Batak Christian Protestant Church

The Batak Christian Protestant Church is the largest Christian denomination in Indonesia. Founded in 1861 by German missionaries, the church is known in Indonesia as the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP), or "Batak Christian Protestant Church." HKBP is associated with the Lutheran World Federation. Its leader is known as the ephorus, or “overseer,” and is elected by a church synod, or leadership body. The HKBP has about 4 million members in Indonesia, where Islam is the majority religion.

Background

The Batak Church originated with the efforts of English and American missionaries who attempted to Christianize the people of Northern Sumatra in the early nineteenth century. The Batak people in the region’s highlands had a strong religious tradition that included an origin story with a creator deity, Mula Jati. They believed there were other gods as well. Protestant and Muslim missionaries both arrived in the region in the 1820s and attempted to convert the Indigenous population, with limited success.

In the 1840s, several German Protestant missionaries from the German Rhenish Missionary Society (RMG) had greater success. Several of their missionaries, most notably Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn and Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk, invested time and effort into learning the language and customs of the people. This helped build connections and smoothed the way for the missionaries to share their faith. By 1861, they had made enough progress that several of the Indigenous Batak accepted the Christian initiation ritual of baptism.

Three years later, GRM missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen arrived in the area. The Indigenous chiefs were initially suspicious of Nommensen. According to stories about his experiences, a contingent of six local leaders from the Silindung Valley in Sumatra once appeared unexpectedly at Nommensen’s hut. The Balak chiefs questioned him about his homeland, his family, and his purpose in being there. They continued to question him through a very long day, interrupted only when the six chiefs decided to take a nap on the hut floor.

When nightfall came and the men showed no signs of leaving, Nommensen told them he needed to rest. He went to his bed and prayed before falling asleep. The chiefs stayed and once again slept on the floor. When they woke the next morning, it had gotten cool. The chiefs were surprised to discover Nommensen had covered each of them with a blanket while they slept. The men folded the blankets and left, impressed with Nommensen’s kindness, patience, and refusal to be provoked by their questioning.

Through actions like this, Nommensen was able to win the respect of the local people and convert more of them to Christianity. Nommensen focused on incorporating interested locals into the growing church and teaching the Christian Gospel in a way that promoted religious syncretism, the blending of Christian and local beliefs, which did not require the Batak to give up their Indigenous culture. He also translated the Bible, a catechism—or book of instructions—and a number of hymns and prayers into the Batak language to make them more accessible to the people.

Eventually, the efforts of Nommensen and other missionaries convinced entire tribes to convert to Christianity. Within a decade, the fledgling church had about 2,000 converts. When Nommensen died in 1918, the church had more than 200,000 members and continued to grow. The church began an internal reorganization in the 1930s. In 1940, this led to the end of the involvement of the Western missionaries who either left, were forced out, or were imprisoned. However, HKBP was fully established as a church and continued under Batak leadership. In 1952, the Church joined the Lutheran World Federation, a group of 145 Lutheran congregations worldwide.

Overview

HKBP Churches are organized into districts. Each district is led by a superintendent. These superintendents together form a synod that elects a single leader known as an ephorus, or bishop. The ephorus serves for a designated period of time and is replaced by a newly elected ephorus.

As part of the Lutheran World Federation, the HKBP adheres to the basic tenets of Lutheranism as taught by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. This includes belief in the Christian eternal God, comprised of a Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe that God the Son came to Earth as Jesus Christ, and that people are saved from eternal punishment by God’s grace, faith in God, and by following God’s Word as revealed in the Holy Bible. They believe the Bible to be God’s divine revelation, to be without error, and to be the basis of all Christian life.

All Lutheran Churches, including HKBP, are organized in synods. Synod is derived from Greek words meaning “to walk together.” These churches voluntarily come together because they share similar beliefs. These include following the guidance of Luther’s Small Catechism, which was written in 1529 to outline the basic tenets of faith as Luther saw it. In accordance with the Small Catechism, Lutherans believe in infant baptism with water for the forgiveness of original sin and the conveyance of eternal salvation. They practice confession of sins and partake in the Sacrament of the Altar, a commemoration of the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion.

In 1992, the HKBP experienced challenges as differing views on how the ephorus should be elected led to a split. The dispute was partly connected to a change in the region’s government as well as disputes over the role local customs should play in the religious practices of the HKBP. Government intervention helped to smooth the situation over, though one of the potential candidates for ephorus sued the Church in civil court. A reconciliation in 1998 resolved most of the animosity related to the split, but some issues continue to linger.

In the twenty-first century, many HKBP churches increased their support for women's rights in the church community. Additionally, many groups focused their efforts on social issues like human rights, food insecurity, environmental concerns, and decreasing the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Bibliography

“Batak Religion.” University of Cumbria, www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/indon/batak.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

“Ludwig Nommensen, Missionary to Sumatra.” Anglican Domain, justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/163.html. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Lund, Eric, and Mark Granquist, editors. “Indonesia.” A Documentary History of Lutheranism, Volumes 1 and 2. Fortress Press, 2017, p. 341.

"Member Churches: Indonesia." The Lutheran World Federation, lutheranworld.org/member-churches/search?field‗n‗country=ID. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

"Protestant Christian Batak Church." World Council of Churches, www.oikoumene.org/member-churches/protestant-christian-batak-church. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

“What Lutherans Believe: An Introduction to Grace.” Northwestern Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, nwos-elca.church/about/what-lutherans-believe. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.