Camelia Pasandaran – With the GKI Yasmin church in Bogor still forced to hold services outdoors despite a favorable Supreme Court ruling, a church in Bekasi has been waiting since 2010 to put an end to their roadside services.

The Filadelfia congregation of the Batak Christian Protestant Church submitted an application for a building permit in 2007, but church leaders say that despite meeting all the requirements, including the agreement of their neighbors, a permit was never issued.

"So, as a way to solve it, on the 1,000 square meters of land owned by the church we build a semi-permanent building to worship," Rev. Palty Panjaitan told the Jakarta Globe. "It is only like a tent, built on some steel poles and covered with a tarp. The other rooms were only a warehouse to store the chairs and toilet."

But on Dec. 31, 2009, the Bekasi district head issued a letter banning the members of the congregation from worshipping on the land, forcing the 560 members to hold services along the side of the road fronting the property.

In one video of a church service uploaded to YouTube in February 2010, parishioners listen to a sermon while motorcycles pass by on the road just a few meters away.

Church leaders reported the case to the Bandung Administrative Court (PTUN), and won a favorable ruling in September 2010. The court ruled that the decision to ban services on the church's property was unconstitutional.

An appeal by the Bekasi district government to the Jakarta Administrative court backfired, with the judges in March 2011 reaffirming the earlier ruling by the Bandung court and urging the Bekasi administration to issue the long-delayed building permit.

A further appeal by the Bekasi district government to the Supreme Court ended similarly. The nation's highest court ruled in June 2011 that barring the congregants from worshipping on church property was a violation of the law.

Rev. Palty said on Tuesday that despite three favorable rulings in three different courts, church services continued to be held by the side of the road.

"We have exhausted ourselves trying to report the case to the Human Rights Commission, the Judicial Commission, the House of Representatives and even the vice president," Palty said. "But nothing has changed. We only wait for the Bekasi government's kindness and hope that God hears our prayers."