Tentena Double Bombing: A Town Where God Is At Work

The most powerful bomb attack in Indonesia since the Bali bombing of October 2002 took place last Saturday in the small town of Tentena, Sulawesi. As well as the suspected Islamic militant bomber, at least 19 people were killed, all of them Christians.

Tentena Background: Saved From “A Bloody Christmas” When Christians Prayed

Tentena has a mainly Christian population and thus has been seen as a place of refuge for Christians during the anti-Christian violence which wracked Central Sulawesi from 2000-2002.

But this also made Tentena a focus of attention for the Islamic militants. We share with readers a story of how God answered prayer to save the people of Tentena.

At the height of the anti-Christian violence in Sulawesi, the small town of Tentena, in Poso district, became swollen with tens of thousands of Christian refugees from other parts of Poso. In December 2001 Tentena, full of Christian refugees, was under threat from Islamic militants who warned the Christians that they faced a “bloody Christmas”. The Indonesian police did nothing to intervene.

Barnabas Fund mobilised international prayer. The Christians were saved by the unexpected death of the local police commander. His replacement was a more diligent individual who quickly deployed security forces around Tentena to guard its inhabitants and the refugees within it.