The GKSBS did not originate from foreign mission work but from the migration of millions of Javanese from their densely populated island to Southern Sumatra. In the 1930s Christians began to be among these migrants. The Christian Church of Central Java (GKJ) concerned itself with these diaspora Christians, and in 1938 this church officially made Lampung, the southernmost district of Sumatra, its mission field. Four years later the first missionary arrived from Central Java. He guided the small groups of Javanese Christians through World War II and the war of liberation (1945-1949).In 1952 the five congr formed a classis, which then joined the GKJ. From 1938 the mission in Lampung had also been supported by the GKN congregation in nearby Palembang (mainly consisting of Europeans), which sent and paid some evangelists. After the Dutch had been forced to leave Indonesia, the GKN in the Netherlands took over (1959) and provided considerable financial support. Nevertheless, Dutch influence was always limited; only two Dutch missionaries ever worked in the church. On the contrary, the GKJ provided all missionary workers and most of the ministers serving in congr. However, the members came from five churches on Java and Bali. In 1987 the church on Sumatra became independent from the mother church in Central Java, taking the name of GKSBS. Initially, the church was a member of the Consultative Body of Javanese Churches (BMGJ), but, as it did not wish to be an ethnic church, in 1996 it left this body. At the same time the GKJ church order, which had been provisionally accepted, was replaced by a new church order and the name of the church was changed from Gereja-Gereja (plural)into Gereja (singular). The church has opened church offices to women. For sixty years the mission and the church in South Sumatra have gathered the Christians among the migrants and also brought the Gospel to the Muslims and Hindus among them. However, they did not work among the indigenous population of the region, which is strongly Muslim and considers the migrants as strangers. The GKSBS has a number of schools which have played an important part in the education of the church members. This despite the fact that the first generation consisted of landless and jobless farm laborers. It publishes a general magazine, Berita GKSBS, and one for the church cadre,Buletin PWG Sinode GKSBS. The GKSBS considers October 15, 1987, as its birth date.
|
