The history and teachings of the Nelspruit Baptist Church including Theology, Bible Study, Missionaries, principles and beliefs of the Baptist Church, evangelism and church services of the Nelspruit Baptist Church; Baptiste Kerk

MISSIONARIES

Francois and Nadia Hattingh. Cross cultural ministry for Francois and Nadia already started when they were living in South Africa and ministered in the Garden-Route area where Francois was a forestry manager and Nadia a teacher.

In February 1997 they moved to Mozambique to minister in the National Church as sent ones from the Church in South Africa. For most of their first term (‘97-2003) they worked as members of a multi-disciplinary Church Planting team, but were also extensively involved with inter-agency consulting, training and teaching within the National Church in many of the 11 provinces of Mozambique.

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Stephen and Lezelle Coertze. Stephen is the South African Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators. They have 2 children and are currently working in South Africa.

Islam in Southeast Asia

One of the largest clusters of unreached people groups in the world are the Muslims of Southeast Asia. There are 200 million followers of Islam here which represents 40% of the total population of Southeast Asia and 20% of the world's Muslim population. This makes one in five total Muslims globally living among some of the most unprayed for; most unreached people in the world in Southeast Asia.

If you are wanting to know more about the various Muslim people groups in SE Asia and how you can pray for them, please visit www.apeopleloved.com “.

This part of the world strongly resists any Christian evangelism.
There are less than 1% followers of Jesus among them.

Most followers of Islam living in Southeast Asia have roots in the Malay culture which has a common political identity holding that "To be Malay is to be Muslim". It is one of the only cultures in which ethnicity and religion are inseparable. Although many people groups within the Muslims of Southeast Asia are culturally diverse, they generally hold a high value on harmony in the community.

Islam in Southeast Asia is influenced by pre-Islamic religions and also combines Animistic beliefs with the basic tenants of the Islamic faith producing a form of Islam which is generally known as Folk Islam.

Demographics of Southeast Asia

Indonesia 180,000,000 Muslims ; 85% of the population

Malaysia 13,000,000 Muslims; 58% of the population

Brunei 220,000 Muslims; 64% of the population

Singapore  531,000; 14.9% of the population

Philippines 3,800,000; 5% of the population

Thailand  3,200,000;  5% of the population

Cambodia  435,500; 3.9% of the population

Myanmar  1,700,000; 3.8% of the population

Vietnam 560,000; 0.7% of the population

Indonesia

The republic of Indonesia is a young country of great
diversity. It is the most populous Islamic nation in the world.
The church experienced revival in the 20th century but has
more recently suffered persecution.

Population

Population - 205,000,000

Density - 107 per sq km

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous nation and the most populous Islamic nation (with 170 million muslims).

Three fifths of the people live on the main island, Java (roughly the size of England) which is one of the world's most densely populated regions. There are over 10 million people in the capital, Jakarta.

Religions

Muslim: 83-88%

Protestant: 5-9 %

Roman Catholic: 3%

Hindu: 2%

Buddhist: 1%

Animist: 1%

Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. Hinduism is practised primarily on Bali. The Christian population is not distributed evenly. A few areas have a high percentage of Christians (up to 50&) but most areas are predominantly Islamic (less than 1 % Christian,

Although there are many strict Muslims in the country, for the average Indonesian, religion involves a mixture of animism, superstition and Hindu legends.

Language

The National language is Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) There are about 600 different local languages and dialects. Most people are bilingual, using their own local language in addition to Indonesian.

Christianity in Indonesia

Early Dutch colonists brought Christianity to Indonesia, but despite some missionary effort and the first translation of the Bible, they kept it largely to themselves. Throughout the 1800's the evangelical movement in Europe mobilised German and Dutch missionaries and many whole ethnic groups turned to Christ. Nowhere else in the world was so large a Christian community established in the midst of Islam. However, the impact of the Church on Islamic ethnic groups has been minimal.

The churches' weakness was their reliance on missionaries for finance, control and organisation. The rigours of World War 11 led the Church to independence and to a recognised place in the nation's affairs.

Revival came in the 1960's. "Mass turnings" have been common in Indonesian church history and in some parts of the country there was genuine revival. However, motives were sometimes micxed and some reports in the West exaggerated. The overall effect on the Christian community has been small.

There are over 100 distinct people groups without the gospel in Indonesia and cross-cultural mission within the country is important, especially as visa restrictions on foreigners continue to tighten.

If you are wanting to know more about the various Muslim people groups in SE Asia and how you can pray for them, please visit www.apeopleloved.com “.