Building a Branch Office While Under Ban

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the branch office repeatedly petitioned the government to remove the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Brothers in other countries also wrote to the Indonesian government and its ambassadors, asking why Jehovah’s Witnesses were outlawed in Indonesia. Many officials favored lifting the ban, but the powerful Directorate General of Christian Community Guidance repeatedly blocked their efforts.

In 1990, the brothers concluded that it might be possible to build a new branch office in an inconspicuous location. That same year, the Governing Body approved the purchase of a property near Bogor, a small city about 25 miles (40 km) south of Jakarta. Few local brothers, however, had construction skills. How, then, would the new facility be built?

The answer came through the international brotherhood. The Brooklyn Construction Office and the Regional Engineering Office in Australia supplied the architectural plans. Some 100 international volunteers provided the needed expertise during the two-year project.

Hosea Mansur, an Indonesian brother who acted as a liaison with various local officials, related: “When Muslim officials saw my initials, H.M., on my hard hat, they assumed that the letter H stood for ‘Hājjī,’ a highly esteemed title claimed by those who make pilgrimages to Mecca. They thus treated me with great respect. This simple misunderstanding made it easier to organize the work.”

The new branch facilities were dedicated on July 19, 1996. John Barr, a member of the Governing Body, delivered the dedication talk. The 285 people in the audience included 118 branch representatives and former missionaries from many countries and the 59 members of the Indonesia Bethel family. In the two days that followed the dedication program, 8,793 delegates attended the “Messengers of Godly Peace” District Convention in Jakarta.