Make a Difference in Sweden


Introducing Sweden 

The 5th largest country in Europe, Sweden is a Nordic land with about 10% of the nation lying above the Arctic Circle. It is sparsely populated, with over 2/3 of all inhabitants living in the Southern cities. Its Southwestern coast borders on the Kattegat while most of the Eastern part of the country borders on the Baltic Sea.

 

A highly developed nation with a very high standard of living, for many years Sweden has been synonymous with free lifestyles.
/files/Where are we/Sweden/swedish flag_Resized_228x143.gif

   /files/Where are we/Sweden/map of sweden_Resized_176x387.gif

  /files/Where are we/Sweden/HöstgärdeAidejohkka_02.JPG   /files/Where are we/Sweden/Kiruna 070927 (6) ltn.jpg
  Sámi working with reindeer  View over Kiruna 

Geography:                           
(Operation World 2001)
Area: 449,964 sq km              
Population: 9.0 million                                                           

Capital: Stockholm               
Population: 1.7 million

Language: Swedish

Website:
 Sweden Gateway

 


Spiritual Climate
As contradictory as it may sound, Sweden is a very rich country, yet there are small remote churches that don’t have the money to buy evangelistic and Sunday school materials.

 

This is not altogether surprising, because while most Swedes are Lutheran (about 85% would claim to be linked to the church), active faith is found in a much smaller number than this; for instance, only about 5-7% of the nation attend church at least once a month, and it is reckoned that while most /files/Where are we/Sweden/Nutti020202c.jpgpeople own a Bible, few people will actually read it.

 

Sweden is therefore in many ways as typical western and secular nation with a Christian past. The Lutheran Church is no longer the state church and people tend to be members of the church in name only.

 

One of the great challenges for the church in Sweden is to reach young people who, as a result of the decline in church attendance, have had no meaningful exposure to the gospel.

Missionary outreach in the past from Sweden has been very strong, yet the number of missionaries has declined recently and a new vision is needed among young Christians.

Religion:

(Operation World 2001)           

Protestant          59.4% 

Non-Religious   41.8%

Islam                    3.1%
Catholic                1.8%

 

 

Bible Schools

Stockholm Theological High School
Örebro Theological Seminary

National Organization:
Sweden Christian Council

 

ECM in Sweden


ECM Netherlands (then EEZ) started working in Sweden 1991, in Lapland, much through the vision of the Willemsens.

Gerard & Gerdien Willemsen live in Swedish Lapland, near the arctic circle.  Living conditions are naturally quite different to any other work we underta/files/Where are we/Sweden/sweden lapps_Resized_220x146.jpgke in Europe, with long, dark winters and temperatures permanently below zero, and very short summers in sparsely populated surroundings.

But spiritually, the needs are much the same. Sweden is known as the most secularized country of the world. The northern part of Sweden is quite different from the south. It is very sparsely populated and there are two ethnic minorities living in the area. One of them are the Saami. They have their own culture and language. They were the first inhabitants of the area and are regarded as the indigenous people of Lapland. The other minority, living along the Torne River, are the Kvens, speaking a language closely related to Finnish.

The ECM couple works with the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. From 1993 to 2004, our ECM people worked along two lines: Church planting and re-planting in the Storuman r/files/Where are we/Sweden/sweden storuman_Resized_238x159.jpgegion and Outreach to the Saami people. In 2004, they returned to Kiruna, in the uppermost north, where they had been between 1991 and 1993.

Their tasks are developing the local churches in Kiruna and Malmberget-Gällivare and outreach and church-planting among the Saami. Until rather recently, the Saami language and culture were not appreciated by the churches and even now it can be controversial to use for example Saami music in church. To reach the Saami, it is important that they can find a Christian community which appeals to their own culture and where they can use their own language.

The local churches in Kiruna and Malmberget are very small and have been without pastor quite some time. Both churches have a vision for evangelisation. Their witness is important since there are few churches in this area.


Ministry Opportunities

 

  • Couples or singles for pastoral care and building one-on-one relationships in the area of Kiruna.
  • For churches in the region to reach out to the Sami people.  It is hoped that a Sami church may be planted in the future.

Contact

Please send your name and country of origin to one of the addresses to the right. Be sure to include Sweden on the subject line.  /files/Where are we/Sweden/Email Image Sweden.jpg 

Prayer

  • Unity among Swedish Christians
  • Openness for Sami language and culture in the churches.
  • That more Biblical material be translated into the Sami languages. 
  • That the Lord will call more workers to the Malmfälten area in Swedish Lapland.
  • The north has the lowest percentage of Christians in the whole of Sweden.
  • For the beginnings of youth and children’s work in the church in Kiruna

 

For many additional prayer points, click on these links:

Operation World – Sweden

24-7 Prayer