International Christian Concern, 18 January 2020
Following protests from local villagers, the administration in Yogyakarta and the Indonesia Pentecostal Church have agreed to move the church to Argosari village.
Last July, the regent of Bantul officially cancelled the building permit of the church. So its congregation was no longer allowed to perform worship services at the building.
Although the church took the matter to court, church leader Tigor Sitorus has now made the agreement with Bantul Regent Suharsono to seek a way out.
Tigor agreed to move the church to Argosari, which is about 4 kilometers away, for his congregation.
“What’s important now is to have a place of worship,” he said. The new church will be built on land bought with his own money. He hoped the administration would help with the construction.
Suharsono promised to provide 100 bags of cement for the construction and to immediately issue the building permit for the new church.
Nevertheless, the solution has set a bad precedent for cases of intolerance seeming to justify residents’ protests.