Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Frank Hardy, Suen Frantzen
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000104B
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00:01 Welcome back,
00:02 next stop we travel to Bergen on the cost of Norway. 00:05 Thank you, Gary. 00:06 I'm here in Bergen, Norway with Pastors Sven 00:09 and you are pastor of the church here in Bergen. 00:13 Can you tell me a little bit, Bergen has been chosen 00:15 as the mission to the cities city. 00:17 What exactly does that mean? What are the some of the plans? 00:21 Well, the interest thing here about Bergen, 00:23 Bergen is a town about 250,000 people 00:27 and we only have one church in this city 00:30 and that's really too little. 00:33 We've done too little for too long. 00:35 And the church has been here for over 100 years. 00:38 Just close to 100 years, yes, and so we have-- 00:42 I have been called here to help engaged the church. 00:45 The church itself wants to reach out 00:48 to the community and, and so me working the church, 00:53 we have come up with great ways to reach out to the community 00:57 and share the gospel with people. 01:00 It's very, very exciting to see 01:03 how people are responding to the Bible. 01:07 We are primarily a secular culture 01:10 and we find that the Bible is no longer-- 01:15 the Bible is no longer the authority 01:19 on how to live your life 01:21 but the Bible is still a an authority, 01:26 is still an authority that some people 01:28 are interested in learning about. 01:30 And so when we go out to the community 01:32 and say hey, would you like to know 01:33 what the Bible says about living rights? 01:37 We find that very many people 01:38 are very open to hear about the gospel. 01:41 And so we want to, we want to utilize this 01:44 and we want to use this as a, 01:48 as a means to reach people for Jesus Christ. 01:51 Okay, part of it is just a challenge 01:53 is just coming to contact with people 01:56 and getting to know to them, to get to that point. 01:58 So what are some of the things you're doing? 02:00 Well, right now we have, we have several things 02:02 that we are doing to reach people. 02:04 We have church school that is open for the public 02:08 and we do active advertising in the community. 02:11 A Christian school, yeah. A Christian school, yes. 02:14 We get a lot of people in touch with lot of people that way. 02:17 We do have a nursing home, 02:19 that we also have 90 percent non-Adventist that 02:22 and we go up there and we have Friday night worships, 02:25 we have Sabbath morning worships, 02:27 we have Wednesday worships 02:29 and so we get a lot contact that way. 02:32 And then we have, we have a lot of foreigners 02:34 they come to Norway seeking fortune 02:38 and the problem is you cannot get a job in Norway 02:41 unless you speak Norwegian. 02:42 Even though a lot people speak English? 02:44 Everybody speaks English. Everybody speaks English. 02:46 Everybody speaks English, 02:47 but they don't want to hire non-Norwegian speaking people. 02:52 So what the church did, 02:53 we had three teachers from our school to say we, 02:55 we are teachers, we can teach them Norwegian 02:59 and so they established a program to teach 03:02 and from the very first day we had over 30 foreigners, 03:06 they came to study 03:08 and we invited them to come to church 03:10 and many of them are coming to church. 03:12 Some of them are sending their children 03:13 to our church school 03:14 and where they get active Bible teaching. 03:17 So, so we do have some things that are reaching out 03:21 but to and more narrow population. 03:24 We want to, we want to reach everybody for Jesus, 03:27 not just parents of children or the children of the elderly 03:34 but we want to reach out to the broader community. 03:37 Bergen is a town with three universities 03:40 and so right now we really don't have anything setup 03:45 to reach the enormous student population 03:48 that is here in Bergen and, and that's really a shame 03:51 but we should really need to have 03:55 some kind of student center. 03:58 We do have by the grace of God, 04:00 phenomenal youth group that that is very cohesive 04:05 and very excited about doing evangelism. 04:09 We do youth events. 04:11 Our youth team organizes youth events. 04:14 We have impact that comes in here every summer 04:17 and invigorates young people for evangelism. 04:20 So we want to take that to the next step 04:22 and reach young people that come here to study 04:26 and reach them for Jesus Christ. 04:28 So Impact was here in Bergen, this last summer. 04:31 Can you tell us a bit more about they do? 04:33 Yes, that, I want my church, my church-- 04:37 I want our church to be a learning church 04:40 where we train people to disciples. 04:42 At Impact that's exactly what they do. 04:44 They take young people and they teach them 04:46 how to be disciple making disciples. 04:49 So as I said listen we were doing the same thing, 04:51 why don't you guys come with your youthful enthusiasm 04:54 and energy bringing into my church 04:56 we will give you the whole church campus, 04:59 you can stay here, you can eat here, 05:01 and do whatever, 05:02 plus we have 250,000 people to reach. 05:05 As if you do a mistake on that block 05:07 you can go to next block and people don't know you. 05:10 And so is this huge room for error 05:12 and we can feed off of their enthusiasm. 05:15 So that we had them from last three years 05:18 and this summer, they just finished 05:21 we got 94 people that are interested 05:23 in learning more about health or Bible 05:27 or prophecy or even Bible studies 05:29 and that's phenomenal, praise the Lord. 05:33 Now right now we are right in the heart of Bergen, 05:35 I guess you call it. 05:37 And the church is, is not quite downtown. 05:41 What can we do to may be, 05:43 be with the people are down here? 05:45 What are your dreams for Bergen? 05:48 We definitely need a presence at downtown. 05:51 Of course the city is so large, 05:53 and we have several town centers around. 05:55 My dream is to plant a church 05:57 in every major part of the town. 06:00 Just north of here the largest part of our city 06:03 it has 80,000 people that's a-- 06:05 that's a friendly large city in a Norwegian scale. 06:08 We have no church presence up there. 06:12 We definitely would need to have some church plants 06:15 going on here in the city center, 06:17 it would be wonderful to have some kind of central hope 06:22 where we can reach the young population 06:25 or other people that do live here, 06:28 people with the young children. 06:31 We already have a strong child program 06:33 may be a daycare, that catered-- 06:36 these are some of the needs that are, 06:39 some centers for the students 06:42 that can be opened late where they can grab 06:45 something to eat, something to drink, 06:47 where they can finish up their home work, 06:48 where they be so sure 06:50 after may be finishing up the paper 06:52 and just go out and just in a clean environment, 06:55 that's not drug or alcohol or whatever. 06:57 So in another words the opportunities, 06:59 the potential is limitless. 07:01 Absolutely. 07:02 This is this is untouched ground really 07:06 and so we want to, we want to try to reach out 07:09 and whatever we do here we gonna be successful 07:12 because God is with us. 07:13 Oh, thank you so much for talking with us. 07:16 Gary, back to you. 07:17 Next stop we travel to a church plant 07:20 in the heart of Chicago, Illinois. 07:30 The battle for our intention grows fierce by the minute. 07:33 Marketers bombard us 07:35 with advertisements of all kinds, 07:37 brand name companies bend over back words 07:39 to get their products off the shelf. 07:42 Ultimately, sellers insist that you act now, 07:44 call today and don't miss this special offer. 07:49 In such a pushy world it's easy for anyone 07:51 to perceive Christians has people 07:53 who are throwing our sales pitch, 07:56 people who at best are looking 07:58 for an equally beneficial exchange. 08:01 However Christ was clear in His approach. 08:04 He came to bless people. 08:06 He met ours with disinterested benevolence 08:09 leaving the ones He encountered 08:11 with only one explanation. 08:13 He did this because He truly love them. 08:16 In the heart of Chicago, Illinois 08:18 in a society with little interest for God 08:21 or church a group of people meets weekly 08:23 in rent studio rooms of the Den Theater. 08:27 In a normal day this a center 08:29 for independent actors, actresses, producers 08:32 and others who love the art. 08:35 But on the Saturday this center is 08:37 poshly transformed in to a church. 08:39 Here members worship 08:41 as any other Seventh-day Adventist congregation would. 08:44 There is lively worship music. 08:47 Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing. 08:52 An inspiring sermon. 08:54 That world at greatest displace of Christ 08:57 acceptance of us was to trade 09:01 in the promise edging me in, in our John 14. 09:06 The members even gather afterwards 09:07 for a fellowship meal. 09:10 But this special day doesn't end here, 09:12 in the afternoon members from the Epic Church 09:15 go out on to the streets of Wicker Park, 09:18 to show love with no strings attached. 09:21 Their objective is to brighten some ones day 09:24 and making new friends. 09:26 Need prayer? 09:27 No problem, here people who believe in God 09:30 are available to pray with those 09:32 who are heavy hearted. 09:34 Some of the signs read free hugs. 09:37 Epic members that taking this opportunity 09:39 to encourage anyone with the warm touch, 09:41 a loving smile or even an energetic hi-five 09:45 to let other know 09:47 that they are precious in God's eyes. 09:49 Perhaps Epic Church members 09:51 are not leading the message to church 09:53 with free hugs and prayers 09:55 but they are bringing them closer to God's love 09:58 and each day some one is specially blessed. 10:01 You never know what you're gonna find 10:04 or the kind of people that you're gonna find 10:06 and sometimes you are surprised like 10:09 what you see and what people tell you. 10:11 Well, today actually my first hug of the day, 10:15 I gave the free hug and this guy told me, 10:18 my grandpa passed away this morning. 10:21 So I just found it very touching 10:23 and I know he needed that hug 10:25 and I know that sometimes we do little things 10:27 but they might mean a lot to people. 10:30 Free hugs and prayer is just one of the ways 10:33 Epic members are following Christ's method. 10:36 This community is truly about living discipleship. 10:40 Epic Church is like community where discipleship happens. 10:44 If you come to Epic Church immediately 10:46 is going to be evident in the conversations, 10:48 its going to be evident in the sermons, 10:51 its going to be evidence through worship, 10:53 its going to be a evidence through the things 10:56 we do here through the community, 10:59 that what we after is discipleship. 11:01 It's a place where discipleship happens, 11:03 it's a place where un-church people 11:05 are invited into a life of service 11:11 and knowledge of Jesus Christ, 11:13 is a place where un-church people are accepted 11:17 and where church people, followers of Jesus 11:20 are trained to be disciple makers. 11:24 The location is appropriate for meeting people 11:26 from all walks of life. 11:28 On a previous Sabbath a local actress 11:31 who was auditioning in the building 11:32 decided to stop by and see 11:34 what was happening in the larger theater room. 11:37 As she peaked in the door someone approached her, 11:40 answered some of her questions 11:41 and invited her to join the worship. 11:44 She went in and he is now attending on a regular basis. 11:48 Briana also found her man. 11:51 It's like I wandered here one day 11:53 and now I'm just happier and more at peace with things. 11:56 And I feel like I'm a what like I've had father for like 11:59 I'm supported at this no things are gonna work out. 12:02 Yes, the very different vibe here like 12:05 it's a like happy, joyful, 12:08 but as I supposed like I'm here to this solemn and serious. 12:11 And people actually want to talk to each others 12:13 now like, oh, we come to church 12:15 just because obligation that we run away from it. 12:18 Epic Church is truly a place of acceptance and diversity. 12:23 Through creative approaches they are befriending 12:25 the Wicker Park community around them. 12:28 Something is simple as the smile 12:29 can go a long way in fulfilling our mission 12:32 to reach people in a city like Chicago. 12:35 Please pray for this holistic service to God 12:38 and others and pray about what you might do 12:41 to share Jesus without a word. 12:44 Thank you, so much for joining us today 12:46 on Global Mission Snapshots. 12:48 And I think you've been inspired 12:49 and challenged by what you have seen and heard, 12:52 please remember to pray for the people and places 12:55 that you see on this program. 12:57 It's an exciting venture to be involved in frontline mission, 13:01 but it can sometimes be discouraging, 13:02 its can sometimes be lonely 13:04 and is very encouraging for them to know 13:07 that there are people praying for them. 13:09 Before we go please accept a free offer 13:11 from Global Mission, 13:12 it's the Global Mission calendar 13:14 which is a full of mission images 13:16 from around the world. 13:17 It's a wonderful daily remainder 13:20 to pray for mission. 13:23 Well, that's it for today's program 13:24 and I hope that you can join me next time 13:27 right here on Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2015-01-29