National Conference of GPdI, Indonesia 2012

This years 32nd National Conference of the Gereja Pantecosta di Indoesia, has reached a milestone in their achievements and their expansion with the 90th Anniversary of the movement. Now they are standing at the threshold of new challenges for this next decade, moving towards 100 years of GPdI. Dr Sos was invited to be one of the keynote speakers for this occasion. In the opening ceremonies many good musical presentations such as, native songs, special choirs and music groups were ministering. The Governor  of North Sulawesi, Dr S.H.Sarundajan, and the director for religious affairs were the main speakers at these ceremonies. The Superintendent A. H. Mandey welcomed also the delegation from the Four Square Church of the USA .

The second night Dr. Sos spoke on the topic of leadership, the topic was  ”Men God Uses.” It was a real blessing to see the response of the pastors and leaders to this appropriate challenge. The move of the Holy Spirit brought changes to the lives of many leaders. An unforgettable experience for many.

Each year as Dr. Sos and Barbara travel to Asia, they see Gods work in progress. In Palembang, Sumatra, we are seeing progress in many area of ministry.The church is forging ahead with ministry design to reach their community as well as training and equipping leadership for the task ahead. On the weekend Dr. Sos was ministering in the GPDI church in Palembang where Pastor J. K. Siwi, is the senior pastor. They have two Sunday morning services in different locations. Monday and Tuesday Dr. Sos taught a seminar on “Church Membership“. In the morning Dr. Sos taught at the Bible School. The students were very excited to learn and to receive any instruction for enriching their ministry. The subject was “Weapons Mighty in God.”  It was a great joy to work with them.

The ministry of Dr. Sos moved to Surabaya, Java, where the main event of the 90th Anniversary took place. The first day celebrations were held in the first church of this Pentecostal movement. We have seen 90 years of history and how the Lord has built His church in this county. Started by missionaries from Seattle, WA till this day, the hand of the Lord is upon this denomination. The second day the venue changed to  the Expo building with final celebrations, including speakers such as the mayor of the city, government politician and the concluding message by Rev. A.H. Mandey. Dr. Sos was privileged to be able to share his messages and encourage the leaders to move on even in a greater measure of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We are believing for a great decade ahead.

The Executive Committee                Opening Ceremony          The mayor and gov. representative

Traveling to Indonesia is always exciting. This time Dr. Sos was very excited, because he was invited to be the speaker for the 90th Anniversary of the GPdI. The ministry began in Jakarta at Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia, pastored by Re. A.H. Mandey, the Superintendent of this 15,000 churches denomination.The weekend was filled with the ministry to the young couples, 4 services on Sunday and the ministry to Jakarta District pastors on Monday. Dr. Sos was blessed to see, how the Lord is using this ministry to reach out and expand the Kingdom of God.  

Sekolah Alkitab Palembang (SAP), has many reasons to be thankful. This is a school which prepares the students to plant new churches. So far they have planted over 2000 churches in Indonesia. Now they are expanding their ministry to Thailand, Vietnam and other surrounding countries. Rev Karel Siwi’s vision is to reach many more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Dr Sos taught a block course on  ”Faith”.

The new sanctuary is a great addition to the ministry of GPdI, Pentecostal church in Palembang. Pastor Rev. Karel Siwi, continuous his vision of providing a place of worship where people can find the answers to their life. It was very exciting for Barbara and Dr. Sos to revisit the  church, to conduct a seminar on “Lay Leadership” and their involvement in the ministry of the assembly. Sunday, Dr. Sos ministered in all three services. The third service was in  a newly established ministry in a local hotel which provided one of the halls to conduct Sunday services. 

The ministry in Medan, Sumatra, concluded  our Asia ministry for the year 2010. Dr. Sos and Rev. Crouse ministered in  Pastors Seminars (above)  for two days at the GKII church. The church is pastored by Rev. Dr. Benjamin and Gideon Munthe. The teaching was well received. Dr. Sos taught on the topic of ”Anointing” Pastor Crouse on “The Call of God” and other pastoral subjects.

Friday night Rev. Crouse ministered in the Cell Leaders Meeting. Some three thousand cell leaders receive their materials for the next cell meeting. They come with an incredible enthusiasm and willingness to participate in the church ministry. On Saturday Dr. Sos ministered in the Youth Crusade service (right). The Lord saved many young people, and many were touched by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday AM, Dr Sos ministered in Hermina Hall, and Rev. Crouse at another church on the east side of the city. The Lord added to the church many souls in all sixteen services that GKII has each Sunday. Sunday evening we witnessed the powerful baptismal service, where some 250 believers were baptized. Such baptism is held once a month. The presence of the Lord was mighty among His people. Many received the baptism of the Holy Spirit before they were baptised in water. Dr. Sos believes that every pastor should have the privilege to take part in such amazing service.

The Bible School in Batu, is not only a training place for future ministers of the Gospel, but also for post graduate studies for pastors in active ministry. Rev. A.H. Manday, Superintendent of the GPdI, Indonesia, organized  a five day seminar on the topic of “Back to our Pentecostal Roots”. Dr. Sos, Dr. Stott (USA) and several local lecturers taught in various sessions. The reception was excellent. We saw the reality of  Pentecost as the Holy Spirit moved in “His power and with fire” among the pastors at the end of several sessions.  Dr. Sos believes that this was one of the best seminars the he had seen in last ten years.

Last weekend Dr. Sos and the team ministered in the GKII churches in Medan, Indonesia. Rev. Murray Cornelius, Director of International Missions of the PAOC,  and Mr. and Mrs. Keith and Petra Readner co-ministered in teaching and teaching sessions. Rev. Cornelius ministered in Sunday services and taught at the Bible School. Mr. Readner held a seminar on water filtration systems , which was a great success. Rev. Munthe and his pastoral staff are doing a great job, expanding the kingdom of God, not only across the city but also across the country. The water baptism service was the highlight of our weekend, where we witnessed 199 believers getting baptized, as the result of the ministry of the month of February. Dr Sos taught a pastors seminar on the topic of: Vision, the key to success and the gifts of the holy spirit.

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This year Sekolah Alkitab Palembang (Bible School Palembang) under the leadership of Pastor Siwi, celebrated their 25th Anniversary. Guests from various countries of the world, alumni, and Pastors who graduated from the Bible School and the current students participated in four days of celebrations, beginning with the opening ceremony on Tuesday morning and the closing ceremony on Friday night. During the last 25 years 6000 students graduated from this Bible School and of which the majority became church planters. From the start of the celebrations to the end, the presence of the Lord was powerfully ministeringto everyone. Dr Sos spoke at the opening ceremonies and taught three seminars: “Renewing of the Mind”, “Goal Setting” and “Leadership”.

In January Dr. Sos taught a session on Homiletics at Jakarta District facility. The district committee  invited Dr. Sos back for more ministry. It was great to see many pastors who are eager to learn and to receive teaching to advance their ministry.