Dr. Niko was born on February 20,
1949 in a small town called Bondowoso, East Java, Indonesia. He is married to
Hermien Herawati and has one son and 2 grand children.
He graduated and received his degree as an Engineer
on Agriculture in 1976. In the year 1988, the Lord asked him to minister as a
pastor in the circle of the Bethel Church of Indonesia.
The church started with 400 people in Jakarta, and
Dr. Niko started without having any theological background and experience as a
pastor; his experience was in leading worship. As the Lord called him to be the
first full-time worshipper in Indonesia, his gospel album became a phenomenon
in the era of the eighties and early nineties. Almost every Sunday, what he did
was lead the congregation into praising and worshiping the Lord, and then share
the Word of God about Praise and Worship. Pastor Niko believes that the mandate
entrusted to him by God is to restore ‘The
Tabernacle of David’, which is, Prayer, Praise & Worship
in Unity, day and night.
The ministry grew very rapidly. It has now reached 800 branches with 6,000
cell groups locally and outside of Indonesia, such as in Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia,
Canada, and the United States, reaching a total of about 250,000 people
including children, and is still growing.
In the year 2001, he was awarded with his Doctor of
Divinity in Theology by the Church of God Theological Seminary in Cleveland,
Tennessee – USA. His
significant role in the Body of Christ in Indonesia and in the nations ushered
him as a transformational figure through prayer, praise & worship, and a
holistic ministry.