Indonesian believer and businessman, Surya Sunarto is one such partner and supporter who recently spoke with us in an interview about his story and what he wants to see the Lord do in Indonesia.

 

Could you tell us a little about your upbringing and journey to faith?

Surya: I was born and raised to Christian parents, who subscribed to reformed theology. I remember attending Sunday school every week with my sister all through my childhood.

 

Unfortunately, during my college days, I strayed far from God and took to a life of sin. It was around that time, a good friend of mine, Nathaniel Sutanto, who was also living in sin, went through a transformative process and came to receive Christ. I remember at the time, I was very ‘unchristian’ and Gary was a super Christian! He came to me out of love and told me that it’s time for me to go back to the Lord. I think that moment was nothing short of supernatural. I just felt God’s love wash over me and He was telling me that He’s using Gary, who was once living in sin, to bring me back to Him. It was a very beautiful way to capture not only my mind but also my heart. I felt my heart being fully captured by the gospel.

 

What is the religious landscape of Indonesia?

Surya: Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. And the majority of the people here are extremely moderate about how they interact, about how they live and how they organise themselves around non Muslims. Indonesia recognizes five religions - Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It’s a very tolerant and diverse country, which I think is very beautiful. It presents a very beautiful opportunity for Christians to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to non believers here.

 

What moved your heart for Indonesia?

Surya: Sometime after my supernatural moment of meeting God, I met Jay Kyle, who at the time was pioneering the work of City to City in Asia. Conversations with Gray and Jay led me to pray about how I can best serve overseas graduates that are returning back to Jakarta. I felt the need for English-speaking, gospel-centered churches here. Jay introduced me to Tezar Putra who was also praying and planning to plant a church in Jakarta. And that’s basically Covenant City Church was born and I’m currently serving a Deacon of the church.

 

It has always been my prayer that more gospel-centered churches will be planted all around the country, not only in big cities like Jakarta, but also in secondary cities like Bandum, Samara, Surabaya, and even in third tier cities outside of the Java island. We are a nation of 18,000 islands speaking more than 700 languages. I can only imagine what the Lord can do if he does pour out grace and mercy to my people here in Indonesia. The majority of people here have very open hearts and they’re open to Christians. I think it’s the perfect ground to sow the seeds of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

What led you to support the work of CTCAP?

Surya: Well, I think there’s three things: One, the fact that Timothy Keller was a co-founder City to City was something I’ve been drawn to. Keller has been one of the biggest influences in my spiritual journey. Yes, Jesus did save me, but Keller’s writings and teachings have spoken deeply to me, to my mind, and to my heart.

 

Secondly, a bit of a sentimental reason - my wife and I have always been talking about the fact that had it not been for City to City (through Jay Kyle), we would not have met Tezar, and this church would not have been planted, and we would not have met! My wife was a full time staff member at CCC and that’s where we met and got married and now raising our son in this church. So yes, we’re committed to this local church and I believe that this church was put in place by God through His sovereignty.

 

Thirdly, I really do believe in what CTCAP does and in the DNA at the core of which is the gospel. The gospel changes everything. It permeates your heart and mind. It has the power to change governments, it changes the way we look at policies, the way we look at money, our families and our cities. So I truly believe that if the true gospel is preached in this country, we would raise a whole generation of people that fears the Lord not only in what they say every Sunday, but in what they do from Monday to Saturday. Even though the majority of people here will be non Christians in the near future, if the true gospel is being pushed to Christians all over the country, then it will become a blessing even to non Christians as well.