Evangelism and Church Planting

Christ for the Island World provides supplementary support for twenty-seven pastors to develop new communities of believers in remote areas of Indonesia. The goal is to produce spiritually and financially stable churches where there was little or no gospel witness.

We provide substantial support for ten evangelists. These individuals have employment in education, business or local government but our funding enables them to carry out substantial evangelism efforts. Most of them pastor churches of recent converts resulting from their evangelistic efforts. With their spouses, many also operate preschools where they can share the love of Christ.

We support Field Director Rev. Dr. David Aryana (see About Us for more about David) and two regional coordinators who provide direction, encouragement, and counseling to the pastors and evangelists. They also recommend new workers and locations for new ministries. Here you see David preaching to students, most of whom were Hindus.  

HERE ARE SOME 2024 REPORTS OF WHAT THE LORD IS DOING THROUGH OUR EVANGELISTS

UPCOMING MEDICAL MISSION TRIP

David and Masta will be leading a Medical Mission Team to East Sumba May 22-26.

The Medical Team will include two medical doctors from Bali (one from David’s home church; the other from a sister church in Denpasar). From a base in Waingapu, the goal is to provide basic medical care for up to 400 men, women, and children who will gather at one of two centralized villages; one village organized under our Stefanus Bubu; the other under Agus Supriyadi. The CFTIW Board of Directors has approved $2,300 of funding for this project. This includes roughly $700 for basic medicines and reading glasses. The $1,600 balance is for hotel rooms, meals, and 2 rental cars for 4 people for 5 days. The doctors have offered to pay their own airfare.

Thank you for your financial support that allows us to fund worthwhile projects like this one.

REPORT FROM CFTIW EVANGELIST YAHYA KEO

Yahya (Indonesian for “John”) reports that six new believers have been baptized recently and that several more are preparing to be baptized soon! We praise the Lord for these that are coming to faith in Christ!

Yahya asks that you pray for their children’s ministry which is partnering with Compassion International.

HEBER’S REPORT FROM 2023 TTT MINISTRIES

In 2023, Heber conducted TTT (Training the Trainer) training with 26 groups in Indonesia and 5 in Malaysia. The report below is from just six of the groups. We hope to provide reports from the other groups as Heber receives them.

1. Evangelism target that had been prayed for: 192 people

2. Have been evangelized: 186 people

3. Have received and been prayed to accept Christ: 95 people

4. Have been baptized: 47 people

5. Being discipled and attending church services: 88 people

Heber says: “Thanks for your collaboration and synergy in making this occur. It has truly released the burden of my heart for the lost as I know for sure, it is yours too.”

HEBER AGAN - EVANGELIST/CHURCH PLANTER/EVANGELISM TRAINER (TTT)

Heber and his wife Johanna have been supported by CFTIW for over twenty-five years. They have used our prayer and financial support to begin over twenty new churches, essentially from new converts! It is difficult to describe how miraculous this is, particularly in an area that is predominantly M. Truly the Lord has blessed their ministry in an unusual way! 

In the past few years, Heber has shifted his focus to training others to be effective evangelists! In this role, he and his daughter Shirley travel to many places in Indonesia and nearby countries to conduct this training. This has resulted in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new converts! Instead of a few evangelists, we now have hundreds of additional evangelists! We thank the Lord for what He is doing through this ministry! By the way, the Home Page on Supporting Evangelists shows Heber and Shirley when they were a lot younger. Even then, Shirley was listening to her father share the Gospel with others. Now, she is a Bible School Graduate supported by CFTIW!

CHUCK DUPE – REGIONAL DIRECTOR – NTT

The NTT Region of Indonesia is where our Outpost Pastors live and serve. Currently, CFTIW provides support for twenty-seven pastors on four islands – West Timor, Sumba, Rote, and Sabu. They serve villages of a few hundred people in remote areas.

Chuck has a close relationship with each of these pastors. He ministers to them as their pastor, meeting their spiritual needs and, in many cases, their material needs (sometimes out of his own pocket). Please pray for Chuck as he serves a vital role in this area of Indonesia.

EVANGELIST YAHYA

CFTIW began supporting Yahya (Indonesian for "John") in late 2014. He pastors a church in Lewa Village, East Sumba, where he started a pre-school and elementary school with over eighty children registered. Many from this animist village have come to faith in Christ, including children from the school and their parents! In 2014, CFTIW completed a Living Water Project that provides clean water to the school. In 2015, CFTIW installed a water turbine that provides electricity to the village! Go to the Living Water Projects page for additional related pictures.

EVANGELIST JOHN BANI

Jon serves in West Papua, which is the western half of the island of Papua that is in Indonesia. (The eastern half is the country of Papua New Guinea.) One of my favorite missions books is “From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya”. The title equates Irian Jaya to the uttermost (KJV) or remotest (NIV) parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). Irian Jaya is the former name for West Papua! Unlike the arid regions where most of our workers serve, West Papua is characterized by mountains, jungle, and rivers. CFTIW recently funded the construction of a boat large enough to transport John and other Christian workers whom John has trained to evangelize the Auye people and other surrounding tribes who live far up river. He also has launched a children’s ministry in a slum area in the city of Nabire. In addition, John is sponsoring one of his disciples to attend Bible College in Bali. In the picture below, John is on the left and our Indonesian Field Director David Aryana is on the right. Please pray for John as he ministers to those in the remotest parts of the earth!

EVANGELIST ANDY PERNDAWA

Andy joined the CFTIW Team in 2016. While in Bible College, he led eight families to Christ! He assisted in building the Living Water Project in Karuka. He will be serving as an evangelist there. Pray that the Lord would use Andy to bring Living Water to many more Indonesians in the Karuka Village Area.

EVANGELISTS ANDRE AND KATRIN

Here is a description of their former ministry in Kemalapia. They started a pre-school, with 16 kids initially enrolled. They met in the new church that was recently built and dedicated in the village. When they learned that many of the adults in the village could not read the Bibles they had been given, they committed to teach all who were interested how to read and write. Classes are conducted in the evening under lights powered by the hydro turbine CFTIW installed last year as part of the Living Water project. Andre, who has expertise in modern farming techniques, is working with the villagers to grow dry-land rice, which is suitable for the area. And later this summer, he and Imanuel Santoso will build an aquaponic fish farm and seed bed, again using the water from the Living Water project. In the meantime, the church in Kemalapia continues to grow, now with average attendance of one hundred!

Andre and Katrin have served in many roles with CFTIW, including some as individuals before they were married. . In addition to Kemalapia, they served with Chuck Dupe, training other CFTIW workers. They also assisted Evangelist John Bani in Papua Province.

They are now using their evangelism skills as they pastor a chuch on the island of Timor. 

EVANGELIST BERNADUS BENGU

Bernadus is our supported evangelist on Raijua Island. He teaches English and Math to elementary school children along with his other evangelistic efforts. The island’s three villages are widely scattered, so in June CFTIW provided funds for a used motorbike. Bernadus reports that there are two new believers and a M-background woman who is under conviction. He asks for our prayers for these three and for his ministry.