Fårevejle Menighed--Oddsherred Church Plant

In the November 13, 2007 posting, I mentioned that no free church exists in West Sjaelland’s Oddsherred Commune. Subsequently, I heard from an authoritative source that I was misinformed and that there is indeed a relatively new church plant in Fårevejle. I am delighted to correct the error and to give a further bit of information about Fårevejle Frimenighed.

Oddsherred is found in West Sjælland about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Copenhagen. The region is characterized by steep cliffs, white and silky sand dunes, and forestland. The town of Fårevejle is situated at the coastline. There are more than a dozen Folkekirke parishes in Oddsherred commune, including Fårevejle.

Fårevejle Frimenighed is an evangelical Lutheran free church having the same doctrinal confession as the Folkekirke. However, the church is not affiliated with the Folkekirke (Denmark's state church). The church participates in the Dansk Oase Netværk, the Lutheran charismatic revival movement’s network of churches and local fellowships.

The church believes that the Bible is indeed the Word of God and has something to say to everyone in busy, contemporary everyday life. The evangelical flavor of Fårevejle Frimenighed is expressed in its vision statement, “mennesker må få et personligt møde med Gud, lære Jesus at kende og få lyst til at leve deres hverdag sammen med ham” (everyone must have a personal encounter with God, get to know Jesus and have a desire to live their everyday lives together with him).

The pastor and congregational leader of the church is Pastor Jørgen Lund together with Pastor Aksel Lausten and lay leaders Flemming Møller, Dorrit Dirchsen, and Jacob Kofod. The church’s webpage may be accessed at www.faarevejle-frimenighed.dk/. The current membership of Fårevejle Menighed has reached 25, with about 70 regular attenders.

The church does not as yet have a permanent location and has met at times in a local school building. Some activities are conducted in adherents' homes. Even without a building of its own, the church has a number of active ministries, including children’s church, youth, singles, gospel choir, the elderly, and the like. The worship format includes more contemporary, rhythmic music led by a five-instrument praise band.

PRAISE GOD for the planting of a free church at Fårevejle in Oddsherred Commune.

PRAY that the pastors and lay leaders of Fårevejle Frimenighed will keep evangelism a high priority and that they will find strategic ways to promote the gospel throughout the area.

PRAY for growth in numbers of members and regular attenders and for perennial revival and spiritual maturity in those who come to faith in Christ.

PRAY that in His timing the Lord will provide a permanent location for Fårevejle Frimenighed.

PRAY that ways will be found for the new church to minister effectively to the large number of visitors and vacationers who come to Oddsherred during the summer months.

Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who share with us in the prayer ministry of Pray for Denmark.com

Denmark desperately needs a visitation of the Holy Spirit that would lead to renewal and a nationwide evangelistic thrust. Please continue to PRAY for a great spiritual revival to come to Denmark. The land is dotted with churches, but so many Danes lack a vital personal relationship with the Christ of Christmas and Calvary. PRAY urgently that in 2008, this wonderful little country will experience a return to the truths of the Bible, the Word of God, and that many through radical repentance and faith will realize in their own lives the true message of Christmas: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, NIV).

Bill (Olsen) Hunter and Brad Haugaard

Prayer Alert: Spiritual Effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder

There is an immediate and urgent need for prayer that affects all of Denmark (and other Scandinavian countries for that matter) and its churches, one I never so much as dreamed would appear on this website. The request comes from alert and concerned Danish prayer warriors and concerns a deep mood of depression and heaviness of heart and soul that becomes apparent in many people during winter months in Scandinavia. It is a mood altering condition that mental health professionals refer to as seasonal affective disorder. The days are very short at this time of the year because it gets dark around three o’clock in the afternoon and daylight doesn’t reappear until after eight o’clock in the morning. Many people suffer from depression because of the lack of daylight, so psychiatrists actually prescribe lamps and light boxes to provide artificial daylight. Satan uses this situation to cause even some in the churches to consider or even attempt suicide, all a result of this heaviness and depressive mood that we are seeing in so many people at this time of the year.”

My correspondent, a pastor from Denmark reports, “We sense a certain battle fatigue and heaviness about people and even feel sort of weary ourselves from it. When I was praying the other day, the Lord led me to ask for the weak knees to be strong and for tired arms to be lifted. Again today he showed us that a lot of people are under this ‘cloud’ of soul heaviness or weariness, as it were. It’s as though they are sleepwalking, groping around like zombies, and lacking spiritual direction. We felt led to ask the Lord to speak to them as He spoke to Lazarus, to ‘Come out!’ So we prayed that the hand of the Lord would move and awaken, and I sensed a stirring, a moving in the heavenlies.”

At a recent leadership meeting in Copenhagen, Pastor Flemming Mølhede exhorted those present to press on and not to expect harvest without sacrifice—a serious message but by God’s grace one that was offset by intimate worship during which the worship leader prayed, “How can we even worship you Lord as anything we sing or say is so inadequate.” But, the Lord spoke to our hearts with an encouraging, spirits-lifting word assuring us that ‘Your very lives are an act of worship.’ How encouraging when we are all feeling a little battle weary and see so many needs that in ourselves we do not have the resources to meet.”

PRAY that God would shake life and alertness into those in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries who are depressed and going through daily life as though “weary and heavy-laden,” heavy of heart and soul from the lack of daylight.

PRAY for church planting teams that are seeing symptoms of the “down mood” of seasonal affective disorder, in some instances affecting both team members as well as those they are trying to reach for Christ. They sacrifice so much for the kingdom and need strength and endurance with splashes of joy in their serving.

PRAY that many believers in Denmark and committed intercessors worldwide would “grab the horns of the altar” and shake the heavens by teaming up and pressing on in prayer that God would by His Spirit and power lift spirits and bring “daylight” to the depressed and oppressed.

PRAY that the “sleepwalkers” will discover the reality of the hope-giving, soul-saving Gospel of Christ.

The Influence of Denmark's Frikirker

At least in name, according to the statistics from 2005, 83 percent of Danes are counted as adherents of the Lutheran State Church (Den Folkekirken), with slippage noted from 1990 when the percentage was 89.3 percent. The Folkekirke comprises 2200 parishes, 2400 churches, 2400 pastors, 2200 parish councils with 18,000 council members, and 12 bishops. The Queen is the titular head of the church, with the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) and the government’s Church Ministry (Kirkeministeriet) occupied with its overall administration and support. In Denmark, the term “free churches” (frikirker) refers to those churches and denominations that are not a part of the Folkekirke. The Frikirker are few in number in comparison to the monolithic state-supported Folkekirke.

The FrikirkeNet (the network of Denmark’s free churches), recently reported that there are 335 free churches in Denmark, with ten new self-standing churches added since the last semi-annual count. Of the 98 Danish communes, there are still 19 that are without an organized free church. Counted among the 335 free churches are many international churches that have come into being as a result of immigration. There are also a number of international ethnic fellowships that operate as a part of an existing free church. Most of the Danish free churches appear to be strongly evangelical with many even so needing a special touch of revival.

Without being overly judgmental, the larger share of the churches and parishes comprised within the Folkekirke appear to lack evangelical zeal and evangelistic fervor. This is reflected in the extremely low percentage of Danes (estiumated at five percent) who attend church services regularly and for whom the church has little relevance for daily life and walk. Thankfully, there are notable exceptions and especially those churches and parishes related in some way to one or another of the revival organizations within the Folkekirke, including Indre Mission, Luthersk Mission, Evangelisk Luthersk Mission, Oase, and Nyt Liv.

The free churches in Denmark have kept alive a spirit of evangelism and many of these churches practice believers (adult) baptism exclusively. The influence of the free churches has undoubtedly been quietly more effective than many Danes realize. The influence of the influx of ethnic believers through immigration, the coming of many interdenominational seminars from overseas, the zeal of the charismatic churches, and the introduction of praise and worship music are but a few of the factors which I see as having had some influence on Folkekirke pastors and parishes. I believe that a key element in reaching the Danish population with the Gospel of Christ is new evangelical churches strategically planted that will help keep alive the flame of evangelism in the country. Evangelism and revival go hand in hand and evangelism is a strong need in every generation for, as has been said, God has no grandchildren.

Pray for Denmark.com has from its inception three and a half years ago called believers throughout the world to pray for the spiritual needs of Denmark. Our website statistics indicate that there are those who are doing so and Brad and I praise God for them. I believe sincerely that intercessory prayer is the key to renewal/revival, evangelism, and new church planting.

As a longtime committed evangelical, I have not given up on the Folkekirke. God’s arm is not shortened that it cannot save. Because of the strong cultural and familial pull of the Folkekirke on the Danish people, I tend to believe that if revival and renewal are to come to Denmark it must come to the pastors and parishes of the Folkekirke. But I also believe that God has raised up the free churches to be a part and promulgators of the revival that Brad and I pray and believe will come. Denmark is ripe for revival. “Repent . . .and turn to God . . . that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19-20).

PRAY for the cities of Hovedstaden region that to our knowledge do not as yet have a free church, including Albertslund, Brøndby, Dragør, Frederikssund, Furesø, Gladsaxe, Hørsholm, Ishøj, Tårnby, and Vallensbæk.

PRAY for Sjælland region where a free church does not exist in the cities of Odsherred and Stevns.

PRAY for Syddanmark region and the planting of a free church in Fanø and Æro.

PRAY for Midtjylland region and the planting of a free church in Samsø, Skanderborg, Struer, and Syddjurs.

PRAY for Nordjylland region where a new church plant is needed in Læsø.

PRAY for all those with responsibilities for the day-to-day work of the Folkekirke, including governmental authorities, the twelve bishops, and all of its 2400 congregations and pastors.

PRAY for a genuine revival of committed Christian faith, a 21st century Reformation, to sweep over Denmark and in turn spread throughout Europe.

PRAY that Denmark’s free churches will regain a sense of aggressive evangelism that knows and understands Danish culture and with the Holy Spirit’s power and direction winsomely calls men and women to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

PRAY that God will raise up a new generation of church planters with a compelling vision for planting new churches in Denmark’s unreached communes.

Brethren Assemblies in Denmark

So-called Christian Brethren or Plymouth Brethren assemblies are found throughout the world and Denmark is no exception. Though not as well known in Denmark as they ought to be, the Christian Brethren are unquestionably in the mainstream of evangelicalism. Their church organization is simple and they gather in independent assemblies without an overarching denominational structure. They have been an important force in world-wide evangelism since the early part of the 19th century. Many great Bible teachers and missionaries have come from the assemblies, including such men as J. N. Darby, Robert Chapman, H. A. Ironside, H. L. Ellison, F. F. Bruce, my beloved friend Bill Deans of Nyankunde, Congo, and others far too numerous to mention.

The term Christian Brethren is not an official name amongst them as they consider themselves to be simply Christians gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a laymen’s movement based on New Testament church principles. Their local assemblies do not have an ordained ministry as such but function under the leadership of elders who must fulfill elder qualifications as specified in the New Testament epistles. Itinerant missionaries and teachers often travel in ministry from assembly to assembly, but most of the teaching and preaching is done by men from the local assemblies themselves. A feature of Brethren worship is the weekly gathering at the Lord’s Table known as “The Breaking of Bread.” The Brethren are notable for their intense study of the Word of God and they are by and large amongst the most Biblically literate of evangelicals. They practice believers baptism by immersion.

Over the years I have known many believers and leaders from among the Christian Brethren in the United States, in Kenya, in the Congo, and in Denmark. It was my good fortune in 1957 to have been in Copenhagen where I attended a Sunday evening gathering at that city’s Brethren assembly. I have mentioned before in these postings the Faroese physician, Dr. Rodmundur I Liða. That evening in Copenhagen I heard Rodmundur give a memorable, intensely emotional testimony of his faith in Christ that has left an indelible impression on me ever since. He was at the time attending medical school at the University of Copenhagen. I learned that more than ten percent of the Faroe Islands population is associated with the Christian Brethren assemblies. Rodmundur long practiced as a highly respected physician and surgeon in Tørshavn, capitol city of the Faroe Islands. Though now retired, he continues to teach and preach in the assemblies. He has on occasion visited and spoken at Christian Brethren assemblies in Denmark.

The Copenhagen assembly with which I had become acquainted in 1957 later relocated to Bronshoj where the believers gathered for 30 years as Brønshøj Kristne Forsamling and more recently has relocated to new facilities in Skovlunde. In its various locations, this assembly has been in existence for more than 100 years and is now known as Skovlunde Frikirke (www.skovlundefrikire.dk). Other Danish-speaking assemblies are located at Glostrup (www.glostrupfrikirke.dk/index.htm), Copenhagen (www.kristentf.dk) and Odense (www.kfodense.dk/)

Ten percent or more of the population of the Faroe Islands is said to be associated with Christian Brethren assemblies. There are assemblies related to the Faroe Island Brethren located in the metropolitan Copenhagen area (known as Kristnastova, http://www.kristnastova.dk/) and other cities. I was pleased to discover that there is an assembly in Hirtshals known as Malta (http://home19.inet.tele.dk/malta/index.htm).

Christian Brethren, wherever located throughout the world, have always been motivated toward world-wide evangelism. For example, Skovlunde Frikirke supports missionaries Ole and Wilsy Ottosen in Papua New Guinea, and René and Heide Bryld in Uummannaq, Greenland. Most of the Danish and Faroe Island assemblies appear to support missionaries of the New Tribes Mission International.

PRAY for the believers who meet in independent Christian Brethren assemblies throughout Denmark, for their spiritual growth, for sound Bible teaching and for their evangelistic outreach in the areas in which they are located.

PRAY for wisdom in the exercise of spiritual leadership given to the elders of Sjæland’s Skovlunde Frikirke, including Charles Dalton, Flemming Windfeld, Preben Madsen, Steen Asmussen, Jørgen Andersen, Bent Ottosen, and Dan Fuglø.

PRAY for Kristnastova and the Faroese Christian Brethren assemblies of Denmark, not only for their ability to reach Faroese people residing in Denmark but also for their fellowship and cooperation with Danish-speaking assemblies.

PRAY for Ole and Wilsy Ottosen working with New Tribes Mission in Papua, New Guinea, and René and Heide Bryld who have worked in Uummannaq, Greenland.

PRAY that the Lord will raise up workers from amongst the Danish assemblies to plant new work in other areas of Denmark.

Bethel Baptistkirken in Aalborg

In the summer of 1948, following completion of my junior year at Northwestern College (St. Paul) and just after I had married, I had the opportunity to be the summer assistant at Bethel Baptist Church in Harlan, Iowa. It was a thrill for me to work with the pastor, Rev. Arlen Halvorsen, in a good-size church affiliated with the Danish Baptist Conference. During my time in Harlan I had contact with several older believers who had come to the United States from Aalborg, in north Jutland, Denmark. I remember those conversations in which there were tearful stories of the hardships Baptists had had in Denmark before the turn of the century. The Folkekirke (State Church) was none too kind to free churches in that time, especially when some of its adherents left to join the Baptist churches in Aalborg and elsewhere. I don’t recall all the details, but these dear old saints endured ostracism and persecution, severe enough for them to feel the necessity of leaving their native land to make a new home in the United States where they could freely practice their faith without interference from government. Fortunately, the conditions which had forced those old saints in Harlan, Iowa to leave Denmark no longer apply.

Imagine the thrill it was for me last year when I had the opportunity to visit Denmark and to have contact with Bethel Baptistkirken in Aalborg, the very church from which those older people in Harlan had come. That church has had an illustrious history since its founding on October 1, 1840, when P. C. Mønster from Copenhagen baptized six people and with them planted the first Baptist church in Jutland. Though now in existence for 167 years, Bethel Baptistkirken remains today a testimony to the faith and vision of its founders. Many churches as old in Denmark and elsewhere have become lifeless monuments of a once vibrant faith. Not so Aalborg’s Bethel Baptistkirken which continues to have a strong Bible-believing, evangelistically focused ministry under the leadership of its Senior Pastor Chresten Eskildsen. The church’s website contains information about the church’s history and current church life. View it at www.bethelkirken.dk/index.asp?side=4.

Bethel’s International Pastor is Lee Hanson who has an extensive ministry with Danish and international students from the University of Aalborg. I have seen him at work and he is a very busy pastor who makes friends easily and has had a godly influence in the lives of many young people. Bethelkirken has a well established International Christian Fellowship. Internationals from many countries have long been part of the church family. Sunday services at Bethelkirken offer simultaneous translation in English. Every second and fourth Sunday evening of the month, there is a service conducted entirely in English. Internationals are encouraged to become part of one of the small groups meeting during the week for prayer, study of the Scriptures and fellowship. There are many spontaneous opportunities for newcomers to enjoy the hospitality of church members. Every Wednesday, when the University is in session, Lee makes himself available in the cafeteria to meet and chat with students over the lunch hour, always striving to gain a hearing for the message of the gospel of Christ.

PRAISE God that Aalborg’s Bethelkirken is not so enamored with its 167-year history as to lose sight of faithfulness to Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and God’s mandate for evangelism.

PRAY for Senior Pastor Chresten Eskildsen and his family, that God would bless his ministry of teaching and preaching of the Word of God, counseling, and guiding the church in obedience to the Great Commission.

PRAY that Pastor Lee Hanson will have many opportunities this year to develop friendships with international students and the Spirit’s leading to present to them the claims of the gospel of Christ.

PRAY that Aalborg’s Bethel Baptistkirken will find ways to aggressively reach this important northern Jutland city with a dynamic witness for Jesus Christ.

PRAISE God that for the spirit of cooperation that exists in several areas between Bethel Baptistkirke and other free churches, including Aalborg Apostolsk Kirke, Frikirken Aalborg Øst, and Aalborg Pinsekirken.

Blessing at Roskilde Vineyard

Start-up of a new church plant in Denmark is a God-sized major undertaking not for the faint-hearted. Church planting is fraught with difficulties, so much so that it has been said that two out of three church plants in Denmark do not make it.

One that has seen God’s blessing and has thrived and grown is the Vineyard church plant in Roskilde. This new work has been under the leadership of co-pastors David and Solvej Allen. It has not been easy, but the Allens say, “We are thankful now and we chalk it all up to grace and endurance, mostly God’s endurance with us!”

Just last November, this several-years-old plant had a release party from the supervision by Copenhagen Vineyard leadership. Roskilde is no longer considered to be a church in the planting stage but now in its own right is a fully independent Vineyard church. The church is still a small but growing congregation of 50 that meets in Roskilde’s Kulturhuset (Culture House). Most of the members are young people, with a good number of them having only recently come to faith in Christ. A month ago or so David and Solvej had a wonderful celebration service at which two of the young men who have recently come to Christ were baptized in the Roskilde Fjord. One of them is now a house group (small group) leader and the other a worship leader, so as David and Solvej put it, “They are already getting ‘milked for all they’re worth’ in the Lord’s service.”

Church planters make some tremendous sacrifices. David and Solvej minister as a team with David as Senior Pastor (see photo above of recent worship and group leaders retreat with Solvej third person in the front row and David standing behind her). David has had full-time secular employment but will finally begin to get a day off every week starting in September. That will release him for more time in evangelism. Solvej has been on one-third salary from the church for the past year, so the church’s giving has also increased. She still has to work half-time as a secretary to help make ends meet. The Allens state that the church has a good sense of community, even though it took a long time to get to that point. Now people “hang out” and do fun things together all the time during the week. Four house groups also contribute to that end.

An exciting new development is that Roskilde Vineyard has been invited to have some of its services at the local Music Hall, a place where youth tend to gather. The Allens consider it to be a “God-thing” that this door has opened. Plans are to have three services in that venue this Fall with the hope of attracting a different crowd by meeting in this even more public place.

Pastor David had his 45th birthday recently and Solvej wanted to celebrate the event by taking him out for dinner after church, probably to have some time together just as a couple. However, five other people also wanted to come along with them and the Allens in true pastoral fashion thought, “Oh well, the more the merrier!” There was lots of fun and laughter. Solvej had felt bad that they had not been able to celebrate Pastor David’s birthday with more of a party because Sunday is a pastor’s “work day,” filled with preparing for the service, leading the service, and debriefing after the service. But when they got back home, they realized that eating with those great friends was so much fun. But not only that, they also realized with praise to God that out of the five who had joined them for dinner four had come to faith in Christ through the ministry of Roskilde Vineyard. It is likely they are all people that would have had a hard time adjusting to any other type of church setting. That thought made the Allens so thankful and, as David said, “What better birthday gift could anyone want!”

For more information, browse around in the church’s attractive website at www.rosvineyard.dk.

PRAISE the Lord for what He has been and is accomplishing in Roskilde through the power of God’s Holy Spirit wooing and winning people to Christ and to trust in His finished work of redemption.

PRAISE God for dedicated church planters David and Solvej Allen who have stayed committed to the task through thick and thin and have seen His working in many lives as an evidence of faithful, Spirit-empowered ministry.

PRAY that the young Vineyard church in Roskilde will maintain a strong, vibrant and grace-filled evangelistic outreach that will attract many Danes who would likely never become a part of any other type of church.

PRAY that the Lord will knit the members of Roskilde Vineyard together in unity and community to create a worshjpping congregation intent on discovering and using their spiritual gifts to build up and nurture the Body of Christ.

PRAY for God’s presence and blessing in the opportunities that will present themselves this fall to reach an entirely different crowd of young people in the occasional services that will be held at the new Music Hall venue in Roskilde. (The Allens report that the first service at the Music Hall on Sunday, August 19 went very well with an excellent turnout and many seekers! Praise the Lord!)

PRAY for continued passion and wisdom on the part of the church’s leadership, for effective grounding and discipling of new believers, and for new and fresh, Spirit-led ideas for fruitful evangelism.

PRAY that in the Lord’s timing the church’s increase in numbers and giving will allow Senior Pastor David and co-pastor Solvej to leave secular employment in order to engage full-time in ministry.