A dozen years ago an ambitious church planter started a very small fellowship of believers in a poor section of a city. After four years of seemingly unfruitful labor, this planter moved on to start something new on a different island, and for the next eight years several pastors came and left, each hoping to build up this group of believers, each leaving disappointed.
The problem was clear: the neighbors who lived in the area of this plant were strongly opposed to the presence of this little fellowship. The congregation got more discouraged with each departing pastor. They found it increasingly difficult to attract a replacement pastor. The situation appeared hopeless and they had reached the point of giving up.
Slamet was reluctant to come and work with this small fellowship. He had already heard the stories of failure from other pastors, and he didn’t think he had anything more to offer them than the others had given. He didn’t want to go, but he felt God’s insistent urge to take leadership of this struggling congregation.
As Slamet and his family moved into the tiny, two-room rented house that served as both the parsonage and worship center, they were greeted with frowns and stony silence from the neighbors. The congregation wondered how long this latest pastor would last, and were reluctant to hope for better days. Slamet wondered how he would feed his family.
Slamet had received training in making lenses for glasses, so he asked for help to buy the tools needed for such a business. He never made much, but he always had just enough. Life was particularly tough when the rainy season came as the roof on the parsonage seemed to work more like a funnel than an umbrella. Having no furniture, he and his family had to sleep on foam mattresses placed on the floor, and these mattresses became sponges as the water poured into the house. Slamet wanted to quit.
Floods threaten some neighborhoods in Indonesia during the rainy season.
Photo by Kent Clark/Flickr
At the height of the rainy season there was a stretch of several days where the rain pounded down nonstop. Slamet was dismayed as he watched the water rise around his house. He witnessed as the houses around him became flooded, at first just a few inches, then suddenly the water was a meter deep. Slamet’s house was flooded with the rest of the neighborhood, but he discovered his house was a little higher than the others. The water quickly subsided from the now filthy parsonage. He felt fortunate because several people in the area had sustained heavy damage and losses in their poor section of town.
Slamet looked around and felt convinced that God wanted to take this bad event and do something good. So he got his congregation together and told them this flood was the opportunity they had been waiting for. They must have looked at Slamet like he had lost his mind. After all, several in the congregation had themselves been severely affected by the flood. But Slamet told them they should not just think about themselves, but get to work helping others.
They had nothing to give but themselves, their labor, and their caring for others. Slamet requested Compassionate Ministries funds, and they used what they received to buy basic food stuffs, and they went to work making aid packages. Then they went out to the people who had often added hardship to their lives and started giving out the packets. They helped people clean up their houses and make minor repairs. When they gave away all they were given, a former pastor heard about their plight, and he came with more aid to be given out.
The neighbors saw all this and were confused. Why were these people doing this? Why did they care about others, even when they were of a different faith? They knew the people of this little fellowship were just as poor as they were, so why didn’t they just keep the food stuffs for themselves? Why did they help others outside their group clean up their houses? What made them do these things?
Out of the disaster came newfound hope. The attitudes of the neighbors have changed dramatically. Not long ago the writer of this article was invited to minister at this little church plant. When he arrived the pastor ran out to him and accompanied him to the worship center. On the way there the people who lived in the houses close by came out and greeted the pastor and visiting preacher with warm smiles and cheerful words. When the service was over, Slamet and his guest walked around the neighborhood near the church. More people came out of their homes to talk with us. Clearly the pastor had built strong relationships with them and was now a respected figure in the neighborhood.
Recently the little congregation was able to buy a piece of land with the intention of building a simple place for worship. It was a move welcomed by all the neighbors. Today they are trying to raise money to build, and they believe God will make a way. The church is growing. There is new life. God is at work. They know that God has great plans for their community.
-- Submitted by Asia-Pacific Region Communications