Luwu Tana Toraja Mission
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Image not found or type unknown Luwu Tana Toraja Mission IMANUEL LISUPADANG Imanuel Lisupadang began his pastoral ministry in Mamuju in 2001 after he graduated from Manado Adventist College, formerly known as Universitas Klabat Airmadidi Manado. At the time of writing, he is the executive secretary of Luwu Tana Toraja Mission. Luwu Tana Toraja Mission is an administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Indonesia that was organized in 2015. Formerly part of South Sulawesi Conference, currently it is part of East Indonesia Union Conference in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division. Luwu Tana Toraja Mission covers the following territories: Palopo city and the regencies of East Luwu, Luwu, North Luwu, North Toraja, and Tana Toraja in the South Sulawesi province.1 The mission headquarters is in Palopo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Statistics as of June 30, 2018: churches 32; membership 3,068; population 1,875,818.2 Origin of SDA Work in Territory of Mission The first Seventh-day Adventist to visit this territory is thought to have been Frans Mandolang, a literature evangelist who came in 1949 and based his ministry in Rantepao–Toraja. Although he came to Toraja as a literature evangelist, he used all his abilities to preach the gospel. He worked in the area and served as a minister of the church. That is why he was ordained as a pastor and entered the gospel ministry.3 In 1950, Frans Mandolang conducted a series of cottage evangelistic meetings and five people were baptized in Rantepao: Mr. W. R. Mamarimbing, Mrs. Dorkas Mamarimbing, Mr. A. Paat, Mrs. A. Paat, and Mr. Yulius Paat. Those were the first fruits among the Toraja people in Rantepao. In 1960 those first members began to build a church in Singki Rantepao which is now the pioneer Rantepao SDA church. From Tana Toraja, R. M. P. Kountur expanded services to Palopo, which was previously pioneered by Pastor F. Mandolang. He served as the district pastor for Luwu and Tana Toraja (Lutat). At that time Pastor Piter Walean had just finished his theological education at Adventist College in Bandung. Walean joined R. M. P. Kountur in serving the churches in Makale and its surroundings.4 Organizational History of Mission Luwu Tana Toraja Mission was formerly part of the South Sulawesi Conference. On July 13, 2011, the executive committee of the East Indonesia Union Conference organized Luwu Tana Toraja as an attached field, effective September 2011, and appointed Marthen L. Saluy as the coordinator and Jonathan Palangan as the secretary and treasurer.5 The headquarters was located at Jalan Tandipau No. 45 Palopo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.6 The Southern Asia-Pacific Division (action number A 2014-611), decided at a meeting held January 22-24, 2015, regarding the change in the status of Luwu Tana Toraja from district to mission, and then agreed to organize Luwu and Tana Toraja districts into missions.7 Institutions There are three Schools in Luwu Tana Toraja Mission: Toraja View Academy (Sekolah Lanjutan Advent) is a coeducational boarding high school operated by the South Sulawesi Conference on an estate of about 38 acres (15 hectares), 228 miles (365 kilometers) north of Makassar (Ujung Pandang), in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, in a mountainous area at an elevation of 3,000 feet (910 meters).8 It is operated by the Luwu Tana Toraja Mission and located in Mebali, Mengkendek, Tana Toraja district in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The school started as a church school in 1950 and became an academy in 1969. It is a now a boarding school which provides Seventh-day Adventist education on the junior and senior high school levels. Palopo Adventist Elementary School is a church school operated by the Palopo SDA Church, located in Palopo City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The school started in 1969. Toraja Adventist Junior High School started in 2014 and is located in Tilanga, Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. This school is operated by Bolu SDA church, located in Bolu, Rantepao, North Toraja, since January 2018. Mission Office Addresses over the Years From 2011 to 2017 the mission office was located at Jalan Tandipau No. 45, Palopo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, a rented office. From 2018 until the present (2020), the mission office is located at Jalan Lasaktiaraja, KM 04, Lebang, Palopo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is owned by the mission. The Challenges and Outlook for the Future About 88 percent of South Sulawesi are Moslem, and there are stringent laws against any attempt to reach out to them with another religion. There is religious intolerance in this region which makes evangelistic efforts even more difficult. To secure a lawful place for worship is another challenge to ministry. Only ten percent of the population is Christian.9 List of Presidents M. L. Saluy (2011-2014); S. B. Salainti (2015-present). SOURCES East Indonesia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Minutes of the East Indonesia Union Conference.” Executive Committee.” Manado, Indonesia: East Indonesia Union Conference, July 13, 2011. East Indonesia Union Conference Archives, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Far Eastern Division Outlook, August 1959. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Second revised edition. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996. S.v. “Toraja View Academy.” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2019. Southern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, “Minutes of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division.” Silang Cavite, Philippine: Southern Asia-Pacific Division, 2014. Southern Asia-Pacific Division Archives, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. “Sulawesi Selatan.” Wikipedia. Accessed December 12, 2019. https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulawesi_Selatan. Tambunan, Emil H. Gereja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujuh di Indonesia: Sejarah Perintisan Dan Pengembangannya. Jakarta: Pusat Gereja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujuh di Indonesia, 1999. NOTES 1. “Luwu Tana Toraja Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2019), 344.? 2. Ibid.? 3. Far Eastern Division Outlook, August 1959, 2.? 4. Emil H. Tambunan, Gereja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujuh di Indonesia: Sejarah Perintisan Dan Pengembangannya (Jakarta: Pusat Gereja Masehi Advent Hari Ketujuh di Indonesia, 1999).? 5. East Indonesia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Minutes of the East Indonesia Union Conference Executive Committee,” (Manado, Indonesia: East Indonesia Union Conference, July 13, 2011), East Indonesia Union Conference Archives, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.? 6. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2016), 412.? 7. Southern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, “Minutes of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division,” (Silang Cavite, Philippines: Southern Asia-Pacific Division, 2014), Southern Asia-Pacific Division Archives, Silang, Cavite, Phillipines.? 8. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), s.v. “Toraja View Academy.”? 9. “Sulawesi Selatan,” Wikipedia, accessed December 12, 2019, https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulawesi_Selatan.? encyclopedia.adventist.org is an official website of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church © 2020 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring , MD 20904 USA 301-680-6000.