In the beginning there was the Word. The Word was the content of God’s heart, intimately united in the embrace of God’s love. The Word was love, wisdom, and power that created everything:

Heaven, earth and everything on it; and also a community that had fellowship with God and became His co-workers through His sacrificial atonement. The Word continuously works in this world to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth and by this Word individuals, as well as groups of people, are called to serve with Him.

Every time women and men respond positively to the word relating to the vision of God’’s heart, various forms of God’s wonderful work appear to change this world.

The Pioneering Stage
Long before PPA was founded officially there was a long process of pre-inception that took place in the form of sharing the vision and praying for the ministry. In the year 1956-1963 Soen Siregar was studying in Adelaide University, Australia. During these study period he got in touch with a prayer group. The prayer group main concerns were to pray for the ministry of China Inland Mission (now Overseas Missionary Fellowship) and for the inception of SU ministry in Indonesia. Soen Siregar attended the prayer meeting regularly and even after he graduated and returned to Indonesia, he still actively involved in the weekly prayer meetings held by the OMF. The thing that they pray continuously was that the Lord will choose, decide, call persons who will start and develop SU ministry in Indonesia. That same prayer topic was prayed by SU leader in Sydney as they sent Soen Siregar back to Indonesia by the end of 1963.

The first step to realize the desire to see SU ministries to be realized in Indonesia was taken by Beth Anstis, then the OMF missionary in Jakarta, Indonesia. She took the initiative to translate SU Bible reading note, “Daily Bread.” This effort took place during the year 1968 and became the seed for the originally written SU Indonesia Bible reading notes that started to be produced by Indonesian indigenous writers in the 1969, called “Santapan Harian.”

God’s timing for the final introduction of SU Indonesia definitely happened when Christian leaders from around the world gathered at the World Evangelism Conference in Singapore in the year 1969. Rev. Dirk Rulof Maitimoe who then was the director of the commission of evangelism of the Council of Churches in Indonesia who at the same time was also the chairman of the largest Presbyterian Church in Indonesia (Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat – the Protestant Church in West Indonesia – abbreviated as GPIB) participated in the conference. One of his spiritual burden was to see that Indonesian churches could grow into maturity and become a missionary churches. Through informal meetings and discussions which took place at the conference, Rev. Maitimoe realized that the main condition that is needed for a church to become mature and actively involve in missionary works is for the church members to have a living experience of God through Bible reading. SU workers from Australia persuaded him to arrange a meeting with other Indonesian pastors and lay leaders to share this vision. At that meeting there was an agreement to continue the work that the CIM/OMF had started. The Bible reading notes written by Indonesian writers was started in 1969, and by this important step SU definitely was incepted into Indonesian soil.

The Establishment Stage
There were three concerns arose at the pioneering stage that gradually were taken care of at the following stage of establishment. First, how to get workers who are able to run the ministry, both at the administrative side and ministry side. Second, how to maintain the publishing of Santapan Harian (mainly training writers, editing, and promoting Bible reading to churches). And third, the question of establishing SU as a movement which has a clear legal status and well accepted by churches in Indonesia.

Rev. David Chan who then was the regional secretary of SU ANZEA (Australia, New Zealand, East Asia region) and Dr Bill Anderson as council member of SU Anzea were interested in the establishment of SU works in Indonesia. Realizing the need to assist Indonesian workers to be able to establish the ministry, SU decided to send Rev Mitsuru Iwai to help SU in Indonesia especially in training writers and the editor of Santapan Harian and also in promoting Bible reading among churches. At that time Rev. Obed Sahulata from GPIB was seconded to SU Indonesia to lead the ministry. Assisted by Mitsuru Iwai and Beth Anstis (1970-1972), he led the team of writers and administrative staff to run SU ministry. The first two problems was than solved. In 1970 GPIB again generously let SU used one of its office space at its synod center. SU rented the office space until the year 1985. Under strong influences of two prominent figures from GPIB, SU work flourished and its Santapan Harian was accepted mainly by GPIB and some other mainline Protestant churches. Finally in 1974, SU became a legal institution under the name of Persekutuan Pembaca Alkitab (PPA – literal translation is the fellowship of Bible readers), registered by a Public Notary as a religious institution. The first council members were: Chairman: Rev. Dirk Rulof Maitimoe, Vice Chairman: Mr. Panusunan Siregar, Secretary: Mrs. Henriette Leentje Sophie Simau-Rau, and reasurer: Mr. Dirk Hans Kasenda. At this early establishment stage, PPA’s ministerial emphasis was to publish and promote Bible reading materials, to organize courses, seminars, workshops, campings for promoting Bible reading, to run activities for children and youth, and to network with other Christian bodies for the purpose of encouraging Bible reading promotion.

The word of God from “Zion”
In the year 1984 the synod of GPIB decided to recall Rev. Obed Sahulata from PPA and to place him back in pastoral work within one of their local church. At that time PPA was well known as the institution that promotes Bible reading especially through its adult notes known as “Santapan Harian.” In the early 1980s PPA was able to publish children notes but could only outlast for a few years. Since the GPIB synod was final in their decision to recall Rev Obed Sahulata to pastoral ministry, PPA needed a new director. After several contacts between Dr Bill Anderson and Mr. Soen Siregar who then was the vice-chairman of PPA, and later the visit of Rev Mitsuru Iwai to persuade Paul Hidayat who then the staff of Perkantas (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) in Jakarta, to join PPA. After several days of prayerful consideration, in May 1984 Paul Hidayat succeeded his predecessor Rev Obed Sahulata as the director of PPA.

By God’s help PPA was able to grow and to extend significantly. First in term of office space, PPA was able to move twice from a rented small space at GPIB synod’s office to its own office building. Now PPA owns its office in central Jakarta where in a five floors building all activities could be held. Second gradually PPA was able to publish Bible reading notes for children, teens and youth. Third, the extension of PPA’s Bible reading notes circulation from mainly among GPIB members and a few other mainline church members to a wider readership in term of church denominations.

From the 1980s until mid 1990s several new developments occurred within PPA’s ministerial emphasis. First was the consideration of the fact that many Christians are living in poor areas. This condition resulted in the underdevelopment of most Christians who are living in those areas and causing them to fall short of resources to know the Bible and Christian truths, and to be vulnerable against spiritual attacks especially those in a combined form of truth twisting and economic aids. The consideration of this urgent needs led PPA to launch “Project Philadelphia” a network of aids. Project Philadelphia networks with churches and Christian individuals who are able to donate, and channel their donation to the churches all over Indonesia in the form of Santapan Harian and other books from PPA. At the moment PPA is able to send 9.500 copies of Santapan Harian to approximately 350 churches and Christian institutions all over Indonesia. In the early 1990s we realize that merely sending materials will not warrant that Christians who receive the Bible reading materials will really read their Bible thoughtfully. This led us to launch an additional activity within Project Philadelphia through which we hold seminars and workshops for pastors or church workers to motivate and train them to train their church members on the importance of Bible reading and how to do it. This year (2006) we are able to hold this training for TP-3 (Tim Pelayan Project Philadelphia – ministers partner of Project Philadelphia) in Jakarta, Lampung, West Kalimantan, Central Java, East Java, East Kalimantan until now we have had more than 300 pastors/Christian workers who become PPA Bible reading trainer partners.

In the late 1980s as a result of sharing of burdens between Paul Hidayat and those who work in other type of the ministry of the Word, PPA launched the Santapan Harian program through radio broadcasters. The reason for this new aspect of ministry is the fact that many people live in rural areas, are uneducated and illiterate, and many others who are educated but too busy to read the Bible. In order to reach them with God’s word, PPA produced a recorded version of Santapan Harian including its daily reading and network with many private broadcasters in order to broadcast this recordings of Bible verses and its exposition every morning. At the moment we have network with 33 private broadcasters in 18 provinces. By the year 2010 we hope to network with more broadcasters so that at least we will have one broadcaster in each out of 32 provinces in Indonesia that broadcast Santapan Harian daily.

In early 1990s we see another need that open an opportunity for PPA new venture. According to the government policy, every public school owned by the government should teach a subject in religion according to each different religious followers. As the percentage of Christian pupils are minority, most of the time the school will not be able to provide this Christian religion teaching for their students, or if they provide they will not pay them enough. PPA see the need to network the financial aid for these teachers and at the same time to motivate, train, equip them to be able to evangelize and disciple their pupils as well as to have Christian presence in the local schools. At the moment we have such network of trainings in Jakarta, Sumatra, Central & East Java, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan.

Inspired by Isaiah 2-3 PPA open regular meetings for Church activists that will equip them in the joy of having thoughtful Bible reading using SU methods, and to know various facets of Christian truths and the biblical relevance to contemporary living. We also run similar trainings such as given for TP-3 for Church members and activists in Jakarta and other cities. At the moment such seminars and Bible expositions held together with promotional works. PPA also publish books in three areas: 1) Bible aids, 2) Christian growth/discipleship aids; and 3)ministerial aids.

Starting from the late 1990s as the work grows and expands, we see the need to have representatives in different part of Indonesia. At the moment we have a representative in Surabaya, East Java and in Medan, North Sumatra. In the future we hope to have more representatives to handle various type of PPA’s ministries in different part of Indonesia. We are also eager to raise more partners in prayer, effort and finance in the future. Hopefully through all these ministries PPA really becomes a movement through which the light of God’s word will shine all over Indonesia and many lives especially the young generations will be transformed by the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord.