Category Archives: Overseas Mission Conference

2014 OMC 21: Developing Small Manufacturing in Rural Indonesia

2014 OMC 21: Developing Small Manufacturing in Rural Indonesia

Background

A common notion among Indonesians is that living in the main cities within Java can provide the luxury of comfortable and peaceful lea­ving, which can hardly be attained outside of Java.  This notion is grounded on the reality that even after 69 years of independence, the development outside Java has been very slow.  Such problem is more severe in the eastern parts of Indonesia, such as Papua, where development is almost non-existent off of the coastal lines.  For this very reason, the past three Overseas Ministry Conferences (OMC) have been focused on the rural development of Indonesia. The past three OMCs revealed three main reasons why rural development in Indonesia has not been successful:  the broken culture, government dysfunction, and leadership deficiency.…

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Report OMC XX: Business as a Mission

The 20th annual gathering of Overseas Ministry Conference (OMC) was held from August 30th to September 2nd, 2013 at Columbus Ohio.  We are thankful to God for preserving the OMC for the past twenty years.  We also appreciate the support of our brothers and sisters through prayer, passionate discussion, and financial support.  

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2012 OMC XIX: Focus on Rural Area

OMC XIX theme was rural development with strong emphasis in farming.  For some, the theme seems not relevant because of our education and profession.  However, FICA felt that God wanted us to start focusing on rural area of Indonesia.  The story began in 2009.

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2011 OMC XVIII: Love, Church, Community, and National Transformation

OMC XVIII reminded us God’s intention and means to reconcile all things to Himself.  God’s intention is to transform not only individuals but also communities, nations, and the whole earth.  Colossians 1:20 says that “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, whether things in earth or things in Heaven.”  The blood that our Lord Jesus shed in the cross is powerful enough to wash away not only the sins of the people but also the sins of the whole earth; for the whole earth has fallen into condemnation.  As we surrender our body, mind, and soul to God, God’s Holy Spirit will enter, rule, and empower us to be God’s agent for reconciliation.

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2010 OMC XVII: Optimism Arise

The topic for OMC XVII in 2010 was “Indonesia, a call to serve and to lead: creating transformation in the midst of its cultural realities”.  This topic was inspired by our discovery trips in 2009.  During the trip, we visited several regencies in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.  We discovered the quality of life in certain regency was directly related by the quality of its leader, which in this case the governor and lieutenant governor.  However, we could not distill the essence of the leader quality that critical to his/her success.  We wanted to be able to search the bible for answers and to test these essential leadership qualities against the characteristics of successful leader.

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2009 OMC XVI: Importance of Public Policy in Building Positive Nationalism

2009 OMC XVI: Importance of Public Policy in Building Positive Nationalism

A nation is historically evolved, stable community of language, territory, economic life, and physiological make-up manifested in a community of cultures.  Although a nation keeps evolving, it is still defined by its past history.  The rich legacy of the past, the enormous sacrifice of the founding fathers, as well as the successful past government policies will be revered in the present and the future.  Just like the famous Spartan song, “we are what you were and we will be what you are.”  The history we shared together bound us together and forms the foundation of our national culture.  This culture serves as the basis of nationalism.

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2008 OMC XV: The Rise of Middle Class and The Improvement in the Life Space and the Livelihood in Indonesia

Early March 2013, the Boston Consulting Group reported its finding that the size and purchasing power of Indonesia’s middle class will be doubled by 2020.  The report also mentioned that the cities with middle class population more than 500,000 people will grow from 25 to 54.  The report by Boston Consulting Group reminded the discussion we had during OMC XV on how to improve the life space and human rights condition in Indonesia.

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2007 OMC XIV: The Lack of Social Capital and Its Implications

In the New Year of 2007, we learnt that Adam Air Flight 574 was missing.  The flight carried 102 people from Surabaya to Manado.  Nobody survived from the flight.  It was a horrible incidence that not only due to the loss of lives but also to the blatant disregard to safety rules and regulations.  During subsequent investigation on Adam Air, it was found that the airline had ignored more than 50 safety complaints and found bribing the pilots and maintenance crews to breach regulations.  The incidence resulted in the downgrade of all Indonesian airlines from safe to unsafe based on international standard.  The downgrade further shows that the Indonesian Aviation Authority has lost its credibility and considered failed to enforce and maintain safe flights.

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