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Bible Ministry in the World's Largest Archipelagic Nation
—Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, consisting of 17,000 islands. Its population of 283 million people is highly diverse, with 1,350 ethnic groups and 917 local languages.
Much translation work remains, with a target to reach all of Indonesia’s 917 languages. IBS also serves people with disabilities by producing the Bible in Braille and audio formats for the visually impaired and sign language videos for the deaf. Digital ministry is also growing.
In 2019, the United Bible Societies designated IBS as the Mission Resource Center for Digital Ministry in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to developments such as the Smart Bible app and the integration of AI. In keeping with Indonesia’s needs, IBS annually publishes and distributes approximately 1 million complete Bibles (OT + NT + Deuterocanonical books). In partnership with Gideons International, they also distribute 750,000 New Testaments with Psalms and Proverbs. To serve underprivileged communities in remote areas, IBS also provides around 155,000 free Bibles each year.
Dr Sigit Triyono is the General Secretary of the Indonesian Bible Society. He grew up in a Muslim family who experienced financial challenges - until his father encountered the Bible. He knew there must be something more, and when Sigit was 9, the entire family was baptized into Christianity. They became active in their church and throughout his career in business management, Sigit sensed a strong calling to serve God. IBS continue to partner with churches in translating the full Bible into various local languages, meeting needs for printed Bibles and ensuring that Scripture is understood through literacy and Bible education programs.
The rapid growth of digital ministry in the Asia-Pacific region calls for ongoing synergy, and they are seeing lives transformed by the Gospel. Bible ministry in Timor-Leste is also a special priority, given that the country has no Bible Society. In 2025, IBS will collaborate to adapt the book Identity: Identified into the Tetun language, for Catholic youth. This year, IBS has also sent Indonesian-language Bibles to the Igreja Protestante Timor Lorosae, which still uses Indonesian.
Compiled in conjunction with Dr. Sigit Triyono,
General Secretary of the Indonesian Bible Society
The conflict has claimed the lives of over 150,000 people, and the United Nations has said that the region is witnessing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Prior to the beginning of the war, the average annual income was around £600, and government officials report an eighty percent decrease in the state’s revenue over the past year.
The Bible Society in Sudan (BSS) is not immune to these problems, and its staff are scattered across Sudan and the surrounding countries. Several staff were missing and uncontactable for a period of many months, and others have relocated to Egypt, Israel and Ethiopia. After two years of war, a Christian in the Sudanese army who was able to visit the offices of the BSS reported it to be greatly damaged. Several church buildings were destroyed when fighters were suspected of using them as hiding places.
This destruction is mirrored in the lives of Sudanese refugees. The BSS has been able to work with many of the women (often widows) and the young people who have fled Sudan, offering programmes of Bible engagement and seeking to increase literacy and education in the Sudanese ‘diaspora’. The work of BSS currently focuses on the Trauma Healing programme being run for Sudanese refugees in Egypt, where more than 350,000 Sudanese people have fled.
