Bible Propagation TB-2 and KBUA in Nganjuk, East Java
Between September 14-16, 2024, the Indonesian Bible Institute was present in the city of Nganjuk. The city is about 3 hours by car from Surabaya, the capital of East Java Province. In this place, the LAI team, assisted by the LAI Partner Surabaya Support Working Group (KKPD), conducted four activities at once: a Bible Prayer Month presentation, an exhibition of LAI publications, a TB-2 Bible seminar and a Good News for Children (KBUA) seminar.
This activity was actually a follow-up to the communication between the LAI Representative in Surabaya and the Local Indonesian Churches Association (PGIS) of Nganjuk Regency. At the inauguration of the LAI Representative Office in Surabaya, August 6, 2024, the Chairman of the PGIS of Nganjuk Regency, Rev. W. Kristian Wijaya, made a request that LAI could also be present in Nganjuk to provide guidance on the newly published New Translation of the Bible Edition 2 (TB-2) and also the guidance of Sunday School Teachers using the Good News for Children (KBUA) reference published by LAI. This request was responded positively and then followed up through joint preparations with both parties until finally the activity could be realized.
All day Sunday, September 15, LAI conducted presentations and seminars in 3 churches in Nganjuk. Both seminars and exhibitions were joyfully welcomed by God's people in Nganjuk. Many people wanted LAI to come to Nganjuk more often and hold exhibitions. On the sidelines of the activities Rev. Kristian Wijaya invited us to visit his congregation, Greja Kristen Jawi Wetan (GKJW) Aditoya. It is located in a cool area on the slopes of Mount Wilis. The people are mostly farmers by profession.
The following Monday, September 16, LAI and PGIS Nganjuk District organized a TB-2 and KBUA Bible Seminar with a single speaker: Rev. Anwar Tjen, Ph.D., Head of the LAI Translation Department. Although PGIS Nganjuk initiated the seminar, it also received full support from various church organizations in Nganjuk: PPHTGD, PGPI, and BKSGKK Nganjuk. The venue for the seminar was GKJW Jemaat Nganjuk, which is located in the city center, making it easy for seminar participants to reach. The seminar participants consisted of: pastors, religious teachers, Sunday School teachers and church assemblies from various church denominations, Protestant and Catholic, in Nganjuk. The organizers initially invited and limited the number of participants to 150. However, on the day of the event, more than 180 people attended. Monday happened to be a national holiday.
“I am grateful that the seminar received full support from church organizations in Nganjuk, this shows the message of Christ “Ut Omnes Unum Sint” so that everything becomes one to the attention of all churches. Hopefully through this activity further partnerships will be established between the churches and LAI and create peace in the oneness of the church," said Rev. W. Kristian Wijaya, Chairman of PGIS Nganjuk Regency. Furthermore, he expressed his gratitude because LAI was pleased to be present in Nganjuk to provide guidance for the churches. It is hoped that in the future LAI will still be willing to provide further seminars for churches in Nganjuk and its surroundings.
During the 3-hour seminar divided into two sessions, participants were invited to understand the fundamental reasons why Bible translations should be updated, examples of updated text passages and discuss various matters surrounding Bible translation in general: such as source texts, translation of God's name and so on.
In the second session Pastor Anwar invited not only Sunday School Teachers or Religious Teachers, but every family to realize their calling as the main pillar of faith formation and teaching for their children.
Quoting from the Old Testament, Rev. Anwar emphasized : Listen, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. You shall observe to do all that I command you this day; you shall teach it to your children again and again, and shall talk of it when you sit in your house, when you travel, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deut 6.4-7). Rev. Anwar reiterated that the responsibility of faith formation and sharing God's love in the family lies not only with mothers but also fathers. To make their children understand, every parent must tell about God's love and good deeds repeatedly, constantly, on various occasions, as described by the Scriptures: at home, on the way, when lying down and when waking up.
May the TB-2 and KBUA seminars not only provide new understanding and knowledge, but move God's people in Nganjuk to love God's word more by reading and meditating on it daily. So the hymn The Holy Bible is my Treasure, which was sung together that day is not just a slogan. “The Holy Bible is my treasure....priceless...by you is revealed...who I really am...”(KJ. 51:1). By reading and loving the Scriptures, we can reflect and then realize who we are, who our God is, and how we should live according to His will. Happy celebrating the Bible Month of Prayer. The Bible for all.
