Filling an Urgent Need

During the 25-year ban, most congregations in Indonesia met for worship in small private homes. Few congregations could afford to build a Kingdom Hall, and it was almost impossible to obtain building permits for new places of worship. With many congregations bursting at the seams, the branch office set up a Kingdom Hall Construction Desk (now called the Local Design/​Construction Department) to address this urgent need.

One of the first areas to benefit from the new building program was Nias Island in North Sumatra. “When we heard that we were getting a new Kingdom Hall, we were elated,” says Haogo’aro Gea, a longtime member of the Gunungsitoli Congregation. “The branch office sent seven construction volunteers to oversee the project. The hall was completed in 2001.” Faonasökhi Laoli, a member of the local building committee, relates: “We previously met in small private homes, and the community looked down on Jehovah’s Witnesses. But as soon as we finished the Kingdom Hall, our average meeting attendance jumped from 20 to 40. Within 12 months, it increased by over 500 percent. Our place of worship is the finest in the area, and the community views Jehovah’s Witnesses with respect.”

In 2006, in Bandung, West Java, brothers started searching for property to build the city’s first Kingdom Hall. “It took 12 months to find a suitable property,” says Singap Panjaitan, an elder who served on the building committee. “But we needed to get approval from at least 60 non-Witness neighbors before the authorities would give us a building permit. Seventy-six neighbors supported the project, including one influential woman who had initially opposed us. When the hall was finished, we invited our neighbors and the mayor of Bandung to an open house. The mayor stated, ‘This clean and tidy place of worship sets the standard for all other churches to imitate.’” The two-story Kingdom Hall was dedicated in 2010.

Since 2001, over 100 Kingdom Halls have been built in Indonesia, but many more are needed.