Church buildings are the latest target in a fresh wave of persecution facing Christian churches in Indonesia.

SC was told of one case where police moved in one morning to allow bulldozers to demolish a church building.

Within an hour, the building was a pile of rubble with only a cross marking the spot where the church had stood.

The pastor, nursing a head wound sustained as police moved in, was back at the site, with his congregation that Sunday and held a service under a tarpaulin.

Reports from Compass Direct News, a persecuted church news agency, and the International Crisis Group (ICG), a human rights body, speak of a crackdown in several parts of the country, under the guise of ‘building regulations’.

The ICG says it follows the Ahmadiyah Decree, a directive issued in June to restrict the activities of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect, which has been operating in Indonesia for more than 80 years.

In response to hardline Islamist pressure, this decree is also being used against Christians.

Local corruption and politics are also blamed for some of the trouble.

Church buildings, used by Christians for years, are suddenly being declared ‘illegal’ and bulldozers have been moved in.

Several Indonesian church buildings have been demolished and even a pastor’s home is now under threat.

Compass Direct News cites a case in East Jakarta, where Pastor Chris Ambessa of the Protestant Church of Indonesia was ordered to dismantle the newly constructed second floor of his home and to cease all religious activity in the area.

Local officials have created new building regulations for churches, which demand they apply for special permits which are considerably more expensive than for other buildings.

Mission sources tell SC that local communities are well aware of the persecution and in many cases, side with churches.

In one case, local Muslim women visited the church to bring supplies and moral support to the embattled Christians as they tried to salvage equipment from the ruins of their church building.

Agencies in Asia say Christians in Australia need to be more aware of the needs in Indonesia, and particularly pray for persecuted churches.