A History of Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia
The foundation of Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI) was not endorsed by the Dutch Mennonite board of mission (DZV). GKMI was begun with the story of a sternly stricted rich merchant who lived in a little town, Kudus, in Central Java province. His name was Tee Siem Tat. Tee’s personal encounter with Jesus Christ happened when Tee and his wife, Djoen Nio visited their uncle in Rembang, Oei Biauw An. They were introduced to Leutenant Tanuhatu, a Salvation Army priest in Rembang. At that time, Tee was suffering from a long time sickness. Tee has consumed traditional medicine, saw traditional physicians, prayed to ancestor’s spirits and gods, as well as to the modern doctors. But all were vain. When he heard the Gospel and was prayed, however, he felt extraordinary recovery in soul and body.
Having acknowledging Christianity, Tee felt life’s change which brought him to faith in Jesus Christ. Leutenant Tanuhatu was a spiritual mentor for his family. A word that came out of Tee’s mouth was, “Freely you have received, freely give!” (Matt. 10:8, NIV). Uttering that word, Tee freed birds to the air. Since then, Tee became an evangelist with healing gift. He was ever asked to pray for a daughter of his good colleague, Sie Giok Goen, who suffered from eyes illness. Tee gave testimony of his own life’ experience, and prayed for her’s eyes. She got recovered. The whole family received the Lord Jesus, even Sie Giok Goen became messanger to the Gospel of Christ.
Tee’s ministry flourished among the Chinese people, and this motivated Tee to find a church to nurture the Chinese community he won for Christ. Tee tried the Salvation Army, yet he found obstacles due to the baptism rite with flag. He approached the Seventh Day Adventists group, but he did not find any justification for their strict practices of clean/unclean food and obedience to the Sabbath day. He acknowledged that Christ’s grace was sufficient. Salatiga mission had ever visited and ministered Tee’s group, but in virtue of distance and effectivity, then in 1919, Salatiga Mission Camp wrote letter to DZV Mennonite mission which resided in Margorejo (Tayu) to approach Tee’s group. At that time, Mennonite mission has concerns to this group.
Tee’s group decided to join the Mennonite denomination. Tee and his group found teaching that matched with their faith that gave weight the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Three years later, on 6 December 1920, Tee and colleagues consisted of 25 persons (16 from Kudus, 6 from Mayong and 3 from Tanjung) received baptism, ministered by Nicollai Thiessen of DZV. The increase of members was rapid and reached to surrounding areas, such as Tanjungkarang (4 miles from Kudus) and Mayong (12 miles from Kudus). On 27 September 1925, Kudus group took a brave decision to organize themselves, by choosing elders. They asked licence to the Dutch goverment and two years later, on 3 February 1927 the staatblad was issued to acknowledge the Chinese Christian community, and named Chineesche Doopsgezinde Chritengemeente.
In the year of 1926, Tee began to raise funds to build a new church building, after knowing that his proposal was rejected by the DZV. Since then, Tee strengthened his zeal not to beg from outside. Tee sold his land, and looking for opportunity to raise funds from members and guests from the surrounding Mount Muria, even to other towns. The fund which was collected within a year, was to build a church. The dedication was held on 16 February 1928.
A good development happened in a missionary conference on 20 March 1930 at Schmitt’s home (a DZV missionary from Russia). The conference talked about who to be responsible to the Chinese Christian groups in Jepara and Pati, Juwana and Tayu. The decision was that the Chinese groups in Semarang residency was under Tee Siem Tat and Oei Tjien Gie ministry, for the held legal permissions to evangelize the Chinese people in Semarang residency. From that moment, the ministries to Chinese people in Semarang residency was under the responsibility of Tee’s congregation.
Having legal permission in his hand, Tee visited Jepara. There were few Chinese people that had been evangelized since 1914. Evangelism in Jepara was not easy. Yet Tee could win Sie Giok Gian, Tee’s wife’s nephew. Sie Giok Gian later became a pioneer of ministry to the Chinese people in Jepara, since he was admired by the Chinese people. The congregation started with 14 persons in 23 July 1934. The number of members was increased rapidly, even they won could build church building at Yos Sudarso Street. The congregation use the building up to now.
The opening of new congregations also happened in Pati to Rembang. In Pati, Tee opened a new congregation among the Chinese people. Its first service was started with 5 persons. Yet this little congregation was very zealous in mission, so that only in a year time, the Pati congregation had reached 20 people. Eventually, they could buy a land and built a church, known as GKMI Pati.
Tee Siem Tat began urban mission approach among Chinese people. After Kudus, Jepara and Pati, little towns surrounding Mount Muria, then Tanjungkarang, Bangsri, Welahan, Demak were the target ministry. Tee also started inter-tribal ministry. Tee wrote letter to 4 Mennonite missionaries to bring ministry to the Chinese, Ambonese, Manadonese as well as to Javanese in Semarang residency. It seemed that Mennonite Mission was not in approval with Tee’s concern, and hoped that Tee brought ministry only to the Chinese.
This disagreement between the Mennonite Mission and the Chineesche Doopsgezinde Christegemeente brought Tee to make a bold decision, to be independent from the Mennonite Mission in every resources. In Tee’s view, the Church must be open. To be a tribal church is unbiblical. The church must be brave to go out to serve all people from all nations.
Tee Siem Tat passed away on 2 October 1940, and he left great fruits of his ministry: 8 congregations in Mount Muria (Kudus, Tanjungkarang, Mayong, Jepara, Bangsri, Welahan, Pati, and Demak). Tee’s leadership was replaced by his sons and son in law. In his deathbed, Tee gathered Tee Yan Poen, Tee Yan Siang and his son in law Tan King Ien.
Under the leadership og Tan King Ien and Tee Yan Poen, the Chinese congregations surrounding Mount Muria was united in the year of 1941. The formation of this Muria class has deep impact to the political situation in Indonesia, since there were wars between Dutch troops and Japanese troops before the dawning of the independence of Indonesia in 1945. The formation became a bond and providence to the Chinese congregations, and this was establised in a Church Order that was decided in a conference held on 18-22 April 1948. That Church Order was about the common fellowship of the class of Moeria.
That conference was regarded as the first conference of Muria class, and since then the Chinese congregations started a new way of organizing the church. They were independent and mature congregations, and their relationship to the Mennonite Mission minimized. Meanwhile, the Indonesia political climate had changed by the proclamation of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945.
At the year of 1958, the name Gereja Kristen Mennonite Tionghoa was changed to Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia. The change of name open a new era for the Chinese Mennonite community to internalize spirit of nationalism and to struggle for the church mission to spread the Gospel and to build the holy and catholic-universal church. This was proved with the acceptance of the Rev. Soedarsohadi Notodihardjo as the first Javanese pastor to minister the Kudus Chinese congregation. This goes hand in hand with Tee’s firm principle and his protegé’s that the vision of the Chinese congregation must not be restricted to one tribe, but reach to other tribes. Since then, GKMI developed ministry beyond Mount Muria, and reached other islands in Indonesian Archipelago.
Begun at 1958, the wheel of leadership in GKMI moved from Kudus congregation as a mother church, to a Fellowship of Gereja-gereja Kristen Muria Indonsia (Indonesia Muria Synod). At synod level, GKMI started a system of church organization and the development of human resources, to face the dawning of a mature-independent and militant ministry. In the era of 1940-1960s there were 5 mature churches (Tayu, Blora, Pecangaan, Semarang and Mlonggo), but there were plenty of fellowship groups in Keling, Tanjungkarang, Jekulo, Juwana, Gabus, Winong, Buyaran and Sukodono.
In the era of 1960-1980s, the number of GKMI became 6 churches. In this period range of 1960-1970s there was no increase of number of churches, since there were the heat of political climate. Yet in the period of 1980-2000s, GKMI increased with 27 new mature churches. Currently, the total number of mature churches are 47 with about 90 branches.
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