In June 2024, TESA General Secretary, Reverend Moss Ntlha travelled to the Pacific nation of West Papua in response to a macedonian call issued by the Evangelical Church of Indonesia, Gereja Injili Di Indonesia (GIDI) – in the West Papuan language.
Previously a Dutch colony, West Papua remained under Dutch control until 1962 when it was annexed by Indonesia, which itself became an independent nation-state in 1949. Ever since, West Papuans have struggled for their freedom.
More than 95 percent of Indigenous Papuans are Christians of various denominations. Amongst these denominations, GIDI is the largest evangelical church in West Papua, with half of the island’s inhabitants being members of this church. Other religions include Islam, of which 4% of West Papuans are practitioners. Additionally, 0.19% practise Hinduism, and 0.19% practise Buddhism.
GIDI is a vibrant, mission-sending church, formed in 1963 through the labours of the European missionaries who had come to the island. Today, GIDI members total 1 000 000. However, despite this wonderful movement of love of God amongst the island’s inhabitants, the people of West Papua live under a constant and growing threat of a mission by the state of Indonesia to impose Islam on the island’s inhabitants.
This is illustrated in research reports that record the trafficking of West Papuan children to hardline Islamic schools in Jakarta. This ruthless regime has also been cited by reports of the Indonesian military forcing West Papuans to eat and drink sewage
These violations of Human rights are part of a wider incremental genocide that has been ongoing against the people of West Papua from 1962 – 2018. These atrocities have resulted in 64000 West Papuans becoming Internally Displaced Peoples during this period of West Papua’s history.
The Macedonian call is sent out by churches to be strengthened by visitations from church leaders whose christian experience includes working out their faith from within oppressive contexts. In response to TEASA GS visiting GIDI, TEASA hosted a delegation of Papuan Church leaders to South Africa, in April 2020. The GIDI delegation shared their story on the airwaves of Radio Pulpit, inspiring the South African evangelicals with their tenacity of faith in the face of incredible suffering.
TEASA facilitated a meeting for the GIDI delegation at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and drawing inspiration from the South African struggle and transition, the GIDI delegation sees that it is possible for them to be free of Indonesia’s domination.
This relationship has been growing and has been further strengthened by Reverend Ntlha’s visit to West Papua this June. It is in the spirit of a renewed hope for West Papuan freedom that he embarked on his second visit to West Papua.
At the core of this visit was to be the keynote speaker at the GIDI bi-yearly National Conference with 1200 delegates, consisting of GIDI pastors and a few expatriaate missionaries.
The theme of the conference was: Evangelising the lost.
The conference was followed by a meeting with Church leaders, theologians and seminarians from a seminary in West Papua.
TEASA invites all South African evangelicals to be part of this Macedonian response by praying against the forced Islamisation of West Papua by Indonesia; for the end of Indonesia’s militarization and human rights abuses; for the liberation of West Papua; for sustained momentum of evangelization in West Papua and beyond; and for TEASA and GIDI to succeed in their advocacy on behalf of the people of West Papua.
TEASA is committed to building on this solidarity with our Christian Brothers and Sisters in West Papua, to reimagine the call of TEASA to world mission; to pray and work for a paradigmatic shift in the TEASA mission-sending community in this regard; and to strengthen TEASA accompaniment with the Evangelical Church in Indonesia.
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