History

The History of Dehes Ministries

Humble Beginnings

Sebastian Sugiarto is an Evangelist with an undying zeal and vision for Kalimantan. During those early days at the start of his ministry, God gave Sebastian a vision of Kalimantan. In the region Katingan, Sebastian saw Christianity booming at exponential growth, new churches were established in village after village and thousands of people were shouting the name of Jesus. Even though at that time there was little or no evidence in his ministry that such an idea was even remotely possible, Sebastian grab hold of that vision and in Jesus’ name began to speak it and live it.

Birth
In 1998 the evangelistic organization Living Water Ministries was born in Perth, Western Australia and a small group of believers gathered around Sebastian to reach out to the people of Kalimantan. In the same year, Sebastian also incorporated the Yayasan Rhema Air Hidup, a non-profit organization based in Indonesia to facilitate the development of the ministry in Kalimantan. Ps Benjamin Widjaja, the Senior Pastor of Rhema Ministries AOG church in Jakarta played an instrumental role in coordinating the work in Kalimantan from Jakarta whilst Sebastian operates from Australia when he is home with his family.

Reality
While the construction of Dehes Mission Base was underway, the preaching of the Word began to produce a harvest of souls. The signs-following Gospel and news that God was doing miracles soon spread from village to village. As the Holy Spirit touched the hearts of the natives Dayaks, they streamed forward to give their life to Jesus. The vision has become a reality. It was a sight to behold. This gracious move of the Holy Spirit has continued in the villages wherever the Gospel is preached.

In 2007, Living Water Ministries took on a new name and today it is known as Dehes Ministries. In Indonesian, “Dehes” means “deras” and in English, it means “swift or rapidly flowing water”. The village Dehes was a very strategic central location chosen by God to enable His servants to reach all the villages along the upper and lower streams of the Katingan River in Central Kalimantan. On hindsight, synonymous with its name “Dehes”, it reflects the speed in which God intends to extend His grace and mercy to the lost in this region. The vision and mission of Dehes Ministries has intentionally been kept simple: “TO WITNESS, TO SAVE and TO BUILD FOR CHRIST”. Evangelist Sebastian Sugiarto remains as the founder and key person of Dehes Ministries.