Like its sister church in the southern part of Central Java, the GKJTU originates from the spontaneous movement which arose in the middle of the 19th century. But unlike it, it subsequently was cared for by the Neukirchener Mission from Germany together with the Ermelo Mission in Holland, two faith missions which were congregationalist and pietist in their outlook. Christianity grew slowly in this strongly Muslim country. In 1937, when a Synod convened (Parapatan Agung), there were 6,000 baptized Christians. Little had been done to organize them or to make them self-supporting.After the troubled years of Japanese occupation and war against the Dutch (1942-1949), the church, which had lost its buildings and half of its members, united with the GKJ. However, after 1953 several congr left the united church. They felt they were the legitimate continuation of the Parapatan Agung but took the name GKJTU. The lack of theological training and leadership, which were a legacy of the mission, still plagued the church, and its financial position was weak. After 1980 a certain consolidation took place. Through the Sion Foundation, the church is active in the field of education and social work. The GKJTU considers April 4, 1937, as its birth date.
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