GSRI Depok

Has anyone ever heard of a church born from a garden prayer meeting? Right here, before the GSRI Depok, stands a testament to such a beginning. GSRI Depok, a branch of the Gereja Santapan Rohani Indonesia, shares its roots with a remarkable story of faith and resilience. The story begins in wartime Shanghai, 1942. Rev. Timothy Dzao Zse Kwang, a prominent evangelist, felt a powerful urge to establish a Chinese mission. One June evening, he and five companions knelt in prayer in Huang JiaSha Garden. They named their mission “Ling Liang Church,” a name that would eventually translate to “Gereja Santapan Rohani” in Indonesia. The first Ling Liang Church opened in Shanghai just two months later, utilizing a high school’s multipurpose room for services. Classrooms transformed into a seminary and Bible school. This became the mother church for the Ling Liang World-Wide Evangelistic Mission. This mission expanded rapidly, with branches popping up in Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou by September 1942. Remarkably, this burgeoning church reached out to 2,000 Jewish refugees who had escaped Nazi persecution. They offered financial aid, Bible studies, and Sunday services, demonstrating a profound commitment to compassion and cross-cultural outreach. GSRI Depok, though geographically distant, shares this heritage of service and global vision. The Ling Liang World-Wide Mission’s expansion extended beyond China after 1949. They established churches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Japan, North America, and the UK. Rev. Dzao Zse Kwang himself played a significant role in Indonesia, founding Gamaliel Christian University in Jakarta in 1955 and an Evangelistic Training School the following year. GSRI Depok represents a continuation of this missionary zeal. The church here in Depok, like all GSRI churches, operates independently, making its own decisions about church policies and finances. However, it remains united with the global GSRI community through a shared vision. That vision is to spread the Gospel according to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. GSRI Depok stands as a local expression of a global mission. It’s a living reminder of a prayer meeting in a Shanghai garden that blossomed into a worldwide movement of faith.