”

 

HEBER AGAN - EVANGELIST/CHURCH PLANTER/EVANGELISM TRAINER (TTT)

Heber and his wife Johanna have been supported by CFTIW for over twenty-five years. They have used our prayer and financial support to begin thirty new churches, essentially from new converts! It is difficult to describe how miraculous this is, particularly in an area that is predominantly M. Truly the Lord has blessed their ministry in an unusual way! 

In the past few years, Heber has shifted his focus to training others to be effective evangelists! In this role, he and his daughter Shirley travel to many places in Indonesia and nearby countries to conduct this training. This has resulted in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new converts! Instead of a few evangelists, we now have hundreds of additional evangelists! We thank the Lord for what He is doing through this ministry! By the way, the Home Page on Supporting Evangelists shows Heber and Shirley when they were a lot younger. Even then, Shirley was listening to her father share the Gospel with others. Now, she is a Bible School Graduate supported by CFTIW!

 

MESSAGE FROM HEBER RECEIVED IN LATE 2024

With all these achievements, we are very grateful to God, The Owner of this work, who has caused this success as reported, to fulfill His Words: "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless". 1 Corinthians 15:58

So far, we have been carried out this training of TTT to 42 groups of people in different places in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Thanks for your support which we truly need: your prayers, words of encouragement and funds, have sent us to reach these 42 places and planted the "seeds" and they are not in vain. We trust with our whole heart upon God's promise, His guarantee of success of these ministries when He said through the Prophet: "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it". Isaiah 55:11

There are 2 more places in our schedule we plan to visit this year: Denpasar in Bali and Mamasa in West Sulawesi.

 

With love In Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior

His humble servant,

Heber

CHUCK DUPE – REGIONAL DIRECTOR – NTT

The NTT Region of Indonesia is where our Outpost Pastors live and serve. Currently, CFTIW provides support for twenty-seven pastors on four islands – West Timor, Sumba, Rote, and Sabu. They serve villages of a few hundred people in remote areas.

Chuck has a close relationship with each of these pastors. He ministers to them as their pastor, meeting their spiritual needs and, in many cases, their material needs (sometimes out of his own pocket). Please pray for Chuck as he serves a vital role in this area of Indonesia.

EVANGELIST YAHYA

CFTIW began supporting Yahya (Indonesian for "John") in late 2014. He pastors a church in Lewa Village, East Sumba, where he started a pre-school and elementary school with over eighty children registered. Many from this animist village have come to faith in Christ, including children from the school and their parents! In 2014, CFTIW completed a Living Water Project that provides clean water to the school. In 2015, CFTIW installed a water turbine that provides electricity to the village! Go to the Living Water Projects page for additional related pictures.

EVANGELIST JOHN BANI

Jon serves in West Papua, which is the western half of the island of Papua that is in Indonesia. (The eastern half is the country of Papua New Guinea.) One of my favorite missions books is “From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya”. The title equates Irian Jaya to the uttermost (KJV) or remotest (NIV) parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Irian Jaya is the former name for West Papua! Unlike the arid regions where most of our workers serve, West Papua is characterized by mountains, jungle, and rivers. CFTIW recently funded the construction of a boat large enough to transport John and other Christian workers whom John has trained to evangelize the Auye people and other surrounding tribes who live far up river. He also has launched a children’s ministry in a slum area in the city of Nabire. In addition, John is sponsoring one of his disciples to attend Bible College in Bali. In the picture below, John is on the left and our Indonesian Field Director David Aryana is on the right. Please pray for John as he ministers to those in the remotest parts of the earth!

EVANGELIST ANDY PERNDAWA

Andy joined the CFTIW Team in 2016. While in Bible College, he led eight families to Christ! He assisted in building the Living Water Project in Karuka. He will be serving as an evangelist there. Pray that the Lord would use Andy to bring Living Water to many more Indonesians in the Karuka Village Area.

EVANGELISTS ANDRE AND KATRIN

Here is a description of their former ministry in Kemalapia. They started a pre-school, with 16 kids initially enrolled. They met in the new church that was recently built and dedicated in the village. When they learned that many of the adults in the village could not read the Bibles they had been given, they committed to teach all who were interested how to read and write. Classes are conducted in the evening under lights powered by the hydro turbine CFTIW installed last year as part of the Living Water project. Andre, who has expertise in modern farming techniques, is working with the villagers to grow dry-land rice, which is suitable for the area. And later this summer, he and Imanuel Santoso will build an aquaponic fish farm and seed bed, again using the water from the Living Water project. In the meantime, the church in Kemalapia continues to grow, now with average attendance of one hundred!

Andre and Katrin have served in many roles with CFTIW, including some as individuals before they were married. . In addition to Kemalapia, they served with Chuck Dupe, training other CFTIW workers. They also assisted Evangelist John Bani in Papua Province.

They are now using their evangelism skills as they pastor a chuch on the island of Timor. 

EVANGELIST BERNADUS BENGU

Bernadus is our supported evangelist on Raijua Island. He teaches English and Math to elementary school children along with his other evangelistic efforts. The island’s three villages are widely scattered, so in June CFTIW provided funds for a used motorbike. Bernadus reports that there are two new believers and a M-background woman who is under conviction. He asks for our prayers for these three and for his ministry.