The city of Hillerød, with a population of 30,570, has a history that can be traced back four centuries or more. Hillerød is located in the heart of North Sjælland, approximately 23 miles northwest of Copenhagen. One of its major attractions is Frederiksborg Castle whose foundations were laid in 1602 during the reign of King Christian IV. The ruins of an Augustinian Monastery, founded in 1175 may be seen just west of the city.
It is in this historic city that
a small group of believers has been meeting for several years in the home of Calvary
Chapel pastor Daniel and Lisa Jacobsen. Though not numerous in number, but not despising
the day of small things, the small but committed Calvary Chapel group felt led in
September to expand its services to include a regular Sunday meeting and to
constitute itself as a church.
Because of its small size, Daniel and Lisa have had to be self-supporting in secular jobs. But Daniel has faithfully done week after
week what Calvary Chapels all over the world do so well—teaching the Bible
book-by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse.
It is amazing that though a
native-born Dane, Daniel speaks English with a 99 percent pure American
accent. In fact, in 1996 as a boy age
15, he had first visited the United States with his parents.
A “chance” but surely God-directed encounter in a Southern California restaurant with a Danish lady and others from the
Costa Mesa Calvary Chapel sitting around a table reading their Bibles was what
the Lord used to put the desire in Daniel’s heart to start reading the
Word. Eva, the Danish lady, asked
forthrightly, “Are you born again?”
Daniel’s father, though a believer, was rather startled by such a direct
question not exactly in harmony with Danish
dislike for such confrontation. That
encounter left a deep and lasting impression on Daniel.
The Jacobsen family attended
and participated actively in Denmark in several free churches where the emphasis was not on
the kind of deeper study of the Bible Daniel yearned for. He was very active in
the local church and had led his first Bible study at age 16. He had a hunger for the Word and pleaded with
local church leaders for more emphasis on Bible study, only to receive the
answer, “We tried that in the past and we’re not going to try that again!” Eventually Daniel sensed God’s call to
ministry. Ultimately, in answer to that felt call, he headed to the United States in 2000 where he spent two spiritually profitable years
of study at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrietta, California.
Daniel met Lisa at a retreat
in 2009 and they eventually married. The
Hillerød Calvary Chapel continues to meet in their home. There are other
churches in Hillerød but none that take Daniel’s classic evangelical approach
to expository Bible teaching. More about
the church can be found on its web page, www.calvarychapel.dk. The site has recordings of Daniel’s weekly Bible
teaching. Even though the reader may not
speak Danish, listening to his messages, as I have, will give an idea of Daniel’s
warm teaching style.
PRAY that
the Lord will reward the faithfulness of Daniel and the little flock of believers
with an influx of world-weary Danes looking for the “something more” that only
the Lord Jesus Christ can satisfy.
PRAY that as
the church grows, and in His timing, the Lord would move the Calvary Chapel
church to a larger and attractive meeting place.
PRAY that
the financial needs of the church will be met so that as the Lord provides
Daniel can spend more of his time in evangelism and the grounding of new
believers in the Word of God.
PRAY that
the Lord would soon call someone with musical gifts to be the worship leader
for the new church.
Posted by Bill Hunter