The restrictions on the movement of aid groups in Indonesia came hot on the heels of reports about some aid groups mixing Christian missionary work with relief operations.

The Baltimore Sun reported earlier this week that some evangelical groups are mixing Christian missionary work with humanitarian aid in countries ravaged by the tsunamis and earthquake.

Calling it a provocative approach shunned by the majority of faith-based relief organizations, the paper said that spreading faith this way can antagonize the people they're trying to help, and there's evidence of concern among Muslims, Hindus and others.

Evangelical leaders, however, say they define humanitarian aid as having a spiritual component.

Aid should “share the love of Christ,” said Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham and the outspoken leader of Samaritan's Purse, which is shipping shelter materials and other emergency donations to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, according to the paper.

Of the victims and their families, he said, “I would hope that they would come to know the God I know.”

The notion of sharing "the love of Christ" can take many forms: adoptions of orphaned children, religious pamphlets tucked into relief kits. Sometimes it's establishing relationships in the hope of future influence, the paper said.

“They will not give up the goal of church planting,” said Scott Moreau, editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly and a Wheaton College professor.

Baltimore-based World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, is focused on humanitarian aid while looking for opportunities to later encourage conversions in southern Asia.

World Relief spokesman Chris Pettit cited as a model the group's work helping war-ravaged Cambodians in the early 1990s. Long after the crisis, World Relief workers revived their relationships with residents and encouraged them to build churches. Pettit said there are now 300 churches in the Cambodian areas where they worked.

“Historically, the best approach is to provide help and build trust, and then through that trust, opportunities arise. We plant the seeds,” he said.

That philosophy, according to the paper, is at odds with the faith-based relief agencies that deliver aid for aid's sake, such as the Christian relief agency World Vision and Catholic Relief Services.

“They consider the very fact that they're there and compassionate as a viable form of Christian witness without having to convert people,” Moreau said.

According to the paper, quantifying the number of evangelical relief workers in the region is difficult, given that few belong to larger coordinating groups and that missionary groups may include large numbers of local residents. But there is evidence that they have a significant presence there.

In reaction to the increasing missionary work, an anonymous electronic text message spread through Indonesia this week captured a glimmer of the anxieties.

“Please ask among friends who would like to adopt orphans from Aceh. 300 orphans coming soon. Need Muslim homes. Christian missionaries want them. Pls help!” it read, the paper reported.

That message caused such an uproar that the government pledged to try to reunite the Aceh province's orphaned children with family members, the Indonesian Embassy said.
At the same time, groups such as Indians Against Christian Aggression are sending out a steady stream of stories that tell of overzealous missionaries exploiting vulnerable non-Christians. Headlines on the group's Web site this week included “Christian Missionaries Seek Converts Amidst Tsunami Victims” and “Evangelist Comes Looking For Orphans in a 747 Boeing.”