Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Di gereja itu, pemimpin gereja memimpin doa singkat sebelum mereka bertukar cincin. - In that church, the church leader leads a short prayer before they exchange rings.

Di means “in / at”.
Gereja means “church”.
Itu literally means “that”, but very often it works like “that/the … (already known)”.

So di gereja itu is “in that church / at that church”, often understood as “at the (specific) church” that both speaker and listener know about.

In Indonesian, the demonstrative itu (that) normally comes after the noun:

gereja itu = that/the church
rumah itu = that/the house
orang itu = that/the person

Putting itu before the noun (itu gereja) is not standard for this meaning.

Why is gereja repeated in pemimpin gereja? Could I just say pemimpin or something shorter?

Pemimpin gereja literally is “church leader” (leader of the church).

The word pemimpin by itself is just “leader”; it doesn’t say leader of what.

So:

pemimpin = a leader (of anything)
pemimpin gereja = church leader (pastor, priest, elder, etc., depending on the denomination)

Depending on context, you could also say:

pendeta = pastor / priest (very common word for a Christian religious leader)
pastor (borrowed from English; used in some churches)

If the context is absolutely clear and you’ve already mentioned the church leader, you could later refer to them as:

pemimpin itu = that leader
dia = he/she

But in the sentence you gave, pemimpin gereja is natural because it introduces who is leading the prayer.

What’s the relationship between pemimpin and memimpin? They look very similar.

Both words come from the same root pimpin (lead).

Indonesian uses prefixes to derive different word types:

memimpin = meN- + pimpin → “to lead” (verb)
- pemimpin gereja memimpin doa
  = the church leader leads a prayer
pemimpin = pe- + pimpin → “leader” (person who leads) (noun)
- pemimpin gereja = church leader

So in your sentence you see:

pemimpin (noun) gereja (what kind of leader)
memimpin (verb) doa singkat (object)

This type of pair is extremely common in Indonesian:

mengajar (to teach) → pengajar (teacher)
menulis (to write) → penulis (writer)
memimpin (to lead) → pemimpin (leader)

Why is it doa singkat and not singkat doa? Where do adjectives usually go?

In Indonesian, adjectives almost always come after the noun they describe.

doa singkat = short prayer
baju merah = red shirt
rumah besar = big house

So:

doa = prayer
singkat = short, brief

Singkat doa would be wrong; it doesn’t follow normal Indonesian word order for adjectives.

What exactly does sebelum do in sebelum mereka bertukar cincin?

Sebelum means “before” and introduces a time clause: it connects one action to another in time.

In your sentence:

pemimpin gereja memimpin doa singkat
→ the main action (led a short prayer)
sebelum mereka bertukar cincin
→ when? → before they exchanged rings

Structure-wise, it’s like English:

[Main clause] sebelum [subject] [verb] [object]

More examples:

Saya makan sebelum saya berangkat.
I eat before I leave.
Dia tidur sebelum tengah malam.
He/She sleeps before midnight.

Why do we use mereka here? Could we leave it out, or use something else?

Mereka means “they” and is a 3rd-person plural pronoun (refers to two or more other people).

In this sentence:

mereka refers to the couple who are exchanging rings.

You have a few options:

Keep mereka (as in your sentence)
- … sebelum mereka bertukar cincin.
  → before they exchanged rings.
  This is very clear and neutral.
Omit the pronoun if it’s obvious from context
- … sebelum bertukar cincin.
  Often fine in real speech or writing once it’s clear who is exchanging the rings.
Use a more explicit phrase
- … sebelum mereka berdua bertukar cincin. = before the two of them exchanged rings.
- … sebelum kedua mempelai bertukar cincin. = before the two bride and groom exchanged rings.
  (mempelai = bride/groom as a wedding term.)

You would not use kami or kita (which both mean “we”) here, because the sentence is talking about the couple, not spoken by them.

What’s the nuance of bertukar cincin? How is it different from menukar cincin or just tukar cincin?

All are related to the root tukar (exchange, swap), but the prefixes change the meaning/grammar:

bertukar cincin
- ber- often makes a verb that is intransitive or mutual/reciprocal.
- bertukar cincin implies they exchange rings with each other
- Natural for a wedding ceremony.
menukar cincin
- meN- usually makes a transitive verb (takes a direct object).
- menukar cincin is more like “to exchange (some) rings” in general, more action/object-oriented, not specifically reciprocal between two people.
- Could be used in other contexts, e.g., jewelry store, not just weddings.
tukar cincin (without prefix)
- In casual speech, people often drop the prefix:
  Mereka tukar cincin.
- Still understood as “they exchanged rings”, but it sounds more informal/colloquial.

For a wedding description, bertukar cincin is the most standard and clearly reciprocal expression.
You might also hear saling bertukar cincin (saling = mutually), but bertukar cincin already implies mutual exchange.

How do we know this sentence is talking about the past? There’s no past tense marker like in English.

Indonesian doesn’t have verb conjugation for tense like English. The time is usually understood from:

Context
If you’re telling a story about a wedding, it’s naturally in the past.
Time words (if needed):
- kemarin (yesterday)
- tadi (earlier)
- tadi pagi (this morning)
- tahun lalu (last year)
Aspect markers (optionally):
- sudah / telah = already (completed)
  - Pemimpin gereja sudah memimpin doa singkat…
    → The church leader has already led a short prayer…

Your sentence:

Di gereja itu, pemimpin gereja memimpin doa singkat sebelum mereka bertukar cincin.

is tense-neutral. It can mean:

“At that church, the church leader leads a short prayer before they exchange rings.” (if spoken about a general routine)
“At that church, the church leader led a short prayer before they exchanged rings.” (if telling a past story)

Usually, the surrounding context makes it clear which one is meant.

Why is there a comma after Di gereja itu? Is it required?

Di gereja itu is a fronted prepositional phrase indicating location (“At that church”). In Indonesian, when such a phrase comes at the beginning of the sentence, it’s common (and stylistically nice) to put a comma after it:

Di sekolah itu, mereka belajar bahasa Inggris.
Di rumah saya, tidak ada televisi.

The comma helps show that this part is setting the scene (place, time, etc.), and the main clause follows.

You could technically write it without the comma in informal writing:

Di gereja itu pemimpin gereja memimpin doa singkat…

but the version with the comma is more standard and easier to read.

Could this sentence be phrased differently but mean almost the same thing?

Yes. There are several natural variations with slightly different nuances or word choices, for example:

Use pendeta instead of pemimpin gereja:
- Di gereja itu, pendeta memimpin doa singkat sebelum mereka bertukar cincin.
- More specific: clearly a pastor/priest, not just any church leader.
Make the couple more explicit:
- Di gereja itu, pendeta memimpin doa singkat sebelum kedua mempelai bertukar cincin.
- kedua mempelai = the bride and groom (formal/wedding context).
Slightly more formal, add telah:
- Di gereja itu, pemimpin gereja telah memimpin doa singkat sebelum mereka bertukar cincin.
- Emphasizes that the prayer was already completed.

All of these keep the same basic meaning: a (church) leader led a short prayer at that church before the couple exchanged rings.