Assembly in Indonesia 2022 is about to begin on 5 July 2022 with strict health protocols in place, as mandated by the local health authority.

“As per government protocols, we mandate mask-wearing in all indoor spaces and crowded outdoor spaces. Seats are arranged for social distancing, and compliance to mask-wearing is checked at entrances and throughout the event,” says Agus Setianto, Assembly national co-coordinator.

“With testing no longer required for most air travel, we have implemented our own screening regiment to do everything within our capacity to make Assembly as safe as possible for all,” he says.

Starting 30 June 2022, all delegates/participants arriving from Semarang are tested prior to boarding the bus to Salatiga. Once in Salatiga, testing is available for anyone. If positive cases are found, they are isolated.

“Between 30 June and 4 July 2022, we have administered more than 1 000 tests,” says Sarah Yetty, Assembly national co-coordinator.

“In this unprecedented time, it is inevitable that we will find a few cases. We have a protocol in place for containment and will require two days of negative antigen tests before a person can be released from isolation,” says Liesa Unger, MWC chief international events officer.

“The tests are slightly uncomfortable, and quarantine even more so. But everyone is cooperating, strengthening each other through prayers and calls, delivering food and medicine. At this Assembly, we have many barriers to cross: we are experiencing communion in different ways. We are thankful for the resilience of our community, Indonesian hosts and international participants,” says J. Nelson Kraybill, MWC president (2015-2022).

“I believe what we are doing in Assembly is a great example of loving our neighbours, as laid out in Philippians 2:3-4,” he says.