Meet Hussain Shahz Diman, the New President of the Alliance of Indonesia

Rev. Hussain Shahz Diman, a former Muslim from West Kalimantan, was elected president of Indonesia’s Gospel Tabernacle Church after decades of ministry among tribal and Muslim communities across Indonesia.

A question asked by a Muslim teenager in a village in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, would eventually lead him to Christ—and decades later, to the leadership of one of the largest national Alliance churches in the world.

Rev. Hussain Shahz Diman, newly elected president of the Indonesian Gospel Tabernacle Church (C&MA), grew up in a Muslim family as the youngest of four children. At age 16, he began questioning his faith after asking about a prayer that referred to the blessings given to Abraham. Unsatisfied with the answer he received, he turned to a Christian teacher, who pointed him to Galatians 3:13-14.

The verse remained in his mind.

After the death of his father, Rev. Hussain struggled with grief, insomnia, and depression. During that season, he borrowed a New Testament from a Christian friend and read it every day. Within a month, he had finished the entire book.

“When I was suffering from insomnia and depression, I became interested in the Bible,” Rev. Hussain said. “After studying with a pastor, I accepted the Lord Jesus and was baptized on August 31, 1990.”

His decision brought opposition. He was mocked, pressured to return to Islam, and encouraged by local religious leaders to abandon his new faith. Instead, he moved to another village, attended Bible school, and began preparing for ministry.

In 1994, Rev. Hussain started serving among unreached tribal communities in Central Kalimantan. He recalls praying daily for courage while ministering in areas where traditional spiritual practices were common.

One encounter changed everything.

“In the midst of my fear I rebuked him with the name of the Lord Jesus and he was healed instantly,” Rev. Hussain said of a man believed to be possessed by an evil spirit.

News of the event spread to neighboring villages, opening doors for evangelism throughout the region.

Over the years, Rev. Hussain served as an evangelist, pastor, educator, lawyer, regional leader, chairman of the church’s legal department, and general secretary. In April 2026, delegates elected him president of the Indonesian Gospel Tabernacle Church, the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) family in Indonesia, which includes more than 661,000 members and 3,000 churches.

His vision for the church is captured in a simple phrase: “The gospel for everyone, and every believer an evangelist.”

As he begins his new role, Rev. Hussain hopes to equip pastors and congregations for evangelism, strengthen Christian families, raise younger leaders, plant churches among ethnic groups, and expand missionary efforts beyond Indonesia.

He asks Alliance churches around the world to pray for Indonesia’s pastors, evangelists serving among unreached peoples, congregations affected by conflict in Papua, and for a renewed commitment to prayer, discipleship, and the preaching of the gospel throughout the nation.