Toraja Mamasa Church

The region where the GTM is at home is in the north of South Sulawesi in the remote high-lying valley of Mamasa. Its approximately 100,000 members in 280 parishes can often only be reached on foot or on horseback. About 80 percent of the population in the Mamasa Valley are Christians, although the number of Muslims is rising due to immigration. The beginnings of the church date back to the work of the Reformed Church during the colonial age. In 1947, the GTM became independent and in 1982, it decided to enter into friendly relations with other Indonesian churches and their European partners in order to break with its isolation and embark on a new ecumenical path. This is one of the reasons why it attaches great importance to partnership with the EMS. The GTM focuses its efforts mainly on keeping up and improving the infrastructure of the Mamasa Valley. It supports several schools, an agricultural development centre and the only hospital in the region. Since a flood disaster in 1998, it has intensified its social services and has increasingly offered courses in village development. However, many parish members have become impoverished by the crisis in Indonesia. For this reason, the church is dependent on international help.