Release International

Two congregations in the Jakarta area are on high alert after their church leaders received bomb threats.

Rev Abidan Simanungkalit of the Batak Protestant Christian Church in Bogor Street, East Jakarta, had a call on his mobile on October 4 warning that a bomb would explode during Sunday worship. And, on the previous day, Rev Jeffry Lalamentik of the Bethel Indonesia church in north Bekasi received an anonymous call making the same threat.

Police and bomb squad officers searched the area around both churches but found no explosives – and Sunday morning services have so far passed off without incident. Outside the Batak Protestant Christian Church, police found a package in a rubbish bin containing four large batteries, a clock and a can, prompting speculation that this may have been an attempt to provoke fear without creating an explosion.

Pastor Simanungkalit said that his congregation had been shaken by the threat. 'People kept getting up to go outside and check on things,' he said of the service on October 4.

Pastor Lalamentik's church is no stranger to persecution. Radical Islamist groups are campaigning for the construction of its new premises to be halted – and for the church to be shut down. Hundreds of protesters have demonstrated against the church outside Bekasi government offices. The church currently meets in the home of one of its leaders.

Meanwhile, officials have ordered the closure of the Jakarta Christian Baptist Church, which meets in the home of Pastor Bedali Hulu. It appears the authorities have given in to pressure from radical Islamist groups who have intimidated church members for weeks.

(Sources: Compass Direct, The Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

• Pray that these Jakarta churches will keep their eyes on Jesus amid persecution.
• Pray that the Indonesian authorities will do more to uphold religious freedom and stand up to pressure from Islamist radical groups to close down churches.

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