Indonesian churches aim to send 30,000 missionaries by 2033
Indonesia's ALUSIA mission alliance aims to send 30,000 missionaries abroad by 2033, up from about 800 in 2020, its chair told Christian Daily International
Christian World | Indonesia's ALUSIA mission alliance aims to send 30,000 missionaries abroad by 2033, up from about 800 in 2020, its chair told Christian Daily International
ACW | October 31, 2026 — Indonesian churches aim to send 30,000 missionaries to other countries by 2033, Bambang Budijanto, chair of the Indonesian Alliance for World Mission (ALUSIA), told Christian Daily International.
Christian Daily International published the report on Saturday, October 31. Indonesia had about 800 missionaries serving abroad in 2020, the outlet said.
"It's not easy, but it's doable," said Budijanto, who is also general secretary of the Asia Evangelical Alliance. He said Indonesia has about 30 million Christians, so the target equals roughly 0.1% of them.
ALUSIA was formed in 2023 and has held meetings in Indonesia and with Indonesian diaspora churches, including in Queens, New York, and Philadelphia on October 21, Christian Daily reported.
The alliance also wants at least 20% of Indonesian churches to become "missional." "We owe other nations," Budijanto said.
Background: The first Christian missionaries reached Maluku in 1534, and the 500th anniversary falls in 2034, according to Christian Daily, which said more than 500 Indonesian diaspora congregations operate worldwide.
Why it matters: Christianity in Indonesia grew for nearly five centuries through foreign missionaries, Christian Daily reported; the alliance's leaders say they now want to reverse that direction and make the Indonesian church a sending church.
ACW will continue to follow this story.
Photo: Christian Daily International
