GKJ Sawokembar-Gondokusuman (Sawo Kembar)

The GKJ is one of a number of churches on Java which originate from a movement toward Christianity which was initiated by Javanese and European lay people. Afterward the mission bodies came in and organized the Christians into congr under their care. One of these missions was the Nederlandsche Gereformeerde Zendingsvereeniging, which in 1894 was absorbed by the Zending der Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland. This mission rejected Javanese Christianity as it had developed since the 1870s under the leadership of Sadrach, a Javanese religious leader who had converted to Christianity and spread the Gospel in a truly Javanese way through debates with heads of other religious groups. Most missionaries and the mission agencies in the Netherlands had a negative view of him, mainly because of the honor bestowed on him by his followers, including practices which could be explained as magical. After the rupture with the Sadrach, about 1890, the mission had to make a fresh start. About 1900 it set out to build a new church with a more traditional Western outlook. The negative attitude of the mission toward expressions of traditional Javanese culture, such as thewayang(puppet play), has to be seen as the reverse side of the introduction of Western (Dutch-language) education and modern health care on a scale not equalled in any mission field in Indonesia. The mission also stressed its activity in (Christian) organizations in the social and political field, although it frowned on Indonesian nationalism. In accordance with its Calvinist principles it systematically built up the church organization, starting from the local congregation (1900) to the Synod level. In 1931, when there were 7,500 Christians in 31 congr, the first Synod was held, under Javanese leadership; in 1932 the church accepted a church order. However, as in other mission fields, the missionaries held an important position as advisors until 1942.
After World War II the missionaries were received back, with the condition that they should not interfere in the internal affairs of the church. The GKJ was more ready than its mother church to join ecumenical organizations (1948 WCC, which was joined by GKN only in 1969; 1950 PGI). Many or its members joined the struggle for Indonesian independence, and many played an important role in the Christian political party PARKINDO and other mass organizations. The church experienced sustained growth, with a peak occurring after the suppression of leftist parties in 1965-1967.The union of the four Javanese-speaking churches in Central and East Java, which at one time had been set as a distant goal by the missions, was never realized. In 1949 the GKJ united with the congregationalist-type congr in the northern half of Central Java; in 1953 a number of those congr split off again and formed what was to become the GKJTU. In 1997 the GKJ accepted a new confession of faith,Pokok-pokok ajaran Gereja Kristen Jawa, written in the form of a catechism. Through several foundations, in which GKJ and GKI-Jawa Tengah work together, the church is active in the field of education (Lembaga Perencanaan dan Pembinaan Pendidikan Kristen) and health care (YAKKUM, which runs the great Bethesda hospital in Yogyakarta). The Lembaga Pembinaan dan Pengaderan runs a lay training center. The church publishes a magazine. The GKJ considers February 17, 1931, as its birth date.

Note: We did not manage to contact this church. Therefore, we cannot exclude that its address has changed or that the church does not exist any more.
Whoever has information about this church may contact us. We will be happy to update our information.

Statistic data of churchMembers total: 211279
Parishes (conventionally): 218
house fellowships (Number of growing parishes): 460
Ordained clergy total: 291
women´s ordination
Elders/Presbyters total: 0
Deacons total: 0
no information about deacons
Missionaries total: 0
no information about missionaries working abroad
Baptismal practise Infant´s baptism
Godparents No information about godparents
Lord's Supper Frequency per annum: 0
Newspapers/ Periodicals no information about publication of magazines
Theological training facilities

Number: 0
Schools providing general education no information about other schools
Founded in 1931
Organizational structures not communicated
Traditional type reformed
Official languages Indonesian
Association
International assiciations

Members and partners:
Christian Reformed Church in Eastern Africa
Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC)
Christian Reformed Church in the Philippines (CRCP)
Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN)
Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA)
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian - Synod of Harare (CCAP)
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian - Synod of Zambia (CCAP)
De Protestantse Kerk in Nederland (PKN)
Dutch Reformed Church in Botswana
Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC)
Gereja Kristen Indonesia (GKI)
Gereja Kristen Sumatera Bagian Selatan (GKSBS)
Gereja Kristen Sumba (GKS)
Gereja Toraja (GT)
Gereja Toraja Mamasa (GTM)
Gereja-Gereja Kristen Jawa (GKJ)
Helleniki Evangeliki Ekklesia
Iglesia Cristiana Reformada en la Republica Dominicana
Iglesia Presbiteriana Asociada Reformada de México
Igreja Reformada em Mocambique
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK)
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika (NGKA / DRCA)
Nippon Kirisuto Kaikakuha Kyokai
Nongo u Kristu u ken Sudan hen tiv (NKST)
Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA)
Presbyterian Church of India (PCI)
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN)
Presbyterian General Assembly
Reformed Church in Africa, South Africa
Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ)
Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ)
Reformed Church of Christ in Nigeria (RCCN)
Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA)
Reformed Presbyterian Church in Uganda
Swaziland Reformed Church
Tlaihpan Kri Thlangboel
Union Nationale des Eglises Reformees Evangeliques Independantes de France (EREI)

Address: Jl. Dr. Wahidin no. 40 YOGYAKARTA 55222
Phone: (0274) 513570