ANALISIS PERAN GREJA KRISTEN JAWI WETAN (GKJW) SEBAGAI GEREJA BERBASIS AGRARIS

Abstract

Gereja Kristen Jawi Wetan (GKJW) is a church based on agricultural context in East Java. It is acknowledged that during some recent years GKJW has no significant role in develoving agricultural society surrounding it.

Seeing historical context  of this founding, however, GKJW was indded rooted and growing in agricultural Christian villages. GKJW had also an important role in helping the peasants prosperity as demonstrated by pioneering movement of  Coolen in history of Desa Ngoro, wich was influented in forming Christian villages as Mojowarno and other Christian villages in East Java, too.

Van Akkeren noted that in the years before New Order, GKJW Christian villages had a strong role in building prosperity of peasant’s society and also pioneered the more advanced agriculture. But in New Order era period and years following it, even now, it is acknowledged that social role of GKJW  as the agriculture-based Church in East Java declined. Its effect on agricultural sector surrounding it is not real anymore.

In this paper, two important factor will be analyzed as fundamental causes of GKJW’s failure in doing its role in present time’s agricultural sector. Those two fundamental factors are GKJW’s theological basis and  church vision which are less clear in responding the context of its existence in the mids of agricultural and peasantry society surrounding it.