By K. Bishop; Photos by F. Petra.

Day 1 - January 27, 2010

If rain is a sign of God’s blessing upon a place, then it was certainly felt by all who gathered in Bali on Wednesday night to welcome the arrival of YWAM founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham to Indonesia’s celebration of the 50th Anniversary of YWAM.

As the sun set, the wind blew, and the rain poured, participants and guests continued to show up at the local hotel where the event was being held for these three days with the Cunninghams.  YWAM Indonesia national leaders as well as visiting leaders from outside Indonesia welcomed the Cunninghams to the venue as children from an orphanage in northern Bali ushered them inside, showering them with flowers.  Once inside, over 200 participants from around Indonesia, as well as guests from Malaysia and Australia, greeted them with a round of applause and shouts of joy.

The evening session began with dance performances by young Balinese girls from Kings Kids in northern Bali.  Their dresses and dances represented the variety of people groups within Indonesia, from Papua in the east to Sumatra in the west and many places in between, giving a unique cultural expression to Loren’s vision of the waves of young people.  Symbolically, these girls also represent the next generation and wave within YWAM Indonesia.  At the conclusion of the dance Loren and Darlene were invited to join in and soon found themselves surrounded by a welcome banner.

Next an Indonesian worship team led everyone into a time of celebration of God’s greatness and expressed the desire to experience “More, more, more” of Him in our lives.  Many came to the front of the room to celebrate together in dancing in the joy of the Lord.

Following the time of worship, Darlene came forward to first reflect on her previous visits to Bali, then to point us all to the faithful, merciful God who speaks to us all.  She said that this time is not about praising the past, but about having an expectation of even better things to come in the future.  As Loren shared following her, it became even more clear how the things that God is doing now and wants to do in the future are just as exciting, if not more exciting, than the stories we have heard from the last 50 years.  He also affirmed the work of God in Indonesia, saying that it is evident that it is growing – very quietly, but very strongly.

As the evening closed, there continued to be an atmosphere of joy and excitement.  One participant from Australia commented that she was already able to gain better perspective of the bigger picture of what God is doing, and that helps in her own individual perspective.  An Indonesian participant simply expressed a hunger for more of God due to what she had heard.  And another Indonesian from Java felt “stirred, inspired and motivated” to be more involved in what God is doing.

Day 2 - January 28, 2010

With such an encouraging beginning, there was an expectancy that in the following two days this spirit would continue to grow and hopefully pour out in a greater response of faith and obedience to “go” for the sake of the Gospel – within and beyond this nation.

“This is your time, Indonesia – what are you going to do with it?” was the challenge YWAM founder Loren Cunningham put forth on the second day of his visit to Bali, Indonesia’s celebration of YWAM’s 50th Anniversary.

The question resonated well with a message that had been shared on the first day of the conference by the national executive, calling YWAM Indonesia to return to the spirit it had in its original days of pioneering.  For whatever reasons that spirit had been lost, but as we know, anything can be risen from the dead – even that spirit!

The messages that both Darlene and Loren shared throughout the day were at the same time a testimony of what has been done through YWAM in the past 50 years and a call to be part of the even greater things to come through the next generations.  As Loren demonstrated some of the new technologies available today to assist missionaries in finding the lost, the least, and the last, such as 4k mapping technology, even those who had recently joined YWAM for DTS were shocked to see the statistics and how the task of completing the Great Commission doesn’t feel as impossible or overwhelming as it once did.  In fact some felt even more motivated to get out there and see how many places they could reach.

Another encouragement was the afternoon session, when a selection of YWAMers working in a variety of locations and ministries throughout Indonesia and beyond, came forward to share brief testimonies of the work God has been doing in their areas.  Their testimonies of faith, God’s provision, and seeing salvation come in some of the toughest areas through dreams, visions, and miracles showed that while as a nation we still have a long way to go, there are some incredible things taking place that many of us hadn’t even heard about.

How can YWAM Indonesia realize its renaissance in this generation?  Through returning and focusing on its original foundations, namely seeking and hearing God’s voice and obeying in faith whatever God tells us to do!  These repeated themes from our past as a mission are also the key to our future.  One long-term worker said that this connected into what she and other national leaders have been praying into, and she found it encouraging and confirming of where God is leading the mission.

Loren said, “I believe Indonesians are going to be known as leaders to all nations, not some.”  But to do that we have to stand on those foundations of obedience to the word of the Lord, and build on them using the gifts God gave each of us, working in interdependence, humility, and unity within the mission and with churches and other organizations as well.  It also requires the Commissional going out in pioneering, within and beyond our borders, and multiplication of believers and leaders so that the work we do now does not die out.  Then this nation can truly see transformation in all spheres and spiritual fruit that remains.

Day 3 - January 29, 2010

Have you ever noticed that the words missionary and commission are related?  As Loren reminded us this week, the word missionary means “one sent.”  From its original Latin definition, to commission is to “send together.”  Therefore it is only appropriate that on the last day of the conference we commissioned participating missionaries, sending them out together in one spirit to return to the various places God had called them to serve.  What a powerful conclusion to a week focused both on what God has already done through our mission in the past 50 years and on what He is calling us to do in the next 50.

The commissioning messages on Friday were balanced between necessary caution and a final prodding toward future goals.  Darlene recounted some of the mistakes that have been made within the mission in the past, with the purpose of reminding us once again of the importance of hearing and obeying God in the details.   One Indonesian leader believes this was, “A warning to us all in YWAM Indonesia, serving in this big nation with many islands, that we are to…stay close to God, keep obeying Him, and guard our hearts and mouths.”

Then Loren concluded his message about fulfilling the goals of the Christian Magna Carta.  One of the biggest responses he got from the crowd of about 250 participants was when he recited each book of the Bible and how each one points us to Jesus.  Particularly as he worked through the New Testament, participants who had previously been silent with attention to the message got loudly passionate about the Jesus we serve.

Following the messages, there was a time for Loren to pray for and commission the national, executive, transnational, and regional leaders of YWAM Indonesia.  This was a special blessing not only spiritually, but symbolically for those charged with leading the mission in this nation.  Then we all read and signed the YWAM Jubilee Covenant.  The Indonesian leadership team decided to make a special 50x80cm framed covenant plaque in the Indonesian language, which the national leaders signed and Loren witnessed.  The plaque will remain in the National Office in Bali as a lasting reminder of this event and the promise we have made together.

In her message Darlene made many references to how God has spoken when YWAMers have gathered together in meetings or conferences such as this, and the results and changes it brought about.  The question, therefore, is what will be the result from our conference in Bali?  As staff from around the nation and visitors from other nations return home, what will they carry with them?  There is already a general sense that a renewed passion has been awakened in many to not just continue but also expand the work they are doing, in accordance with the 2015 vision of YWAM Indonesia as well as the calls to pioneering and completing the Great Commission.  Those who are new to YWAM now have a better understanding of the bigger picture that they are a part of and feel both encouraged and challenged by the many stories they heard throughout the week.

The hope is that, even after this initial excitement wanes, there will be lasting fruit that remains in our hearts and multiplies into a fulfillment of the visions God has put in us.  May we be willing agents of transformation in Indonesia, to see His Kingdom come and the Task completed.  As Darlene said, “When we say ‘yes,’ there’s no limit to what God can do!”