I started to get involved in Church ministry around 1981, after confessing Sidhi at the Javanese Christian Church (GKJ) Klaseman, Klaten - Central Java. At that time I was 17 years old and in the second grade of high school. The position I held was a member of the Christmas program section of the Youth Commission. I was a member of the Christmas program section of the Youth Commission.

I remember there was no decree, no written job description, no detailed and written SOP, not even a measurable target. But all that did not discourage me from serving in the Church. What I did was to always come to the committee meetings, and provide ideas for the success of the Youth Christmas event at that time.

As a "newcomer" in the ministry, I felt how kind the seniors in the Church were to guide me, tell me, and lead me when I stuttered in doing ministry work in the Church. It's understandable that I don't understand what management is, what pastoral care is, what strategy is and various other terms around managing work in organizations.

Later after my undergraduate studies in Yogyakarta (period 1982-1989, seven years after graduation because I was too active in managing organizations outside of college affairs) I was matured with various knowledge and skills to manage organizations efficiently and effectively. My activities in the church environment grew. I was active as an administrator of the Church Youth, Bible Study Group, Christian Student Fellowship, Indonesian Christian Student Movement, Christian Student Magazine, and Student Discussion Group as well as being involved in the ministry at the YMCA.

I often joked, college was for me number 9. Numbers 1-7 took care of the organization, number 8 was dating, and then number 9 was college. So it's no wonder my undergraduate degree graduated with a near-miss predicate.

After graduating from undergraduate studies and working in a professional organization, my church service activities continued as a committee member, elder, and church foundation board member. I was introduced to LAI at the end of 1989, when I accompanied the late Mr. Soen Siregar who was then a member of the LAI HR and General Commission to present a session at the LAI Work Meeting forum in Cisarua Bogor. I never imagined that it would be a meeting that would continue and even bind me to LAI until today.

Activities in the Church environment and Church extension institutions in which I have been active, predominantly implement the principles of: tolerance, tolerance, forgiveness, prayer and other aspects of “pastoral ”. Meanwhile, the implementation of managerial principles seems to be lacking. The majority of Church servants prefer to work with a spirit of "kinship", understanding each other, supporting each other (although sometimes grumbling behind), rather than obeying job descriptions, SOPs, Church Order and Administration.

LAI, which is an organization founded by Church activists, carries a Church-like work culture. However, in its 65th year, LAI has undergone many transformations to form a work culture that is balanced between Pastoral and Managerial. Since 1995, together with other Partners and the LAI Internal Team, I have been involved in the managerial improvement works of LAI until LAI was able to implement the management methods: "Strategic Planning", "Balanced Scorecard", ISO 9001:2015 certificate, and implementation of "continuous improvement".

Pastoral care that emphasizes the spirit of "empowerment", "opportunity", "tolerance", "support", and "compassion", is needed in the management of any organization, both non-profit and profit oriented. This will strengthen the "human aspect" of the organization. But if you ignore the managerial aspects that emphasize the aspects of PIME – “Planning ”, “Implementation ”, “Monitoring ” and “Evaluation ”, undoubtedly the targets that have been set by the organization will be difficult to achieve.

The success of LAI in its ministry until the age of 65 is a mirror of the implementation of the balance between Pastoral and Managerial dialectically.

Bible Greetings For All