By Mike, CBF field personnel
A couple islands away from where we live, the island is nicknamed “The Island of a Thousand Mosques.” If you keep going eastward, you’ll end up in Sumba, an island of a thousand churches.
On this island, the Church has grown faster than its pastorate. This is largely due to the Presbyterian background of the congregations which requires pastors to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in theology. This requirement is exceedingly difficult as more than half of the population has only a primary school education. Limitations like this slowed the growth of various denominations in the U.S. as people moved westward. Meanwhile, Baptists and Methodists took the lead as lay men and women filled the pulpits.
Among the thousand churches on Sumba, there’s not a single Baptist congregation. And, so, we work across denominations. We cannot force a change in the ecclesiology of the churches we work with, but we can help them to develop their laity in line with our shared Protestant values of the priesthood of every believer.
For the last three years, we have been hosting conferences for pastors and lay leaders to equip them with the skills they need to minister to those in their congregations and reach others in their villages. These conferences have been an opportunity to not only build the capacity of these leaders, but also to build relationships across denominations and parachurch organizations.
With each conference, attendees receive training on the basics, including preaching, worship planning and children’s ministry. Years One and Two included breakout sessions for various interests. This November, we were asked to include sessions on trauma and self-care. With each conference, we have been trying to encourage an ecumenical spirit instead of one of competition for church members. The issue of trauma hit a nerve and resulted in difficult discussions as leader after leader shared their hurt. These shared experiences of pain were an unexpected point of connection between church leaders of different denominations.
For this reason, our plan for next year is to once again engage the need for self-care, but instead of a conference or training format, we’ll invite church leaders to retreat together, to spend more time in reflection and discussion of their shared challenges.
In Indonesia, a natural disaster is always around the corner. The conference had originally been planned for four days, two days in the city and two days in the village. A week beforehand, a nearby volcano began erupting, eventually shutting down air travel to the region. Our team managed to make it to the island after delayed boat schedules and four cancelled flights. In lieu of the village portion, we switched gears and had attendees write proposals for future ministry.
In line with our ecumenical concern, we asked the attendees to pair up with leaders from another denomination to develop proposals for future ministry side-by-side. In the end, we received 30 proposals, chose six, and are already enjoying the stories of how the churches are working across denomination lines to serve their communities.
The journey of fostering unity and equipping leaders on Sumba has been both challenging and rewarding. By embracing the diverse ecclesiastical traditions on the island and focusing on shared values, we have seen remarkable progress in building bridges across denominations. The conferences have not only equipped leaders with practical skills but also created spaces for mutual understanding and healing through shared experiences of pain and hope.
As we look ahead to next year, we are excited to continue this journey of reflection, healing, and partnership. By fostering a spirit of ecumenical cooperation, we aim to empower leaders to navigate their shared challenges and extend their ministry’s impact, bringing lasting transformation to their communities. Together, we are witnessing the Church on Sumba grow—not just in number, but in unity and strength.