The Opportunity to Evangelise a Nation
How do you reach one of the most secular countries in the world with the gospel? Here, Jonny Lithell shares how Union is supporting his ministry in Sweden.
Sweden, where I was born and raised, is a strange place in many ways.
According to the World Values Survey, Sweden ranks in the top right corner of the "World Cultural Map" that measures secular values on one axis and self-expression values on the other. It is not only the most secular but also the most individualistic place in the world.
This is the outcome of a political ideology; an experiment in social engineering where the Social Democratic Party during the 20th century strove successfully to "liberate" the individual from all forms of subordination and dependency. Wives, they argued, would no longer be dependent on their husbands. Children would be "liberated" from their parents, and the elderly from their adult children through professional, institutional care. The ideal family is composed of fundamentally independent individuals. The only true and meaningful relationships are completely voluntary.
The ramifications of this ideology are both far-reaching and devastating. Sweden is not only the most secular and self-expressive society in the world but also the loneliest. Almost half of Swedes live by themselves—the highest rate in the world. Every fourth person dies alone, with nobody by their side. Many deceased often lay in their apartments for months before neighbours complain about the smell. Every tenth person lacks any close friends.
Where are the churches in all this? That is a longer story than this format would allow, but here are a few sweeping strokes.
There is still a small percentage of the Swedish population that call themselves Evangelical. However, these "evangelicals" have given in to liberalism and/or the consumeristic and individualistic mindset. They don't understand why they exist as churches (I'm here speaking from my own experience).
“Most evangelical churches have lost the gospel altogether and would never address the utter depravity of man or call to repentance.”
It is exceedingly difficult for someone steeped in individualism to understand why Christians should gather, submit to elders and one another, and organise themselves when all of their "Christian" faith seems to be about themselves and Jesus. Most evangelical churches have lost the gospel altogether and would never address the utter depravity of man or call to repentance. The Belgic Confession (1561), the oldest of the Reformed standards, claims that the true church can be recognised if it has the following marks:
The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. (Article 29)
If we were to apply this standard in Sweden, we would probably find a mere handful of tiny, true churches throughout the entire country. The country is virtually unreached with the true gospel.
However, we have no reason to despair. It is not difficult to see that God is doing something new and glorious. While the existing churches are losing the majority of their own young generation, numerous young people are discovering the online messages of Paul Washer, John Piper and many others, and they hear something they've never heard before.
“It is not difficult to see that God is doing something new and glorious.”
When we planted Gothenburg 8th Baptist with 13 members on 24 March 2018, we founded the church deliberately as a teaching church, a beachhead to channel resources for the recovery of the gospel in Sweden. We saw an opportunity not just to serve our city, but to evangelise our nation.
The field lays open, waiting for the Lord of the harvest to send workers. When God had preserved our church through the first year, we started to work more strategically to equip pastors and church planters throughout the country. I began gathering leaders in two other cities and taught on the nature of the church and theology.
Now, about two and a half years in, I'm training and mentoring guys in church plants in four cities, by God's grace, while we're preparing for the first church to be planted out of our church in Gothenburg, in part thanks to the support Union has given us. And the network of potential church planters is expanding, opening opportunities in many other cities as well.
We certainly believe church planting to be the primary instrument to evangelise a city or a nation. However, church planters need to be equipped, and church members need resources to be discipled. Our next strategic step, therefore, is setting up a structure for formal theological training, paralleled with publishing indigenous voices that will enunciate the biblical foundation in these reformational endeavours, from within our cultural paradigm.
We are eagerly looking forward to what God will do in the near future in Sweden. Praise God for his faithfulness! And please pray for his gospel work in Sweden.
Find out how Union supports church growth and planting here:
