A Muslim woman wearing a frayed hijab watches over her display of bright pink flower petals. Another woman walks by, carefully balancing a bag of red peppers on her head. Street vendors selling bowls of chicken and nasi goreng — Indonesian fried rice — for less than a dollar call out to passersby. The scent of fresh fish from a nearby market hangs in the afternoon heat. Just a few feet away, car horns blare as drivers edge forward and motorcycles swerve between narrow gaps in traffic.

Along these busy streets stands Centre Point Mall, one of Medan, Indonesia’s biggest shopping centers. Among Centre Point’s clothing stores, restaurants, tech shops, and arcades, is a former department store newly renovated into a church. It fills with believers from across the city.

As smiling greeters welcome curious shoppers to come inside, the sound of worship music pours into the mall. A large mural outside the door reads in bold letters: Know God. Find freedom. Discover purpose. Make a difference.

The International Church of Medan (IC Medan) welcomes believers together this Sunday morning, gathering in their new home in Centre Point Mall for the first time.

A Spiritual Family

IC Medan began in 2014 in a movie theater and then transitioned into one of Medan’s smaller malls. But with an average attendance of 850 each Sunday, the church quickly outgrew that space.

In 2023, Medan’s lead pastors, Tim and Kelly Pollick, began searching for a long-term space. The church launched a soft opening in their new home, Centre Point Mall, in March 2025. Their official opening was in May.

“The mall offered us this space, which is three times our old space, for only 30% more cost,” Tim explains.

Centre Point Mall sits in a strategic location to reach the city with the gospel. The mall has extensive parking — which leaves the church plenty of room to grow — is connected to the train station, and is located in the center of Medan — making it a center point of ministry.

“We really believe there are tons of people walking around Medan who simply need to be able to walk into a church,” Kelly shares. “Unbelievers — as they walk into the house of God — can’t help but become overwhelmed with feelings and emotions because they feel God’s presence.”

Many of IC Medan’s congregation members have sensed God’s presence in the church when they needed it most.

Dia*

Dia was born into a strict Muslim family in Medan. As she was walking through the mall at IC Medan’s former location, greeters invited her inside. She attended a service and gave her life to Jesus.

“I just felt Jesus’ Spirit,” Dia remembers. She continued coming to IC Medan, and her faith grew as she learned more.

Dia knew how dangerous it was to convert to Christianity. Her parents had passed away before she decided to follow Jesus. She explains, “If my parents were still alive, in my last religion, they would be allowed to kill me.”

Dia’s conversion to Christianity did not come without consequence. Though Dia lost many friends after her conversion, she says she “found a new family in IC Medan.”

Wendy

Wendy, a former Buddhist, came from a religion of multiple gods and routine prayers in temples. Raised in a family of devout Buddhists, Wendy learned his religion as a child.

When facing a personal crisis, Wendy went to his temple, prayed, and burned incense. He felt peace inside the temple, but immediately after stepping outside, the feeling dissipated. His struggles remained. After continuous efforts to find lasting peace, Wendy remembered a church service he had attended two years prior — IC Medan’s Christmas service.

He revisited the church and soon began attending regularly. Wendy accepted Christ as Savior and was baptized within the following year. He now serves as a greeter.

Wendy believed his family’s reaction would be negative. However, his Buddhist father was the first person to tell him to get baptized. Seeing Wendy’s new peace, Wendy’s mother became a Christian and was baptized in 2024.

“My father has still not gotten baptized, but he will, one day. I believe it,” Wendy explains. “I can see God’s plan is there. Not just for me, but for me and my family.”

John

In tenth grade, John heard about Christianity for the first time. He wanted to learn more. However, in Afghanistan — John’s home country — his schoolteacher immediately warned him against this curiosity. Four years later, a friend gave John a Bible.

For a year, John secretly read his Bible at home. One day, he forgot to lock his bedroom door and was reading the Bible in plain sight. His brother, a Muslim, found him. John explained that he had converted to Christianity.

“He tried to attack me with a knife,” John remembers. John’s mother held his brother back, and John fled.

John became a refugee, desperate for safety and a Christian city. He traveled to India, Malaysia, and then Indonesia. Indonesian immigration officials arrested him for entering the country illegally. He spent two years in prison in Medan. Upon release, John searched for a church. He soon found a home in IC Medan.

“When I came here, I thought, I’m really home. All the people around me are my brothers or sisters,” John says.

The people at IC Medan became a new family for Dia, Wendy, John and for many more, showing them Jesus’ unconditional freedom, peace, and love.

Serving The Forgotten

While this Muslim-majority city faces great spiritual need, its physical needs are no less dire.

Medan’s greater metropolitan area is home to more than 4.5 million people. Despite a small, wealthy elite, most residents struggle to make ends meet. The city’s minimum wage is equivalent to 200 U.S. dollars a month — a yearly sum of $2,400. Many people cannot find work, and instead, rely on support from a single working family member.

Medan’s streets are lined with mazes of slums — communities of homes constructed with spare plywood, brick, and sheet metal.

Walking through one such neighborhood, Tim comments, “These are normal houses. This is Medan.”

These slums often follow the railroad tracks or the river, where homes are subject to flooding. Fires have broken out in other areas, leaving only charred beams behind.

Government agencies and humanitarian groups offer limited help to Medan’s poorest population. However, IC Medan has not hesitated to walk beside them, providing life-giving aid, and pointing them to Jesus’ love.

IC Medan began its outreach ministry in 2022, delivering 50 meals at a time to the homeless. Then, they increased to 250 meals. Now, once a month 50 volunteers cook and distribute 1,000 meals across Medan’s slums. Along with each meal, people receive a bag of groceries with a kilo of rice, a kilo of sugar, and a liter of oil.

Three times each year the church holds larger outreaches with a dental clinic, medical clinic, and games for children, in addition to food distribution.

Instead of promoting IC Medan in any way during outreaches, the church specifically chooses slums that are near local churches. In partnership with local believers, they direct people toward these easily accessible churches that can serve their needs.

Beyond ministering to those in need, these outreaches disciple the volunteers who conduct them. The outreach volunteer team often contains believers and non-believers.

“We want to teach people that they are designed to accomplish the Great Commission,” Tim says. By intentionally serving as a missionally minded church, IC Medan teaches its volunteers that they can act as Jesus’ hands and feet in their communities.

Vincent and Maggie are members of IC Medan and leaders of the outreach program. They also own two businesses in Medan: a Korean café and an auto repair shop with a large kitchen where outreach meal preparation takes place.

For Vincent and Maggie, the goal remains simple: “Even if we save one person, it’s worth it.”

Building the Kingdom

Reflecting on her and Tim’s pastoral role, Kelly says, “We have such an amazing privilege to be reaching Indonesians from all different walks of life, and then to see them continue and find their purpose in accomplishing God’s mission for their life. It’s truly amazing.”

The first church service held in Centre Point Mall in March 2025 painted a clear picture of the congregation: Members of IC Medan are part of a spiritual family, wholly dedicated to Jesus. As believers excitedly explored the new space, fellowshipped, and worshiped together, no one went unnoticed. All were wrapped in God’s love, living out His purpose for their lives.

IC Medan is not a church confined to a building or a Sunday service; it’s a group of people living out God’s mission in the world. Through every meal served and relationship built, they are bringing spiritual transformation to Medan’s citizens. As their ministry expands, they remain focused on reaching Medan’s lost and unseen with Jesus’ hope.

— Joy Myers
AGWM Communications


* Editor’s Note: Some names changed for security. All testimonies shared in this article are used with express permission of the individuals involved. Their stories are testaments to the harsh reality of religious persecution, but also to God’s power and love around the world.