Freefall, or change?

Is the venerable Inner Mission (IM) renewal movement in “a freefall,” as Danish state media reported recently? Depends on who you ask.

“Time has run out for the Inner Mission,” claimed Brian Arly Jacobsen, a professor of religious sociology at Copenhagen University. “The Inner Mission is having a hard time because it is a movement that arose in the 1800s, when church services were a certain way. (But) they haven’t stood the test of time, to remain attractive to young people.”

The same report pointed out that demographics are also a factor. Young families have moved away from many of the rural areas and small towns where the Inner Mission movement was particularly strong, and where mission houses were once built to hold revival meetings. The hair color of those who still visit many mission houses for meetings is often predominantly gray. 

In the town of Kloster, for example (pop. 634), Inner Mission revival meetings once attracted standing-room-only crowds. But that was 125 years ago. Today they’re wondering if the mission house will close, as others have.

But that’s not the whole story, says Asbjørn Asmussen, communications director for the IM movement. He points to the growth of IM-affiliated alternative Lutheran churches, many of which have been planted in recent years. IM-sponsored family camps are also going strong, and attracted just as many participants this past summer as in 2019. What’s more, giving to IM ministries has remained steady over the past five years. 

So Asmussen sees the IM movement changing, not necessarily retreating. “In the past, the vast majority of IM activities were carried by over 1,000 local IM communities. Today, it is to a greater extent the nationwide events and activities that bring IM friends together and carry IM's mission.”

Not that he doesn’t notice when a local mission house declines or closes. “It's good that we can still gather in large groups for things like Bible camping and festivals,” said Asmussen, “but the less contact we have with local communities and neighborhoods, the less Christian mission comes out of IM. And that's the real threat for the future. Fewer people come to know Jesus and find peace and salvation in him.”

What’s left to do? Asmussen is still optimistic. “We have to ask God to intervene and create new revival,” he said. “We’ve seen it before in history. We believe it can happen again.”

PRAY for the hundreds of IM mission houses still open, that God would touch lives across generations.

PRAY that the national IM outreach would continue to grow, that many would come to Christ through them. 

PRAY for IM-affiliated churches to thrive and grow.

PRAY for God to intervene and bring new revival through a reinvigorated Inner Mission movement.

Anatomy of a Church Plant

It started out around 2001, when several families in northwest Sjælland started to gather around a vision to build a local, living fellowship. 

Without a church building, they met where they could, usually every other week. And they agreed that the best way forward would be to associate as an Evangelical Lutheran Free Fellowship, connected with the DanskOase (Danish Oasis) movement.

At first the Oasis movement helped supply visiting preachers and other resources. But this group needed their own pastor. Finances were, and have been, tight. And their first pastors were volunteers. But with a new church’s eye on outreach, the “Fårevejle Frimenighed” grew steadily.

Within four or five years, the group was meeting every Sunday. Today Jørgen Lund is their pastor, and the church’s website highlights a full leadership team, along with prayer, family, grief support, and children’s ministries. They meet in a beautiful brick church building in the town of Fårevejle.

Here's what sets them apart: Small groups have focused on bringing up “home-grown” leadership. The crucial decision to sponsor Alpha Bible studies has brought in more new believers. And that’s just the way this church wants it.

According to an Oasis website, “Many new people have met Jesus through Alpha. And many now faithfully attend church. Fårvejle Free Church would have been completely different without Alpha, and all the wonderful dynamics that come with new friends who are not born into and raised in the church. How good it would be if more of us were disciples of Jesus, who tell about him and teach others to be his disciple.”

PRAY that Fårvejle Free Church would continue to reach the unreached, and grow new disciples.

PRAY for Fårvejle Free Church leadership in the coming year, that they would be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading as they face new challenges in 2025.

PRAY that believers in other parts of the country might be inspired by the example of Fårvejle Free Church—to reach out in their own neighborhoods and see others come to Jesus Christ.

THANK GOD for young Danish churches like this, and pray for many more in the year to come.

"Han Lever!" ("He Lives!")

A new national campaign is taking shape in Denmark, leveraging two special days when ordinary Danes show up in church—Easter and Christmas. It’s called “Han Lever,” or “He Lives,” and it’s bringing together a number of different Christian groups who are excited to see lives changed and people reached for Christ.

Though it’s still in the planning stages, we can pray even now for what’s going to happen. Here’s what they’re saying in a video on the movement’s website, hanlever.dk—

“Yes! Jesus Christ lives. That is my hope. It is my only hope. Also for my friends and fellow Danes. We want to testify about him. We long to tell Danes that Jesus still lives. Because Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened to humanity. 

“So we’ve got an idea—for Easter and Christmas 2025 we want to shed extra light and focus on our hope for even more Danes. We want to do this through testimony and videos that can be shared. Through flyers, songs, and a logo that will come to life, though worship services where we invite the entire city. 

“And most importantly, we will encourage each other, and pray for God’s Spirit to intervene and transform hearts in Denmark. Working together and with renewed boldness, we wish, so to speak, to knock on the windows, and demonstrate a life for Jesus. Because he lives! And because Jesus still transforms life and gives hope.”

Let’s pray!

PRAY that God will bring together the right people, even now, to be a part of the movement.

PRAY for unity across many different Christian groups, that the Spirit of God would move as never before to bring salvation to the lost.

PRAY, as the video mentioned, for renewed boldness among believers to share the message of hope in Jesus Christ.

PRAY, even now, that God will start to prepare hearts for many to come to know him in the “He Lives” outreach movement. 

PRAY that God will surprise the organizers of “He Lives” with much more than just a two-day holiday outreach. (Ephesians 3:20)

Let's visit the living room!

Here’s a new and typically Danish approach to supporting young families: A “play living room” in the Danish city of Rønde, where stressed-out parents are invited to bring their young children for a relaxing afternoon of songs, play, and Bible stories. 

It’s the brainchild of Cecilia Tjørnemark and her mother Anette—both of them active believers who want to serve local kids and their families. It’s intended for babies and toddlers up to four years old, and is scheduled for every Wednesday afternoon. 

Mother and daughter have launched into this outreach with the full support of their local Inner Mission and the DFS—Denmark’s Folkekirkelige Søndagsskoler—the Sunday school arm of their local Lutheran church. A representative from the DFS even helped them launch the first several gatherings, with tips and training. 

The Danish difference in this case is that parents don’t drop their kids off, but are encouraged to join right in! It’s a ministry to the entire family, and not a daycare.

“Children are a good entry point to also get in touch with the parents,” said Cecilia Tjørnemark. “Because children tell and ask their parents about what they’ve heard. People want to sing with their children, and here we have a good opportunity to help them. But primarily we’re addressing the children, and we hope they’ll learn that God loves them.”

Rønde, in an area of central Denmark called the Djursland peninsula, has a population of about 3,300. Since the opening of the outreach, word has spread—but there’s always room for more.

“Djursland is a bit of a dead area,” said Cecilia, “so we have a great desire for more people to come to faith here.”

PRAY for the outreach of Cecilia and Anette—that many families would drop by.

PRAY that mother and daughter would be encouraged in their weekly outreach.

PRAY that young families and their children would come to faith in Christ through the ministry.

THANK the LORD for faithful believers like Cecilia and Anette.

Why so many people in the warehouse?

Welcome to the “Valgmenighed” church in Kolding, a city of about 95,000—eleventh largest in Denmark. You might know that the Valgmenighed movement within the Danish Lutheran church offers congregations a bit of latitude in worship style and structure. (In Danish, “valg” means “choice” or “vote” and “menighed” means “fellowship” or “congregation.”) And there’s a lot about Kolding Valgmenighed that’s atypical. 

The building, for instance. Rather than a usual Danish-style church structure, this fellowship meets in a large warehouse-type building. But that gives them plenty of room to grow.

The church started meeting in 2003, with a vision to reach their city. For the first ten years, they met in various rented church buildings, then grew into their industrial building starting in 2014. They bought the entire building in 2018 and remodeled to accommodate the growing fellowship. But there’s much more to this church than the building—and that’s another unique aspect of the Kolding church.

House churches, or small groups, are an integral part of the Kolding fellowship, and part of the reason the church is growing. People make connections and are equipped for ministry in these small neighborhood groups—and that’s not always typical in all Danish churches.

And then there’s “Elsk Kolding” (“Love Kolding”). Through this service/outreach program, the fellowship is committed to helping neighbors with practical needs, from house cleaning and yard work to moving and painting. It’s one way to show the love of Christ for their neighbors. 

“If you want to pray for us,” says the church’s website, “please pray that we may always be kept humble in the midst of everything we’re allowed to experience. Pray that our efforts may be an overflow of gratitude to Him who has given everything for us. He is worth it!”

PRAY for this growing church, that God would continue to give them a vision to reach out to Kolding in the name of Jesus. 

PRAY for the youth of this church, that they would remain true to their faith, and that many more would be reached.

PRAY for the Kolding church leadership, for protection and wisdom as they continue to grow. Pray especially for lead pastor Mads Peter Kruse.

PRAISE God for this bright shining light! 

A new kind of mission house for Agger Strand

The traditional mission house is being reimagined today in out-of-the-way Danish towns like Thisted and Lemvig, in the north part of the country—and believers there are hopeful they’ll regain a more prominent role in community life. In the town of Thy, that means rebuilding their old building from the ground up, and looking for new ways to reach out.

Brian Christensen, a local pastor and leader in the Lutheran renewal movement, says the goal is to “reach out to a larger portion of the community with the gospel.”

In Thy, the old building is being physically rebuilt, but Christians there are also dreaming of rebuilding the programs that building can offer. Children’s festivals. Café evenings. Casual men’s gatherings. And much more. 

“We’re trying different things to see what works,” said Christensen.

The renovated building will also play a larger role as a community center. And that’s especially important in this more rural area of the country where young families are known to leave—sometimes for lack of job opportunities, but also for lack of social opportunities. What is there for kids and families to do here? The new community center renovation aims to help fill some of those gaps, and will hopefully give Christians a new kind of venue to reach their community for Christ. 

PRAY for the new community center in Agger Strand, slated to reopen this summer.

PRAY that believers from different churches will come together in this new venue and use it creatively for outreach events.

PRAY that the new center will help draw young families and others back into the community.

PRAY that the new center’s owner, Lars Møller, will continue to see the vision of a cooperative private/church use of the building.

PRAY that all ages will meet Jesus Christ at this new place.

Welcome, King Frederik

Pray for the country’s new king, Frederik the Tenth, who took the throne last month after his mother, Queen Margrethe, abdicated. 

Some Christians were initially concerned that the incoming king failed to mention God in his acceptance speech to the nation from the Christiansborg Castle balcony. His mother had set an example as an outspoken Christian.

However, a slim volume published just days after King Frederik succeeded his mother explained his views more clearly, beyond the earlier pomp and circumstance.

In the book, called Kongeord (Words of the King), he said that he and the new queen, Mary, recite evening prayers with their children, and that he enjoys attending church. He also says that the Christian faith is “an important part of who we are.” 

Perhaps that’s a good start. The King also maintained that he and Mary want to encourage fellow Danes to remember the needs of the most vulnerable in their society, to volunteer and to care for those less fortunate. 

“People need people,” he said, “and in many Western societies the most important question is ‘What can you do for me?’ Too rarely it is the other way around: ‘What can I do for you?’ ”

PRAY that Frederik and Mary will grow in faith as they lead their family—and serve their country—in the coming years.

PRAY that God will touch the new king and queen’s hearts and keep them receptive toward things of true faith. 

PRAY for the royal couple’s children: Crown Prince Christian (18), Princess Isabella (16), Prince Vincent (13), and Princess Josephine (13). And yes, the two youngest are twins.

PRAY for revival in the royal house of Denmark, and for faith in Jesus Christ to spread throughout this beautiful land.

PRAY that the now former queen, Frederik’s mother, would still have a godly influence, and that God would work through her to bring others to faith in Christ.