Inside Story: One Year for God
One doesn’t think of Denmark as a mission field, but with just 2,500 Adventists in the country, there’s a lot of work to be done in this post-modern secular society. To help finish the work youth are volunteering to spend a year serving in various ministries in a program called One Year for God, sponsored by the Danish Union and Adventist Volunteer Ministries.
Among these youth are Bjarne Rasmussen and Kim Larsen, two young men in their 20s. Bjarne, a pastor’s son, wanted to get serious about his faith. He took a short-term study course in lay evangelism and hoped to become a Bible worker in the Danish Union. When finances didn’t allow the union to hire him full time, he volunteered to serve. “Who am I to call myself a Christian and not introduce others to Jesus?” Bjarne asks.
A learning disability made advanced studies tedious for Kim, so he took a break from studies. God led him to the One Year for God program. “It’s a good fit,” he says.
The two young men work together to find people who are searching for something in their lives. Danish law forbids them from going door-to-door to sell books, so Kim and Bjarne give out flyers offering a free Bible along with Bible studies. Then they follow up with interested people.After four months they were studying with seven people. In Denmark, that’s a good result.
Danes love to read, so the men sometimes give out free books to people who pass by on a street corner. And they’ve held an open church worship service to celebrate the 125th anniversary of one of the oldest Adventist churches in Denmark. People came.
“It’s difficult to find people in Denmark who are interested in God,” Kim says. “People live comfortable lives with plenty of material things. But we’ve found people hungry to know God.”
One man reported reading the Bible to give him peace at work. Even though he’s not yet a practicing Christian, he’s discovering God’s Word and His love. Another woman who is studying the Bible lessons grew up in the state church. She says that God had never been part of her life until she faced difficult times. Now she is turning to Christ for answers.
“Working One Year for God is strengthening my personal walk with God. I’m so grateful to be a part of His plan,” Kim says.
Materials for the One Year for God program are funded in part through the mission and world budget offerings. Thank you for serving God through mission giving.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more stories like this at AdventistMission.org
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"After four months they were studying with seven people. In Denmark, that’s a good result."
Good result for Denmark? I think that's GREAT for anywhere! I hope the guys keep up the good work. I love hearing stories of places like this. It shows that even though people may be rich, they can still desire God.