When Stephanie found life difficult in her public school in Denmark, her parents enrolled her in the local Adventist school. The family wasn’t Adventist, but Stephanie quickly made friends and settled in to her new school.

Stephanie Behrendt
Courtesy of GC Office of Adventist Mission

The school’s religious teachings in Bible class seemed strange, but Stephanie’s new friends talked to her about their faith, and she began to understand that the Adventist Church simply follows the Bible. Her friends invited her to Sabbath School and offered to take her to spend the entire day with them.

Stephanie found worship on Sabbath refreshing and vibrant. When she was 12, she gave her life to Christ. But her parents objected when she asked to be baptized. They wanted her to join their traditional church. Reluctantly, Stephanie attended her parents’ church catechism classes, but her heart wasn’t in it.

Stephanie was pleased when her parents allowed her to attend the Adventist boarding high school. The school provided a stable faith environment, and her friends and teachers became her family. Finally when she was 17, Stephanie convinced her mother to give her permission to be baptized. “My friends and my teachers nurtured my faith and helped me grow strong.”

Stephanie is now studying in a nearby university. She joined an Adventist café church, a church plant focused on reaching young people. The café church meets in the afternoon in the basement they share with a traditional Adventist congregation. About 30 young people attend worship each week. The youth-oriented congregation has formed small groups that meet for Bible study and prayer. They also hold social meetings with refreshments to attract community members. Anyone is invited.

During the town’s yearly festival, the café church provides activities to draw young people to their booth. “We serve homemade waffles, offer a bouncing castle for some fun, and have short singing times during which we invite visitors to come to the café church on Sabbath afternoon. And we get many interests,” Stephanie adds.

While interest in religion in post-modern and secular Denmark is fading, outreach programs such as café churches and international church congregations, are drawing those wanting to know who God is.

Our mission offerings help fund Adventist schools such as the ones Stephanie attended, where she met her Savior. Recent Thirteenth Sabbath Offerings have helped support outreach in Denmark by providing less traditional worship services such as the café church for young adults and international churches that attract guest workers and international students who come to the country seeking a vibrant worship experience. Thank you for helping revive the Adventist Church in Denmark.

Stephanie Behrendt shares her faith in Denmark.

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