Protestant Christian Church of Nias
The Protestant Christian Church of Nias or Banua Niha Keriso Protestan is a Lutheran denomination in Nias, North Sumatra. The Rhenish Missionary Society started work in Nias; the leader was E. Ludwig Denninger in 1865. Until 1900, when the Dutch colonial period came, the denomination's progression was very slow. In 1890 there were only 706 baptized members, in 1910 there were 20,000, and in 1921 there were 60,000 members. The church was officially established in 1936, when the first Synod was formed. Currently the island has a population of 500,000 members; 73% of them are Protestant, 18% Roman Catholic and 7% Muslim.
It has approximately 357,000 members and 100 parishes.
