Indonesia

Second-grader Khristopel Butarbutar, who was part of a Christian tribal group on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, came home from school on May 19, 2025, injured and in pain. He had been beaten by five older Muslim boys in his school, the culmination of a week of bullying that included taunting him about his Christian faith. Khristopel continued to suffer and weaken physically, and his parents took him to the hospital, where he died on May 26. The autopsy showed the cause of death as a ruptured appendix, which may or may not have been the result of the beating, but the autopsy also showed internal bleeding and bruises that were consistent with blunt force trauma.

After a church in West Java province held a celebration to break ground for a new building, hundreds of Muslims came to protest the construction on July 5, 2025. They complained that church leaders did not properly communicate their plans, even though there had been public meetings with district, village and neighborhood leaders during the permitting process. Among other stipulations in the agreements for the church construction were provisions for the church to serve the public good, including road improvements and community use of the building.

Fenny’s life was forever changed after a May 2018 church bombing in Surabaya, Indonesia, but she continues to heal spiritually and physically. She shared how, through the recovery process, the Lord gave her purpose and helped her understand her worth in God’s eyes. She has undergone years of medical treatment and is making much progress.

In a Muslim-dominated area of Indonesia, several different obstacles cause Muslims to hesitate placing their faith in Christ. Prohibitions against Christian burial in common cemeteries and exorbitant fees for Christian burial in approved locations remain a stumbling block for many who have expressed genuine interest in converting to Christianity. The cost of burial in an approved Christian plot can cost up to a few months’ wages, whereas Muslims can be buried for free on any private land.

A Christian ministry in Indonesia runs four “blessing houses” that serve as temporary safe houses for Christian converts from Islam who are from one of Indonesia’s largest minority groups. These houses also serve as places of worship, discipleship and skill development centers for persecuted Christians. A front-line worker there said that every week she experiences “small-scale persecution” in the community.

Pak Aman, a Sundanese Christian from a Muslim background, leads a small church and faithfully evangelizes in his community. He was arrested and held in police custody after appearing on the YouTube channel of another Muslim-background believer in Christ. He was accused of violating Indonesia’s blasphemy law. Aman said he originally anticipated that he would serve several years in prison due to the outcomes of other blasphemy cases, but the courts ruled in favor of Aman, and he was released from police detention after nine months.

Muhammad Kace is an evangelist in an Indonesian prison for charges of blaspheming Islam on his YouTube channel. Kace’s lawyers succeeded in getting his 12-year sentence reduced to eight years and are appealing to further reduce the sentence. Despite suffering and being imprisoned for his faith, Kace has been supported by local pastors and by the global body of Christ, enabling his family to rent a home near the prison and providing Kace with essential medication and food during his imprisonment. In a video call with front-line workers, Kace praised God and shared about his ministry in prison to the guards and others he interacts with.

The Sundanese are one of the largest unreached minority groups in the world and have been resistant to the gospel. However, when three Muslim-background Sundanese brothers – Joyo, Setiaban and Wira – came to faith in Jesus Christ, they also became passionate evangelists. Their evangelistic success in their village eventually led to persecution. When the news of dozens of Christian conversions began to spread, one of the Islamic social organizations in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah, rallied members to stop the brothers and the spread of Christianity in their village.

Kila, who is in his late twenties, survived an East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) terrorist attack on a small group of Kalimago villagers in 2022. His friend, Marten Solon, was killed in the attack. Kila shared about the experience and how God used it to motivate him when he was a nominal Christian to live his life for God rather than himself. Kila is still experiencing some ongoing health complications due to the trauma of the attack.