Gereja Bethel Indonesia

Indonesian Bethel Church (Indonesian: Gereja Bethel Indonesia; Chinese: 印尼伯特利教會) abbreviated as GBI is a group of Christian Pentecostal churches in Indonesia. There are an estimated 2.5 million members and 5,000 churches.[1] GBI has far-reaching autonomy within Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), and is its largest national association. The headquarters of the organisation is in Jakarta.

The name translates as Indonesia Bethel Church.[2] It is also known as Bethel Full Gospel Church of God.

History

American missionaries brought Pentecostal doctrines to Indonesia in 1921. The Union of Pentecostal Churches was founded in 1923, later renamed to Pentecostal Church of Indonesia. In 1946, a group split from Pentecostal Church of Indonesia, founding Bethel Full Gospel Church. On 5 February 1967 Bethel Full Gospel Church signed a contract of unification with Church of God. However, on October 6, 1970, due to disagreements among the leaders of the church, the church was again re-registered under the name Bethel Church of Indonesia. Ministry of Religious Affairs officially registered the church under writ № 41 of December 9, 1972.

In 1998, the church numbered 725 thousand believers[2] in 1320 churches. By 2010, the number of believers increased to 2,5 million.[1] Half of the members are Chinese people living in Indonesia.

In 2000, in Surabaya, the construction of the building of Bethany Church of God, a megachurch, was completed, with a capacity of 35 thousand people. The church also runs a large church complexes Jakarta (10,000 seats), Denpasar (5000 seats) and Surakarta (5000 seats).

In 2007, the church has defined a vision for 10 years ahead - plant in Indonesia, another 10 thousand new churches and to take one million Indonesians to Pentecostalism.[1]

Creed

Gereja Bethel Indonesia is part of Pentecostalism.

The Confession of Faith contains statements of inspiration of the Bible, Trinity of God and Two Natures of Christ. Baptism and communion are sacraments. Particular emphasis is laid on baptism with the Holy Spirit and the possibility of divine healing.

Theological training of future ministers is conducted by Bethel Seminary, based in Jakarta, Kharisma school of theology and a number of other institutions.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Church of God World Mission - Indonesia
  2. 1 2 Народы и религии мира: Энциклопедия/ N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology; editor in chief: Valeriy Aleksandrovich Tishkov — М.: Большая Рос. энцикл., 1998. — 928 pages. — ISBN 5-85270-155-6

External links

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