By Gina Goh
03/08/2022 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Even in the midst of the pandemic, many Indonesians heard about the good news and became followers of Isa Almasih (another name for Jesus Christ). However, some of the new believers in the Muslim-majority country still do not have the courage to openly state that they are Christians. There are also those who study the Scriptures secretly.
As a result, a contextual Bible is needed to help them get to know Jesus Christ more. Mission organizations and field workers in Indonesia reported their need for this contextual Bible. With the help of a local partner, ICC was able to provide 420 Bibles to several areas: 175 Bibles for Sumatra, 165 Bibles for Sumatra, and 80 Bibles for other regions.
Thanks to your support, ICC was able to send Bibles to people like Imel*. Three years ago, Imel accepted the Messiah as his divine Lord. He soon shared his new faith to his wife and children. At first, his wife balked, upset about her husband’s apostasy. Yet Imel’s transformation was hard to ignore, moving his wife Emi* to open herself to learn about Jesus Christ.
After attending several discipleship-making sessions provided by a local mission group, Imel’s mother also began to understand the story of the Messiah. At the beginning of 2021, Imel’s mom professed to believe in the Savior. Last January, Imel’s mother, Emi, and one of their daughters asked to be baptized as proof of their sincerity to become followers of the Messiah. Imel and Emi were recipients of the contextual Bibles. They can now grow in their faith with the Scripture in hand.
Denni*, a Muslim-Background-Believer community leader, also gladly received the Bibles. Denni has long been a follower of the Messiah, and he has brought all of his family and friends to faith. Denni also asked for more Scriptures so he could pass them to the brothers he serves.
Another Christian, Harry*, was joyful when he received the Bible. He told ICC, “I would like to say thank you because now I receive the Bible and groceries from my spiritual leader. Thank you very much!”
*Name changed for security reasons.
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