Batak Christian Protestant Church
The Batak Christian Protestant Church, abbreviated as HKBP, is an Evangelical Lutheran church among the Batak ethnic group, generally the Toba Batak people of Indonesia. This church uses an Ecumenical worship style influenced by the Dutch Reformed Church due to the influence of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, as well as the Pietistic legacy left by the Rhenish Missionary Society when the church was founded. With a membership more than 6,500,000, the church synod is the largest among the Protestant churches in Indonesia. It is one of the largest Protestant churches in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, making it the third largest religious organization in Indonesia after Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Its present leader is Ephorus Victor Tinambunan.
HKBP also has several churches abroad, such as in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States of America.
HKBP is headquartered in Pearaja which is about 1 km from the city center of Tarutung, the capital of the regency. Pearaja is a village located along the road to Central Tapanuli Regency and Sibolga city. The HKBP headquarters complex is located in an area of about. In this complex there is also an Ephorus as the head of the HKBP office. Although Toba Batak is the majority ethnic group, HKBP is also open to other ethnic groups.
History
The first Protestant missionaries who tried to reach the Batak highlands of inner Northern Sumatra were English and American Baptist preachers in the 1820s and 1830s, but without any success. After Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn and Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk did intensive research on Batak language and culture in the 1840s, a new attempt was made in 1861 by several missionaries sent out by the German Rhenish Missionary Society. The first Bataks were baptized during this year. In 1864, Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen of the RMG reached the Batak region and founded a village called "Huta Dame" in the district of North Tapanuli Regency in Tarutung, North Sumatra.The RMG was associated with the uniting churches also called a merged denomination that includes a Lutheran element. However, Nommensen and local leaders developed an approach that applied local custom to Christian belief.
In 1868, a local seminary for the education of teachers was opened in Sipirok, and in 1877 a seminary for the education of preachers was built in Pansurnapitu. 1881, Nommensen was officially nominated "ephorus" of the Batak congregations by the RMG. In 1885, the first Batak ministers were ordained in Pearaja Tarutung, where the HKBP headquarters is still located.
In 1889, the RMG sent out Hester Needham who started the work with girls and women and later established the first Batak deaconess. In the last quarter of the 19th century, further missionaries of the RMG were sent out to the other Batak tribes.
File:Balige church.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|Church in Balige, North Sumatra, built since 1917
File:HKBP Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Res. Medan 04.jpg | thumb | right |Church in Medan, North Sumatra, built since 1952
File:HKBP Balige, Res. Balige 08.jpg | thumb | right | The Interior, Altar, and Pulpit of HKBP Balige
File:HKBP Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Res. Medan 06.jpg | thumb | right | The Interior, Altar, and Pulpit of HKBP Medan Sudirman
In 1917, the "Hatopan Christen Batak" which later became one of the nuclei for the independent Batak church, was founded in Tapanuli as a social movement.
In 1922, the first General Synod for all Batak congregations was held. In 1931 the HKBP became the first independent self-governing Christian body in what was then the Dutch East Indies.
In 1940, all Germans working for the RMG, including pastors and ministers, were detained by the Dutch government. The Rev. Sirait was chosen by the synod as the first indigenous ephorus of HKBP.
In 1952, while maintaining its indigenous character, the HKBP became a member of the Lutheran World Federation. In 1954, HKBP founded Nommensen University. In 1977, Sekolah Tinggi Theologia HKBP split from Nommensen University.
Over the years, a number of church bodies have split from HKBP for various cultural and doctrinal reasons. However, HKBP remains the largest Indonesian LWF member by a factor of ten and also remains in communion with daughter church bodies through the LWF. Tarutung and the Batak lands region remain the stronghold for the HKBP in the predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia, although worshippers are found throughout Indonesia and worldwide.
Well known HKBP congregants include Amir Sjarifuddin, Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia, and General Tahi Bonar Simatupang.
In January 2010 two churches were burnt down by extremist mobs in Sibuhuan.
Nommensen Pietism
The HKBP represents a unique ecclesiastical phenomenon often described as Nommensen Pietism. While frequently classified under the Lutheran umbrella due to its membership in the Lutheran World Federation, the HKBP is a distinct denomination whose identity is defined by a synthesis of Rhenish Pietism, the Uniert tradition, and Batak customary law. This theological framework serves as a parallel to the Moravian Church, which similarly occupies a space between traditional Lutheranism and a specialized, heart-centric piety.The roots of the HKBP lie in the Rhenish Missionary Society, founded in 1828 in Barmen, Germany. The RMG was a product of the German Pietist movement, specifically a branch that sought to move beyond the rigid doctrinal debates of 17th-century Lutheran Orthodoxy in favor of "living faith" and personal conversion. Unlike the state churches of Germany, the RMG was a "Union" mission, meaning it combined elements of both Lutheran and Reformed traditions.
Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen arrived in Sumatra in 1862 carrying this Rhenish heritage. His approach, which established the foundation of Nommensen Pietism, was characterized by:
- Volkskirche : A strategy in which the church was not merely a religious institution but the primary social and legal stabilizer for the Batak people.
- Cultural Transformation: Rather than abolishing Adat, Nommensen "baptized" it, integrating Christian ethics into the existing tribal social structure.
- Pietistic Discipline: An emphasis on communal singing, prayer meetings, and strict moral supervision, which continues to define the "vibe" of HKBP congregations today.