Good News - GKDI Pematang Siantar's 6th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, November 11, 2017, was a very special day for the congregation in the city of Pematang Siantar. On that day, the Pematang Siantar congregation commemorated its 6th anniversary. This birthday celebration, held at 7:00 p.m., was attended by around 120 people.

The church anniversary celebration began with a Leaders meeting on Thursday in November 2017. This meeting was led by Rev. Dani Wongso together with his wife, Ika Purba (Leader of the Medan Congregation). In this meeting we were once again taught about “MINISTRY SKILL, SOCIAL SKILL and EMOTIONAL SKILL” which help us in our relationships with one another, whether in marriage, among brothers and sisters, and also in ministry.

Saturday was the church anniversary celebration. The event began with a dinner together provided by the singles and campus group, the young couples group, the married group, and the Godly Men Godly Women group. The food was served on the table as creatively as possible to be judged by the panel, and at the end of the event the winner would be announced.

After dinner, the event continued with the screening of a video of GKDI Siantar's journey over 6 years, opening remarks by the  MC, prayer, and singing a song of praise. The highlight of the celebration was marked by the screening of a countdown video accompanied by birthday music, and at the same time Rev. Robin and his wife Elly Simbolon came up onto the stage and invited all the mission team participants to come up as well. There were 9 mission team members who 6 years ago came to the city of Siantar, leaving behind their comfort in the city of Medan.

Rev. Robin and his wife went on to share again about their struggles when they first came to this city, not yet having jobs and each facing various hardships, yet still remaining enthusiastic about sharing their conviction. It is no wonder that to this day God has added to them people who seek God and live in righteousness, from 9 disciples of Jesus to 63 disciples of Jesus.

The event continued with the lighting of candles by one of the mission team members, namely Tiara Silalahi, and was followed by sharing from Rev. Robin and Elly about their gratitude during 6 years of leading the Siantar Congregation. As an expression of gratitude and thanks to the mission team for their faith for this city, all of us from the congregation gave a small gift with the hope that they would continue to be faithful and remain an inspiration. The event continued with funny and very entertaining performances from each group. Everyone looked very enthusiastic and truly enjoyed this 6th anniversary celebration of GKDI Siantar.

On Sunday, November 12, 2017, there was a special service for the church anniversary where we had the opportunity once again to hear a sermon from Rev. Dani Wongso with the title: 7 Parables or the 7 Parables of Jesus in Matthew 13, which teach us 7 attitudes of the heart and character traits possessed by the Lord Jesus. Earlier, in the communion session, Mrs. Ika Purba also shared with us about the process of her life in living as a disciple of Jesus, which was very inspiring.

The whole series of events from Thursday to Sunday went smoothly, and there were many things we were able to learn. This celebration was not merely a celebration, but in faith and spirituality we were greatly helped and grown, as Rev. Robin said

“through this anniversary we were reminded again that there are many works of God in the city of Siantar, and there is still much we need to change and grow in so that we become more like Christ, thank you brothers and sisters for your prayers and support for us”

Hopefully going forward there will be even more good news from the city of Siantar, and many works of God will happen in this city through many souls being won and disciples of Jesus who remain faithful. All glory belongs only to our God. Amen!