Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia
President: Rev. Daniel Ronda
Jl. Jambrut N0. 24 Jakarta Pusat 10430 Indonesia
+62 21 3190-2510
STATISTICS (2022)
Membership
430,881
Churches
1,978
Ordained Ministers
1,700
Missionaries
65
The C&MA work in Indonesia was started by Dr. Robert Alexander Jaffray, C&MA missionary from Canada. Prior to his coming, he had spent 32 years serving in the Guang Xi Province in China. The ministry in China spread to even as far as Indo China (Vietnam). Later his heart was burdened for the ministry in Southeast Asia after receiving a vision about the need there. He went to the colonial area called the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia). Dr. Jaffray first stepped ashore in Samarinda, East Kalimantan on February 10, 1928, and from then on, he began making plans to open the ministry in Indonesia.
In May 1931, he established the first C&MA church namely Gereja Kemah Injil or Gospel Tabernacle Church. The name was inspired by Dr. A.B. Simpson who established the Gospel Tabernacle in New York City. Until now, the C&MA church in Indonesia bears the name Gospel Tabernacle Church, known as Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia. In 1932, assisted by former students from China, the mission was named China Foreign Mission Union (CFMU) and Rev. Dr. Leland Wang was the leader of the opening of the Makassar Bible School. Its purpose was to help prepare national workers to develop the ministry in Indonesia, mostly in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, Bali, and Timor. Dr. Jaffray also founded the publishing house, Kalam Hidup (Living Word) in Makassar, which was involved in publications, a magazine, and a radio station (today the main office of Kalam Hidup is in Bandung). With those strategies, Jaffray has successfully enlarged Alliance ministries throughout Indonesia.