News & Updates Category
03.17.2016
On Sunday March 13, 2016 at 2:15 a.m. in Yogyakarta, Indonesia our dear brother, Chris Marantika went to be with the Lord. We deeply mourn the passing of a father, brother, leader, and torch bearer of the Gospel, but are relieved that he is no longer suffering from physical illness, now safe and secure with our loving Saviour.
Today, we want to celebrate the incredible ministry that Dr. Chris has built in Indonesia and the ways that God has used him to bring the light and hope that would echo throughout the country of Indonesia. As the leader of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Indonesia (ETSI), Dr. Chris worked tirelessly to share the unconditional love of Christ with unreached people groups throughout Indonesia, seeing the church expand throughout the country to bear witness to the life-changing power of the Gospel.
As a younger man studying theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. Chris would share a vision with several Partners International staff of planting one new church in every village of Indonesia. As he shared his vision in 1978, we couldn’t have begun to imagine the ways that God would work through Dr. Chris and his ministry. Starting with a seminary of 12 men, Dr. Chris required each student to plant a church in a new community in order to graduate. As the program grew, so to did the church community in Indonesia. Today ETSI has grown exponentially, planting over 4,000 new churches and establishing 31 new seminaries. Graduates from ETSI have spread across the entire country, sharing God’s light with the major ethnic communities of Indonesia.
It is a blessing to see how the ministry has grown from a humble man sharing his God-given vision for his country. As ETSI has lost a valued leader, we want to come together in prayer for their ministry and the leadership team as they continue to live out the Great Commission throughout Indonesia. Their work continues to change lives and holistically transform communities.
Dr. Chris was an inspirational leader who touched the lives of many. In 2008, Dr. Chris Marantika shared with us, “Now 34 years have passed since Vision Indonesia was born. It was like a seed that was planted 33 years ago and is now growing and scattering all over the nation. The prayers of God’s people for 33 years have resulted in a tremendous outpouring of God’s Spirit. In 1978, there were 20,000 churches in Indonesia. Today, 30 years later, there are more than 50,000.”
In Dr. Marantika’s last letter to us, he wrote,
I come to you with a grateful and thankful heart. I thank you for following our Lord’s will in supporting me and Vision Indonesia. The ministry has grow and bore fruit of the alumni’s that serve the Lord throughout Indonesia and the world. We have obeyed our Lord’s Great Commission through Vision Indonesia and many lives have been brought to Christ. I request that you please continue to be God’s channel of blessing in support Vision Indonesia through its various ministries.
This may be my last prayer letter to you. I thank you for your faithfulness and I am convinced that you will be mightily blessed because you have been God’s faithful children in being a blessing to me, my family and to our ministry.”
May our Lord Jesus’ love and compassion be with you always.
With Love in Christ,
Dr. Chris Marantika
Please join us today as we remember Dr. Chris Marantika and celebrate his life’s work. He has finished the race, but the vision that God set before him will continue on.
You can leave a special note for the Marantika family or give a gift in memorium of Dr. Chris by clicking here.