​When I arrived at the Indonesian Community Bazaar in South Philadelphia, I was greeted with warm smiles, a cold Thai tea, and a plate of delicious food. Members of Indonesian Light Church ushered me with excitement into the tent where they were selling home cooked food. I was there to present a grant check on behalf of Mennonite Men's Join Hands program that helps congregations purchase their first church building. I was also being welcomed into their circle of hospitality.

After the check presentation, Pastor Hendy Matahelemual invited me to tour  the nearby building they hope to soon call their own. Since early 2024,  Indonesian Light Church, a Mosaic Mennonite Conference congregation, has been renting this South Philadelphia church building on a month-to-month basis with the intent to purchase. Thanks to faithful giving and tireless fundraising—like the bazaar—I learned they are nearly at their down payment goal and expect to close by the end of September 2025.

Indonesian Light is part of a large and growing Indonesian community in South Philadelphia. Many members are Chinese-Indonesian Christians, who faced persecution in Indonesia and sought asylum in the United States beginning in the late 1990s. Today, Christian and other minority groups in Indonesia continue to feel unsafe, and many still emigrate seeking refuge.

Pastor Hendy explained how vital community is for those who arrive here: “Community is a huge part of Indonesian culture. When Indonesians move here, they search out a church community. In church you get connection, the community holds you accountable, and the pastor and community can vouch for you.”

That spirit of welcome is lived out daily in the congregation. Members help newcomers find housing, jobs, and healthcare. Once established, those who were welcomed become welcomers in turn. “It’s organic,” Pastor Hendy said. “You don’t have to ask, they just do it.”

Though recent anxieties around immigration have affected many members and so the congregation continues to lean into hope and hospitality. Their new space has already allowed them to double in attendance, share worship space with a Hispanic congregation, and host weekly AA and NA groups.

Indonesian Light Church embodies what it means to be a welcoming community of faith—rooted in culture, strengthened by Anabaptist values, and open to the Spirit’s leading. I left filled with good food and encouraged by seeing their joy, hope, and hospitality flourishing in the city of brotherly love.