New Age Doors Opening to Jesus

At first, this Danish pastor tended to confront head-on the growing number of New Age adherents and seekers in his country. In the 1970s and ‘80s, said Ole Skjerbæk Madsen, he approached the task as “apologetical heresy-hunting.”

 
He didn’t have much success, despite his obvious heart for the lost. In most cases, he was met by suspicion, mistrust, and closed doors. And his frustration grew, until he began to change his approach.

“What I’ve learned over the years is the need to move from a more defensive or even hostile attitude towards New Agers and new spiritual seekers, to dialogue and, most of all, presence in their milieu.”

In other words, he meets them on their terms and on their turf. He’s learned to speak their language as he presents the truth of the gospel, with uncommon compassion. And this month his ministry, “I Mesterens Lys” (“In the Master’s Light”), celebrates its twentieth anniversary of outreach and bridgebuilding.

Pastor Madsen and his co-workers are regulars at New Age fairs, engaging and praying for seekers. They also offer accessible YouTube videos and other social media touchpoints.

It’s a bold, unconventional approach -- and potentially a tricky one, since they must strike a delicate balance between holding to the truth and accommodation. They are easily misunderstood by other believers. But the fruit is obvious, as many who were lost in the New Age have come to know the one-and-only Master, Jesus Christ.  As the apostle Paul wrote, “to the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” 

Watch his story here (Ole’s portion starts at 18:07), or learn more at his English-language website, inthemasterslight.net. 

PRAY for Ole Skjerbæk Madsen, for protection and wisdom as he reaches out to New Agers. 

PRAY for the IML ministry, that it might remain true to the Gospel, and that the Holy Spirit might use it to bring many more to salvation. 

PRAY for the IML movement as it spreads to Norway and Great Britain, that doors would open and more would come to know Jesus. 

PRAY that God would use IML to help bring revival to Denmark and unity with other believers.

They have an island!

Baptist boy and girl scouts in Denmark were overjoyed to learn this spring that the historic Middelgrund island fortress in the Øresund between Copenhagen and Malmö was donated for use of all Danish scouting groups – including the Christian-based Baptist group. 

The historic man-made island, with 200 rooms connected by two miles of corridors, was constructed by King Christian IX in 1890 and is still believed to be the largest man-made island in the world. Question is, how will it now be put to best use?

PRAY for the planning process, that Baptist leadership will continue to have a voice.

PRAY for renewal in the Christ-centered Baptist scouting organization this summer, that more and more young people will make decisions for Christ.

PRAY that this island that once guarded Denmark’s capital will become a place where young lives turn to Jesus!

Gospel Kids!

All across Denmark, more and more groups of children are meeting to practice, sing, dance, and perform – all for God’s glory! The name may not sound very Danish, but “Gospel Kids” clubs were founded in 2003 by Inger Lise Møller as a way to bring the gospel of Jesus to young children and teens, giving them a chance to make friends as they learn and perform Christian songs. Today more than 20 groups meet across the country.

The program is based on the idea that kids learn best when they have a chance to move, dance, sing, and have fun! It’s affiliated with the Danish Indre Mission (IM-musik) and state church Sunday schools, but depends on public donations and volunteer leadership. Most recently, Gospel Kids groups sang at a two-day Gospel Kids Festival Jylland, which also featured choir leader training, dance workshops, and voice training.

Here’s a sample of one of their performances.

What will God do with hundreds of young lives surrendered to him?

PRAY that God would touch more and more young people through Gospel Kids groups and performances.

PRAY for the volunteer leaders all across Denmark, and that God would inspire new leaders to join in.

PRAY that people would see the love of Christ shining clearly in these young lives.

PRAY for revival in Denmark, and the part these children might play in it.

Taking Root in Living Rooms

Start praying right now for Danish believers whose lives will be changed at a landmark church planting conference April 24-25 called “Gro15.” It’s a yearly gathering of Danish church planters and church folk -- all passionate about seeing the church of Christ grow and mature throughout Denmark.

This year’s main speaker is London-based Al Gordon, global vice president for Alpha International. Gordon co-leads a team that oversees Alpha’s evangelistic outreach work in 169 countries worldwide. Matt Reynolds, pastor of Atlanta’s Grace Midtown Church, is also planning to attend.

And here’s something different: Each attendee will be hosted in a local home, where they’ll have a chance to talk through what they’re learning about evangelism and church planting in a local, living room context.

The conference is co-sponsored by Alpha Danmark, along with the Aarhus Valgmenighed church and Kirke Planter Net, a movement to encourage disciplemaking, church growth, and church plan

ting throughout Denmark. KPN started in 2009 and is now an independent movement.

PRAY for this organic, authentic Danish church planting and outreach strategy, that everyone attending will be moved to reach out beyond their local churches in the name of Christ.

PRAY for the speakers, Al Gordon and Matt Reynolds, as well as Danish pastors Peter Søndergaard and Keld Dahlmann, that God would touch them with just the right message for this time.

PRAY that God would continue to grow this exciting church planting movement, and that it would remain focused on Jesus in a spirit of truth and unity.

PRAY for the conference home groups, that real church growth would be planted in living rooms around the city of Aarhus.

A God bigger than terror

Last June, a senseless shooting on the university campus where I work left one innocent student dead and several others wounded. Students, staff, and faculty were deeply affected, and the shocking tragedy drove us to our knees. Through tears of grief we prayed, not only for the victims, but also for the shooter. For mercy. For healing. For God’s presence.

Students pray after a 2014 shooting. (Luke Rutan photo)

God answered our prayers.

Now the peaceful little country of Denmark is rocked by not just one, but two shootings in the capital city. And while the motivations of terrorists surely cannot be compared to those of a campus shooter, the immediate results of these evils are eerily similar.

At this writing, one has been killed, several wounded. And beyond that, the sense of security and safety most Danes enjoy has surely been shattered. City residents, many ordered by police to stay indoors and away from their windows, are shaken to the core. Has something like this happened since the darkest days of World War 2?

Perhaps the news would not be quite as shocking had the shooting occurred in a city where such things are featured daily on the inside pages of the local newspaper. But this is Denmark, where a prevailing sense of peace and safety provides essential thread to weave together the fabric of society.

So how will Danes deal with this heart-rending tragedy?

That’s obviously yet to be seen. But I do know one thing: God is present in this kind of pain and fear. In Seattle… and in Copenhagen. And there is only one way through the horror -- on a road paved with prayer. 

PRAY for those most closely affected by the shootings, for those close by, and the first responders. 

PRAY for believers in Copenhagen, for strength as they minister to neighbors, friends, and to the city as a whole. 

PRAY that the Danish church would fix their eyes on Jesus and rise to serve in his name. 

PRAY for Denmark, that God would meet Danes in this trying time.

2015: Year of the Danish Street Church?

They’re not waiting for people to come to church. More and more Danes are venturing out into the streets to pray for strangers and share their faith.

One example: Mona and Bo Henriksen, who came to faith only a few years ago, but who now join other “street disciples” three days a week on the streets of København.

“Many of those we meet are open to the gospel,” says Bo, “but they’re not at all motivated to attend church. So we meet them on the street and pray for social, practical, or physical needs. On the deepest level, we put ourselves at the disposal of the Holy Spirit, as lights in the darkness.”

It’s somewhat unusual to find Danish Christians taking this approach. But the Henriksens and their friends aren’t afraid to be noticed in their neon green vests printed with “Gadekirken,” or “Street Church.”

And the growing movement is drawing from a wide spectrum of churches in and around the city, including Apostolic and Pentecostal churches, but also Betlehemskirken, the Adventists, Vintræet (Vinetree Church), Gospel Church, and Københavns Bibeltrænings Center.

“We’ve prayed for thousands of people up to now,” says Bo, “and we’ve seen people healed. But the more of us there are, the more people we can reach out to.”

PRAY for the Street Church movement, that God would reach many more hearts in the year to come -- and that they would find church homes in which to grow as disciples.

PRAY for more volunteers from an even wider variety of fellowships, both free churches and state churches, and that God would use this to knit together His church in Denmark.

PRAY also that the Street Church would encourage believers across the country to reach out in the love of Christ to people where they are -- on the street and beyond.

PRAY that the Street Church would remain focused on Jesus.

Growing Pains (the Good Kind)

They’re moving to larger quarters because they’ve outgrown their old buildings. And that’s good news for two Danish Lutheran “free” fellowships – the Københavnerkirken and Nordvestkirken. 

“Our location in a school in Amager (southeast Copenhagen) was ultimately too small,” explained Torben Østermark, a member of the church who also works with Open Air Campaigners in Denmark. “So for quite a while we’ve been looking for something larger and more centrally located in Copenhagen.”

Their prayers were answered late last fall, when a gathering of some 275 worshippers held their first service in the Bethesda church building, near the Nørreport train station, downtown. It’s a central location that positions the outward-focused group to grow even more. Their published mission? “Sent to the world as disciples, who win disciples.”

“We’re especially pleased that many have come to know Jesus in the recent years,” said Østermark.

Nordvestkirken had also outgrown their facilities, and that fellowship was able to buy the vacated Utterslev Lutheran church building in Copenhagen’s north end. It’s a good-sized building for the fellowship to grow into. But even without a pastor, they continue to draw new members and seekers to contemporary services and family-friendly teaching.

Both churches are prime examples of independent churches that maintain cultural connection to the historic Danish faith, without formal ties to or dependence on state church leadership.

PRAISE God for the faithfulness of believers at Københavnerkirken and Nordvestkirken! And…

PRAY for these two strategic fellowships, that Christ would continue to be held high and that many new seekers would be drawn to faith here.

PRAY for the pastoral staff at Københavnerkirken, including pastor Claus Grønbæk and the rest of the leadership team. Pray that they would continue to have a heart for reaching their community in the name of Jesus.

PRAY ALSO that members of Nordvestkirken would continue to grow in their interim, and that God would bring just the right leadership, in his time.

PRAY that God would raise up and revive even more Danish churches like Københavnerkirken and Nordvestkirken.