Crowd Halts Worship at Pentecostal Church in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Over Building Permit Claim

A worship service at Christ the Answer Tabernacle Pentecostal Church (GPT) in Medan, the capital of Indonesia’s North Sumatra Province, was shut down on Sunday, July 19, when an angry mob of Muslims forced the congregation to stop, according to a report from International Christian Concern. The mob claimed the church lacked a building permit.

The report says the church has spent nearly nine years trying to obtain the necessary permits from the Medan City government and has received repeated denials with no clear explanation. Church administrators routinely submitted the required paperwork through village and district offices and requested recommendations from the FKUB (Interfaith Harmony Forum), along with all necessary documents. Their persistence in meeting each requirement, even without a clear answer, reflects faithfulness in ordinary work (Colossians 3:23).

The church’s land history, as the report describes it, began in 2017, when it bought land to build a church building. Members paid for the land in two installments, and the report says there was no dispute over its use. Later, when access to that land was closed, the church bought additional land next to it for 280 million rupiah (about $16,000).

On March 5, 2026, church leaders attended a four-hour meeting with the FKUB, the National and Political Unity Agency, and all related parties. According to the report, the meeting produced no real conclusion. The government only promised to inspect the site and did not guarantee a decision on its use.

The report states that most local residents support the construction of a church building. It says only a handful of Muslim residents have challenged the project, and that they have done so for nine years.

Dedy Mauritz Simanjuntak, chair of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Christian Council (MUKI), told the report that if the government took a firm stance, as it had in handling previous cases, no one would have the courage to break the law. He also described a recurring pattern in which permits are made difficult to obtain for years, worship services are then banned, and those responsible for the disruptions are rarely prosecuted.

“Nine years is not a reasonable time,” Simanjuntak said. “Every effort must have an end. A handful of people cannot rule the country. The Constitution cannot be defeated by agreements that only benefit certain parties.”

Source: Read the original report