The GRII is one of the churches which sprang from SAAT, a theological institute in Malang, East Java, founded in 1952. Stephen Tong (1940, Amoy), a lecturer at SAAT and minister of the Gereja Kristus Tuhan and Gereja Kristen Abdiel, became convinced of the value of Ref doctrine for the Christian church in our times. In 1986 he founded the Lembaga Reformed Injili Indonesia (LRII, Indonesian Evangelical Reformed Foundation), and in 1989 the GRII, followed by the Sekolah Tinggi Theologi Reformed Injili Indonesia (Reformed Theological Seminary) in 1991 and the Reformed Institute for Christianity and the Cultural Mandate in Jakarta and Washington, D.C.1966).
For direct evangelization there exists a Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International (STEMI, begun in 1987, formally founded in 1986) that conducts evangelistic meetings and annual lay theological seminars in Taipeh, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta, etc. The more specific goal of all these institutions is to spread orthodox Ref doctrine, especially among the well-educated, in order to give a solid doctrinal basis to evangelical and charismatic Christianity. This endeavor is supported by publishing activities through the LRII and the publishing house, Momentum.
The GRII has congr in 5 Indonesian cities and among Indonesian citizens in Melbourne and Taipei. The number of attendants at Sunday services is over 3,000, of whom 1,400 are baptized members. The congr are led by church councils; as yet there are no ordained elders and deacons. Part of the money collected in the church services is used to support the evangelistic enterprise among students and intellectuals (Campus Crusade, IVF, etc.). The church and its affiliated institutions have woman evangelists, lecturers, and church council members, but as yet no ordained woman ministers.
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