Indonesia is home to rainforests, terraced rice paddies, vast coral reefs, large urban areas, and a ring of active volcanoes that make up its more than 18,000 islands – about 6,000 of which are inhabited. More than 720 languages are spoken by its various indigenous tribes. The country is a former Dutch colony and ranks fourth-largest in population (right behind the US), and is the largest Muslim-dominated nation in the world; evangelical Christians make up less than 6% of the population.
While Christianity is a government-sanctioned and constitutionally-protected religion in the country, the reality is that the minority Christians are often discriminated against in employment and education, and sometimes are physically persecuted. Yet FMI’s church planters have a courageous vision to fan out across the islands to reach their countrymen for Christ. We also resource our pastors with the best literal translation of the Bible to share with congregations as well as building materials for church construction.
