A Cloud of Witnesses: Celebrating Indonesian Mennonites

Indonesia is home to the oldest Mennonite community outside of Europe and North America. Author John D. Roth traces the 170-year history of Mennonites in Indonesia alongside the larger cultural and religious history of the country. By placing the legacy of European colonization from the sixteenth century to national independence in 1945 beside the history of the Dutch Mennonite mission to Indonesia in the nineteenth century, Roth creates a rich narrative tapestry. A Cloud of Witnesses traces the emergence of the three Mennonite-related groups found today in Indonesia. Like all churches, they have each integrated the good news of the gospel with the local culture, ethnic identity, religious currents, and national history in a distinctive way.

In July 2022, these three Mennonite groups in Indonesia will collaboratively host the seventeenth global assembly of Mennonite World Conference in Semarang, Java.

A Cloud of Witnesses helps to orient other members of the global Anabaptist-Mennonite church to the history and identity of this unique group of churches while also providing practical travel tips, recipes, reference notes on culture and language and tourist sites–making it the perfect accompaniment for those who plan to travel to Indonesia for Mennonite World Conference in the summer of 2022.

Selamat dating!