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LAMPSTAND HISTORY 
LAMPSTAND is a contextualized
strategy which has been developing since the sixties when the modern
thrust in Sundanese evangelism and church planting began. It has
undergone several major shifts to accommodate the changes in the
Church and society since that time. The name relates to Matthew
5:15. Jesus says, “Nor do men light a lamp and put it under
a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”
Part 1- 1969-1982
a. The LAMPSTAND
strategy is based on contextualized approaches pioneered in the
last century by a number of Dutch and Indonesian Christians. There
is little in LAMPSTAND that is new. If it has a genius, one might
characterize it as seeking to maximize the success of past ministries
while minimizing the failures.
b. The history of
the first half of this century reveals only a few examples of successful
Sundanese ministry.
c. LAMPSTAND is based
on the early recognition that the absence of a contextualized approach
is not the only major problem but that the antagonism of cultural
leadership prevents the church from existing in Sundanese society
even when there is a contextualized approach.
d. Contextualized
indigenous leadership was involved from the very outset in the process
of developing a Lampstand strategy and they were instrumental in
all the evangelism and church growth strategies employed.
e. From 1969, most
of the indigenous Indonesian leadership sought to use the Sundanese
language, music and arts. There were training programs, and various
support ministries providing audio-visuals, literature, medical
aid, and community development as well as a network including evangelical
churches, evangelists and pastors, schools and parachurch organizations.
Part 2- 1982-90
a. A major transition
took place in 1982 when these principles were more fully developed
and executed with the express purpose of forming a Sundanese church
which modeled a Sundanese style. Up to that time, the contextualized
approach of the evangelists and pastors had been severely hampered
by accommodation to their ethnic backgrounds and individual churches
which were not Sundanese in character.
b. This attempt
to form a typically Sundanese church stressed contextualized Sundanese
leadership with training and support ministries linked directly
to congregations.
c. Every effort was
made to use a theology of evangelism and a theology of the Church
using Sundanese forms with Christian meanings.
d. Wider support
ministries were developed under the auspices of a foundation (yayasan)
which could produce audio-visuals and other tools.
While this effort has experienced various shortcomings,
its success has been thought sufficient to prove the validity of
the approach. This contextualized model was called “Beja Kabungahan“
in Sundanese and, by 1982, the name LAMPSTAND was being used to
describe it to the international community. At the present, it has
a number of designations, one of which is the “Diamond Model.”
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