It's a family affair

Pray for a new outreach to families in southeast Copenhagen called, appropriately enough, the “Family Network.”

In an environment sometimes plagued by loneliness, divorce, economic worries, and health challenges, the Network offers free evening sessions featuring encouragement for kids and their parents, workshops, a chance to meet other families, and of course good food. 

The special events are co-sponsored by the Amagerbro Free Church and Blue Cross Denmark.

“For a long time we’ve very much wanted to start a Family Network,” explained the church’s project leader, Vibeke Kelway. “That’s what the church should do—reach out and help people around us. We’ve found there are many families in the local area who don’t have too much money, and need help and support in everyday life.”

So Kelway and her team have opened the church every other Thursday evening for fun themed activities, support, and a free meal. They’re hoping to create a place where memories are made. 

“It’s a place where we’ll be there for others and care for each other,” said Kelway. “A place where people feel like they are seen, and where they can talk to another person while their kids are loved. Kids and parents will meet good role models, and they’ll be able to build relationships and friendships across the board.”

Blue Cross Denmark is a Christian social outreach organization. Currently they’re partnering with more than 40 other churches across the country to offer Family Network evenings.

PRAY for the Amagerbro Family Network events this fall, that God would draw those families who need support and hope.

PRAY for changed lives and healing for families in Amagerbro.

PRAY for Vibeke Kelway and her team, for compassion and courage to share God’s love and hope of salvation with needy families. 

After a decade, what's next?

Let’s visit another Danish church fellowship that is making a difference in their community—and that could use our prayers. The “Borgerkirken” (Citizen’s Church) in the central Jylland city of Silkeborg.

This city of some 50,000 people contains a number of evangelical churches, but the challenge remains. And as a free (not a state Lutheran) church, Borgerkirken has been in the news recently for two reasons: They just celebrated their tenth anniversary, and they just hired a new lead pastor. Bent Skovhus began serving in April.

Borgerkirken tackles head-on the fact that only two or three percent of Danes regularly attend church services on any given Sunday. “That’s far too few!” says the church’s website. “But the church has unfortunately become distant, and not very relevant in the lives of Danes.”

Under Pastor Skovhus’s leadership, Borgerkirken members are working to build new bridges, not only with relevant Bible preaching on Sundays, but also with an inviting meal after services. It’s a great place to connect. They also promote small groups for discussion and personal connection—men’s groups and women’s groups. 

“We want to transform Denmark,” says the church’s vision statement, “by freshly communicating the gospel, living the gospel ourselves, and reestablishing the worth of all.”

Let’s join in prayer for Silkeborg and the Borgerkirken!

PRAY for Pastor Bent Skovhus in his new position as lead pastor. Pray for energy and vision as he settles into the community.

PRAY for Borgerkirken’s small groups. These are the front lines. Pray that believers would be built up and that not-yet believers would be drawn to attend, and that the groups would flourish and multiply.

PRAY that faith would grow anew in Silkeborg and that revival in Denmark might spread from this strategic city.

Because good questions deserve answers

They’re doing a quiet, scholarly work… testifying truth about the gospel on the college campus and all across Denmark. The “Center for Kristen Apologetik” (Center for Christian Apologetics) needs our prayers.

For volunteers with the CKA, it’s all about truth—in all God’s world. So they’re organizing public forums and webinars, training believers to share their faith, and sharing biblical perspectives with anyone who will listen. 

They’ve also pulled together a “dream team” speakers’ bureau of leading Danish Christian thinkers. These professors and students are ready to tackle a variety of questions, including: 

Did Jesus really rise from the dead? How do science and faith work together? What prevents us from sharing our faith? What about evolution? How reliable is the gospel? How do beauty and art point to a creator? What is a Christian worldview?

Good questions! So CKA staff and speakers are training the Danish church to provide answers. Pray that God would touch hearts and minds through this vital ministry.

PRAY for the center’s leader, Emil Børly Nielsen. For wisdom and vision to equip more Danish believers with truth from the scriptures.

PRAY for the CKA speakers bureau. These eight CKA experts are prepared to speak on how to share our faith in a winsome, intelligent way. 

PRAY that more Danish believers would catch the CKA vision and would be able to ably share the good news of Jesus in their workplaces and homes.

PRAY that God would continue to bless the work of the CKA!

A new day for Oase

Pray for the new general secretary of the “Dansk Oase” movement, Keld Dahlmann. He comes to the critical leadership position after serving as a pastor in Aarhus since 2002.

In his new role, Dahlmann oversees a country-wide network of some 21 churches, including many of the larger churches in the country. (Dahlmann’s church in Aarhus, for example, has around 800 members—which is quite large for a Danish church.) Churches in the movement, while still retaining their Lutheran identity, also enjoy a bit more autonomy than mainline Lutheran fellowships, and typically take an evangelical perspective. 

Oase churches are also the source of some of the most dynamic praise music artists in the country. And the movement maintains a strong emphasis on youth outreach. And these churches also participate in a large yearly family camp called “SommerOase,” featuring praise concerts, seminars, and activities for all ages. It’s a highlight of the year. 

Dahlmann brings not only his experience as a preaching and lead pastor, but also a passion for international outreach and ministry. The result is what he calls a more “welcoming culture” for those normally outside the church.

“We’re never done,” he told his church in a recent blog. “And that’s fantastic. I have my time, where I contribute something, and there was someone here before me, and someone follows me. That’s the nature of God’s kingdom—we never finish.”

PRAY for Keld Dahlmann, that he would be inspired to lead the Dansk Oase movement church network in God’s direction. 

PRAY for the Dansk Oase movement, with churches scatted all over the country. Pray for God-honoring growth in each of the 21 churches, and that many would be saved and discipled.

PRAY for God’s protection of the movement, and for wisdom in its leadership. Pray that they would keep God’s priorities amidst all the world’s craziness. 

Revival in 2023?

So now we stand on the verge of yet another year. What lies ahead for the Danish church in 2023? What lies ahead for Denmark?

If you’ve been following the past year’s prayer requests in the Pray For Denmark blog, you’ll notice one word that stands out.

Revival.

We pray for revival, that God would renew his church in this small land. That he would draw believers closer, and that he would draw unbelievers to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. 

But let’s be clear about our definition of true revival. As pastor and Christian commentator Tim Challies recently wrote, true revival is “supernatural, unexpected, deeply desired work of the Holy Spirit in which God’s people hunger for his Word and long for his glory. It is accompanied by an unusual sense of the presence of God, a deep awareness of sin, an overwhelming joy at forgiveness, and a passion to reach the lost.”

And revivals happen, as Challies reminded us, “when God deems them good and necessary, not when humans do.”

So this is what we pray for in Denmark. Not a human-manufactured version leveraged by technique or entertainment, but God-breathed and orchestrated. In every country village church, in every big-city gathering. In the schools and youth groups. In the places where a half-dozen faithful old people still gather, and the gyms where junior high kids laugh. Among recent immigrants, and among those who trace their Danish heritage back a thousand years. From the summer camps to the candles lit to the hygge of warm living rooms. From the tip of Skagen to the hundreds of islands to the cobblestone streets of market cities.

In the year to come we pray for nothing less than revival in God’s country of Denmark. We pray for revival among all 5,882,261 souls who make this lovely place their home. 

Revival. 

Pray with us. 

A Christmas Challenge

Pray for the upcoming annual evangelistic outreach through the “Julens Udfordring” (“Christmas Challenge”) news publication. Filled with stories and articles, the special tabloid is designed to reach Christians but especially the unchurched in Denmark with the good news of Jesus—during a time of year when Danes are perhaps more open to hearing the gospel.

A few articles from this year’s edition: Why Christmas is Something Special. Bob Dylan Found the Answer in the Wind. A Father and Son Help in Ukraine. The Story of “O Holy Night.” And more…

Christians in churches, small groups, families, or just individually may order as many copies as they can, and distribution is up to them. Else Ruhe Ludvigsen started with 10 copies four years ago, and has passed along more and more copies each year. This year she’s hoping to give away 1,000 copies in her hometown of Rødekro.

“I go from mailbox to mailbox,” she said, “as I pray to the Lord that I will meet those who live in the houses. As many as possible should hear about Jesus, so they’ll each receive a Christmas newspaper, in order to read about the King of kings.”

So Else shares her joy each year, and she has big plans to reach even more homes with the gospel. “Christmas is about Jesus,” she said, “and people need to know! Jesus has a birthday, and it’s us who receive presents. For me, being a Christian isn’t about being religious, but about having a personal relationship with Jesus. I want to offer that to others through the Christmas paper. Next year I want to distribute 2,000 papers, not just in Rødekro, but also in Aabenraa.”

PRAY for this year’s “Julens Udfordring” outreach, that God will reach many with the good news, and that many would turn to Christ this Christmas season as a result. 

PRAY that Christians will find new and creative ways to distribute even more copies this year.

PRAY for revival in Denmark through the “Julens Udfordring” outreach.

We all do Laundry

A new podcast in Denmark is tackling faith topics in a creative new way, bringing the conversation to a place where everyday Danes can learn and discuss more about what faith in Christ could mean in their lives.

It’s called “Laundry” (laundry.dk) and is produced by Camilla Engrob under the Youth for Christ umbrella. Through interviews, podcasts, music, art, and short films, it’s designed to work around the culturally Danish tendency to shy away from talk about spiritual things. 

“Sharing about faith in our society has largely been in the hands of a very few,” she said, “in very specific platforms: the pulpit, speeches, or theological books. I’ve had a growing desire to give a platform to other forms of expression.”

For Camilla, that means bringing in creative people and interesting interviews for her podcasts. After all, she said, “God is the greatest artist and creative creator—and we’re made in His image.”

Camilla herself is a trained graphic artist and architect, and has a background in book design. She’s especially excited to share people’s stories.

Why call it “Laundry”? Camilla says it’s because we all have it, but few want to talk about it, or even show it to others. 

“The idea grew over time,” she explained. “But three years ago it became clear to me that if I wanted things to be different, then I would need to do it myself. (So) ‘Laundry’ aims to focus on the Christian faith, and to make it natural to talk about God in the everyday. The starting point is the story about faith, hope, and love—the place where life is lived.”

PRAY for Camilla Engrob as she reaches into her culture with the truth of Jesus, for creativity and strength to present the claims of Christ in a winsome way. 

PRAY for listeners, that minds would be opened and hearts would be softened to consider the claims of Christ.

PRAY that many Danes of all ages would discover the podcast.

PRAY for revival in Denmark through creative approaches like “Laundry.”