“[In 2014] I brought with me my best friend and a few other school friends,” she says. “My first TS was wonderful. My coach was kind-hearted, and I got so much out of the week.”

Returning two years later, Johanna says she got even more out of her second TS. “This time I took part in the seminars and outreaches and learnt so much more.”

Johanna describes TS as “an amazing event where everyone respects one another.”

“It’s easy to grow in your faith here,” she believes.

Something to take home

TeenStreet has impacted Johanna’s life beyond the week-long event.

“I’ve made new friends and grown closer with the existing ones. My relationship with God has deepened. Taking part in the outreaches has encouraged me to share my faith in my day-to-day life, too.

“The biggest impact has been on prayer as I come from a church where young people are not encouraged to pray out loud or pray together. Here, prayer was encouraged during NET time. At first it felt strange and not at all natural. But when you just start praying, you get used to it.”

The international atmosphere at TS has made it easier for Johanna to take part in similar events elsewhere.

Being a missionary

In the spring of 2016, when Johanna had just turned 16, she participated in a short-term outreach in Hungary.

“I had been praying for a couple of months about taking part in an outreach outside of Finland, even though I was still a teenager,” remembers Johanna.

Then Johanna learnt that a leader from a nearby church was taking a group of teenagers to Hungary to participate in an Easter outreach organised by the local OM team.

“We travelled around the area with a puppet show, visiting schools, refugee centres, churches and homes for the disabled.”

How did Johanna get so enthusiastic about missions at such a young age?

“I grew up in a missions-minded environment,” she says. “My sister went to Logos Hope [OM Ships International’s ocean-faring vessel] for two years, and I’m sure TS has had its imprint on it too.”

I also believe that there’s a certain fire that God has inflamed in me. I want to be a missionary, not just in Finland, but outside, too.”

For now, Johanna focuses on reflecting Jesus in her everyday life.

“I go to church, I talk about my faith openly without embarrassment and I live my life according to the values found in the Bible. I treat people with love, and I try to be a good friend. It’s not that complicated.”

When asked about the future, Johanna says she has “amazingly good peace” despite not knowing what comes after her final year of high school.

“I have a growing certainty about wanting to work with children and teenagers," says Johanna. "I’d like to study education, but if that doesn’t work out right away, I’m happy to go to Bible school or Logos Hope for a year or two.”

Johanna wants to encourage young people to find their place in God’s mission.

“Chase your passions boldly, and test whether or not they are from God. Be brave in taking your next steps, and trust that God will take care of you. Everything will work out just fine.”

School and street visits

In April, Bus4Life visited 16 schools around the Hungarian cities of Budapest and Sopron. Approximately 2,000 young people attended the events and heard the message of hope and restoration. The school visits were organised together with a local Pro-life organisation.

Bus4Life was an integral part of the visits, offering a change from the students’ usual class room environment. They climbed on board the bus in small groups of 10-15 individuals and spent about 20 minutes inside. Inside the bus, students learnt about prenatal development from posters and life-size models. They were told about the benefits of abstinence before marriage, and what it means to have an abortion. Conversation was encouraged, and some students stayed longer to continue the conversation outside the bus.

Feedback from the schools was positive, and the team was invited to come back for another visit. One school director was particularly enthusiastic about the visit, and told the team that two girls in his school had had abortions during the previous month alone.

Bus4Life also took part in an outreach to prostitutes in Budapest. The bus went out on two different nights visiting women who work on the streets. They were given bowls of goulash soup and invited into the bus to hear the Easter message. In one of the locations, five women entered the bus along with their pimp. To the team’s surprise, the man acting as the pimp was very open to conversation and explained how he had been released from prison just three months earlier. He was now looking for his life purpose. The conversation was encouraging as most pimps have a very negative attitude toward Christians.

The atmosphere was quite different on the second night, and this time the pimps didn’t allow the women to enter the bus. Conversations still took place on the street. The Easter outreach was organised with the Salvation Army. The team spoke with 20 women.

Bus4Life opens the door

In May, Bus4Life visited two villages in Northern Moldova, a region with only two evangelical churches. One of them is a small church plant that was started by OM about six months ago, when a church planting team moved into the village. The team holds weekly prayer nights in their living room and invites their neighbours to join them. They also give out seeds and food parcels, and give guitar and piano lessons to children. This summer, a children’s camp will be organised in the village.

In the same village, a 46-year-old man named Veorel came to the bus to take a look at the selection of books. While having coffee with the team, he spoke warmly of his wife and three children. He also said that he had a New Testament at home, but really wanted to have the entire Bible. While looking at the books, he noticed The Five Love Languages. He picked it up and said he needed to read it because he wanted to become a better husband for his wife. The team was quite touched by this 'rough-around-the-edges' man, who went home with a Bible and a famous Christian book about marriage.

Another village called Chusmirka welcomed Bus4Life with open arms. About 140 children, along with some parents, attended the children’s programme on two days – 140 on both days! A few children climbed on board the bus with money in their hand, saying: “my parents gave me this money so I can buy a Children’s Bible.” One mother also came to buy a Children’s Bible, but – surprised to hear how low the price was – ended up buying not only the Children’s Bible but also a Bible for herself.

Northern Moldova is mostly Orthodox Christian. The church does not encourage people to read the Bible; instead, it is thought that it’s enough for the priest to have a Bible. If someone still wants a Bible, it would be very expensive to buy one. Bus4Life’s vision is to sell Bibles at the lowest possible price, so that everyone can afford to buy one.

OM’s Ion Manoli plays an active part in the Bus4Life ministry in Moldova. He calls the bus ‘a big blessing for Moldova’. “I would like to have it here, year-round”, he says. “It opens a door for people to come to us. They see the bus, and they wonder what it is. Then they come and see it, and they go home with a Bible in one hand.”

Eye glasses and playgrounds

After a week-long visit to Moldova, Bus4Life continued its journey to Ukraine. First time visitor to the country Teemu Laitinen, Bus4Life’s new driver, was a bit surprised by the road conditions. “Please pray for strength and wisdom as I’m driving in these potholes. I don’t want to break the bus,” he texted his home office.

Bus4Life began its one month visit to Ukraine by visiting four villages in the outskirts of Odessa. Working with two local pastors, this was the first outreach of its kind in the area. Because the concept of using a bright coloured bus for evangelism was utterly new to the pastors, they were a bit sceptical at first, fearing the outreach would only increase people’s negative attitudes toward believers.

The outreach team was joined by an eye doctor, who performed about 50 vision tests during the week. Glasses were given to individuals who needed them and the team cleaned and painted two children’s playgrounds. According to OM Ukraine’s outreach coordinator, these practical acts of kindness were the biggest witness in the villages. “Christians outside of the Orthodox church are often met with great scepticism, and considered a sect. The fact that we helped the community in a practical way was a great witness, and helped change attitudes. The two local pastors were overwhelmed by people’s positive reaction.”   

OM has just recently started working with the two pastors and their churches. One of the churches has about 15 members, all seniors. The other congregation consists mostly of orphanage graduates. About 40 people go to this church, many of them young adults. Generally, in the past pastors in Ukraine have received little training for their ministry. OM offers training for village pastors, as well as practical help to grow their ministries.

Supporting the bigger picture

Bus4Life’s visit was part of a larger framework of ministry in the Odessa region. The benefit of the bus is that it will not go unnoticed. “We did school visits in this area during the Christmas season, and they served their purpose well. However, no one outside of the school ever knew that we were there. It is impossible to miss the bus. It just needs to show up, and people will come.”

The week ended with a big children’s event that took place at the OM base. All children attending summer camps were invited to participate, and everyone was encouraged to bring their family, friends and neighbours. About 60 children came to the event with their parents. At the end of the day, it was time to take a group photo in front of the bus – only the bus was nowhere to be found! Due to some miscommunication, Bus4Life was already onto its next mission, happily parked in front of another church. But no harm was done, and the event was a success, despite the missing bus.

Known as OM’s ‘ship on wheels’, Bus4Life is a mobile ministry centre that seeks to support local, long-term OM ministries in their efforts to see vibrant communities of Jesus-followers in Central and Eastern Europe. Bus4Life is looking for new individuals and fields to partner with financially. Please pray for the ministry, asking for safety and guidance as the bus travels in Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania this year.

Then he had depression. It had been on-going for some time, but Teemu still made sure he did his work well. “I didn’t know how to be sick,” he recalled, “and I certainly didn’t want to owe anything to the company.”

In the end, it was just too much, and Teemu quit his job.

Jesus saves

Teemu was raised in a Lutheran family. His mother taught him to say his prayers at night before falling asleep, and he was confirmed at the age of 15. After his confirmation, he joined the church youth group. There were youth retreats, potato peeling and talk about God, but never a personal relationship with the Creator. Later, when life turned upside down, Teemu didn’t know how to ask God for help. “No one had ever told me how to,” he said.

Feeling out of breath, Teemu found his Bible and knew he had to start reading it. At first, he read the book of Daniel. In fact, he read it multiple times over a period of several weeks. The Lord’s Prayer became “monumental for [his] survival,” Teemu said, as he realised he had to forgive everyone who had hurt him.

“That’s when Jesus saved me, and that’s how this journey of faith began,” Teemu said with gratitude.

Sharing one’s faith is a part of being a Christian

Teemu joined a local Pentecostal congregation and was baptised. He went through the church’s three-part discipleship programme, which focused on spiritual formation and sought to equip new believers for ministry (serving with their gifts). The discipleship programme gave Teemu an opportunity to ask “all kinds of questions,” and learn from the pastor, who shared about his own life struggles with the participants.

At first, Teemu tried to continue his drinking, despite his new faith. But soon, new, more interesting, things started to fill his life, and the drinking stopped.

“It was clear to me from the very beginning that missions and the Great Commission are at the core of Christianity,” Teemu said. “They can be seen all through the Bible.”

Teemu started sponsoring a child in an African country shortly after becoming a believer. In the fall, he packed Christmas gifts to Romanian children and prayed that God would send more workers to the Eastern European nation.

Taking a bus to the market place

In the fall of 2017, Teemu moved to a town called Keuruu in central Finland, and enrolled into a biblical studies programme at a Christian college. In January 2018, he took part in a missions training, aiming at preparing participants for short-term ministry. Teemu enrolled, mainly because he wanted to learn how to share the gospel with his father. During the missions training, a friend told him about the Bus4Life ministry, and mentioned that OM was looking for a new driver.

“I had never heard about Bus4Life, and I was blown away by the fact that something like that exists,” Teemu recalled. “I called OM almost immediately, and wanted to learn more.”   

Teemu may have never heard about the Bus4Life before, but the idea of using a bus for evangelism wasn’t completely new to him. In fact, Teemu had come up with an idea of using a bus for outreach purposes the previous summer.

“How cool would it be to have a bus that could be driven to the central square with friends on board. We could make some coffee and reach out to people. The bus would offer privacy, in case people wanted prayer.”

In Teemu’s thoughts, the bus was being driven in Finland. However, when he heard about the possibility of doing similar ministry in Eastern Europe, he jumped at the opportunity. “I didn’t have to think too long,” he said. “I had made the decision to follow Jesus, and that meant I was ready to go. I figured things would work out if it was God’s will.”

Proclaiming with one’s own profession

The first phone call to OM was followed by an application process that took a couple of months. The necessary funding for the (unpaid) volunteer position came in very quickly, and in early April, Teemu boarded a flight to Budapest.

When asked about the rather swift process, Teemu shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned. “This is the way the Lord made me. Everyone has their own road to walk,” he said. “For me, following Jesus was an all or nothing decision—either I’d give him everything, or nothing at all. I was ready to go, even before I first heard about this opportunity.”

It is clear Teemu is quite pleased with how everything has unfolded: “It’s amazing that it’s possible to serve God with one’s own profession. I’m not much of a speaker, and yet I can still proclaim with my work.”

Known as OM’s ‘ship on wheels’, Bus4Life is a mobile ministry centre that seeks to support local, long-term OM ministries in their efforts to see vibrant communities of Jesus-followers in Central and Eastern Europe. Bus4Life is looking for new individuals and fields to partner with it financially. Please pray for Teemu and the Bus4Life team, asking for safety and guidance as they travel in Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania this year.

Nonetheless, the family moved back to their home country in May 2015. By August, their transition made sense. Around 30,000 refugees arrived in Finland, a country which has a scant 5.5 million total population. According to Markus, the country wasn’t ready for the foreigners, and the churches were scared of the Muslims. “Ok, this was the right time to come do something,” the family thought.

Building bridges

In order to create bonds between churches and the country’s new arrivals, Markus began offering friendshipfirst courses to local congregations, a six-part study that helps ordinary Christians connect with Muslims. He also started reaching out to Muslims directly, using ideas that had never worked in the UK but now clicked.

Markus gathered 10 to 15 men on a weekly basis to eat together, drink tea, read Bible stories and discuss what they learnt. One man from Iraq was stunned by the descriptions he read in his Arabic translation. “I come from this land,” he told Markus. “This is so accurate. I know this; it’s true. Maybe if this part is true, the rest of the Bible is true, too!”

For those who wanted to know more about Christianity, Markus also offered a class on basic Christianity at his church. The groups usually had a handful of attendees, but Markus said the amount of questions they ask was amazing. “Those who are studying, they either had a Christian friend or a piece of the gospel [before], but it’s only now that they cross the border into Europe that they can ask their questions.”

Changing religions

Suliman*, a refugee from Iran, first came to Markus’ church for Finnish classes. “After a while, he comes to me with his broken English and with Google translator,” Markus remembered. The translation app wasn’t enough to communicate his request, though, so Suliman fetched his Iranian interpreter, also a member of the church. “Markus, I want to change my religion,” he finally announced.

Markus said, “I thought this is not possible. With my experience that does not happen.” Somewhat suspicious of Suliman’s motives, Markus asked him what he knew about Christianity.

“I know the Christmas,” Suliman replied. “With the Christmas comes the Santa Claus.”

Realising then that Suliman knew little about Christianity, Markus asked him what his family would think about him changing religions. “I’m an adult. I can change my religion if I want to,” Suliman retorted.

“OK, I can teach you,” Markus agreed. For almost six months, the two men met together to study Christianity. Soon, a few others joined. Suliman showed up every week, not coming on “Iranian time, but European time and early,” Markus said. Although Suliman listened carefully, he rarely asked questions, and Markus sometimes wondered if he understood what was being said.

Two months in, they took a break for Christmas. During that time, Suliman had a dream. “In my dream, I was crucified, then a voice said, ‘It’s not enough.’ That happened again. Again the voice said, ‘It’s not enough.’ That happened many times. What does that mean?” he asked Markus.

Having never interpreted a dream before, Markus needed some time to pray and process. Eventually he recognised that the dream dealt with the difference between legalism and faith. “In Islam you need to pray, you need to fast, but it’s never enough,” he explained. “If we bring our deeds to God, it’s never enough.”

After Suliman’s dream, “he was a different man…I think that was what fully turned his heart to the Christ,” Markus said.

On Easter Sunday, Suliman was baptised next to a cross, set up as a Passion display. “That’s kind of the image [of faith],” Markus described. “You come to the cross. You really surrender there. He was confessing his faith and why he wanted to be baptised.”

Today, Suliman has a residence permit in Finland and communicates with Markus in Finnish. His journey—and how he arrived at the church, asking about Christianity—still amazes Markus. Even so, Suliman was not alone.

“That’s the story of many of those guys. They have already in their minds: I want to know more about Christianity. I want to become a Christian. I just need to find someone who will teach me,” Markus noted. “Now when they come to me with their broken English and say they want to change their religion, it’s not a surprise.”

Praise God for Muslims in Finland who are learning about the truth of Jesus Christ. Pray that churches would be able to develop fellowship opportunities where these new believers can worship and grow in their heart language.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a world traveller and writer for OM International. She’s passionate about partnering with believers to communicate the ways God is working across the globe.

OM’s Bus4Life ministry was looking for a new driver to drive its mobile ministry centre. Formerly a library bus, the bus was adapted to take the Good News to towns and small villages in Central and Eastern Europe.

The young man standing in front of the notice board was Esa Tuuri, a university student of energy technology in Lappeenranta, Finland.

“Sounds like me,” he said to the piece of paper. But the timing wasn't right, and Esa needed to focus on his studies. As the years went by, the thought of driving the Bus4Life stayed with him. Esa has now served as the Bus4Life driver since February 2014.

More than just miles

There’s much more to Esa’s job than driving.

“The driver is responsible for all of the technology on board," Esa explains. “The loudspeakers and the projector are put in place, the volunteers are shown where the tables and chairs are stored, and at the end of the day, it’s the driver who makes sure everything is back where it belongs.”

Manoeuvring the bus on the country roads in Eastern Europe requires not only professional driving skills, but also patience.

“These roads were not designed for trucks and trailers, and this bus was not meant for driving on football fields. It’s quite often that we go past flowerbeds and buildings with only a few centimetres between us.”

“In Ukraine, you see a lorry driver fixing his truck every kilometre or so. God has protected us, and we’ve been able to carry on unharmed, despite many difficult circumstances and terrible roads. We’ve only had to tow the bus once when it sunk into a muddy football field.”

Weather plays a role

It is sunny in Constanţa, Romania, and that’s good news as it means the children’s programme can be held outside in front of the bus.

“Weather plays a significant role in our work," Esa explains. “And God has given us just the right weather many times. Usually it rains on our days off and shines during the outreaches – and the bus gets filled with visitors.”

But sometimes a rainy day is just what is needed.

“One time in Moldova we had to move the children’s programme indoors because it rained so much,” Esa recalls. “I stayed in the bus in case there’d be other visitors.”

That’s when a man in his thirties or forties came inside wanting to know if there were any Bibles.

“We had a long discussion about Biblical history, and the Bible and its writers. The man listened carefully and asked many questions. Such a conversation would not have been possible had the bus been packed with a hundred children coming and going,” said Esa.

Not all have heard

Coming from a predominantly Christian nation, it took Esa by surprise that there are still individuals in Eastern Europe who have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. This is especially true for the many men who were raised during Communism and told that there is no god.

But exceptions make the rule.

“One man got curious about Christianity because everyone in the army warned him about religion. He wanted to find out why there was so much talk about a god that didn’t exist, then looked in the right places and became a follower of Jesus,” remembers Esa.

Carried by a vision

Esa has served as the Bus4Life driver for four years, spending the majority of his time behind the wheel, moving from place to place. What keeps a young man from Finland motivated to keep working in such often-changing conditions?

“The vision of the ministry inspires me. I believe that through good quality Christian literature, it is possible for anyone to get to know God, and to further understand the Word of God. Christian literature is a great blessing to its reader.”

“I enjoy meeting new people and the fact that I get to see how Christians live in various parts of Europe. Over the past years, I’ve gotten to know my colleagues in all six countries that we minister in, and I enjoy working with them.”

“But it’s the eternal value of the work that matters the most,” Esa says. “Our main goal is to tell people the good news of reconciliation through Jesus Christ, and of the eternal life with God.”

After four years on board the Bus4Life, Esa will return home to Finland. Bus4Life is currently looking for a new driver for the year 2018.

Beth and Sandi*, mothers in the OM Finland team, started inviting immigrant mothers to an international friendship group. Many responded, and soon group gatherings were underway.

The ladies in the group help one another with language skills, as well as explain social codes and norms of Finnish culture. For instance, how do you make a Finnish friend? How do you keep warm in the extremely cold winter? How do you cook Finnish food? How does the local library work?

While these practical skills are helpful, Beth and Sandi know it’s even more important to offer a listening ear. Each lady is given time share her life story, sometimes with the help of a translator. What was life like in her home country? What happened that eventually led her and her family to Finland? What are her struggles? What does she believe and why?

The women come from a range of different countries, such as India, Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan and Israel. Many have experienced extreme situations before arriving in Finland. Beth and Sandi recognise that it helps the women process past traumatic events when they’re able to share with a listening audience and receive support from others who may have had similar experiences.   

“The group has given me fellowship with other woman, and we are learning from one another,” said Katarina*, from South Sudan.

Katarina’s life includes two wars, abandonment, poverty and the loss of her grandparents, whom she grew up with. She eventually fled to Egypt with her young son. Her story is one of loss and sorrow, but also of hope and happiness.

Since moving to Finland 11 years ago, she realised that security and peace was not enough to make her happy. Though Katarina knew little about Jesus and the Bible, she had grown up in the Christian tradition.

“In Sudan,” she explained, “I worked for some years in Khartoum and tried to ask the Muslims there about their faith. They did not want to share information with me unless I first became a Muslim.”

In Finland, she attended Bible school after watching Christian television programmes and realising her need to learn more about her faith.

In the group, Beth and Sandi also share their personal stories, which provides them an opportunity to share about their faith and answer questions about Christianity.

“However, this is about friendship first,” emphasises Beth. “The group knows we are Christians and from the church, but we meet on equal terms as women sharing with women.”

Finland is receiving an increasing amount of refugees. In addition to the expected numbers of those selected from refugee camps are those arriving directly to Finland, having made their own way north. With the Syrian crisis, the number of refugees could easily exceed the 15,000 refugees expected.

Sandi and Beth have started a three-day training course for Finnish people about how to make friends with immigrants. They hope that the course will prove to be a useful tool for local churches to reach out to their new neighbours and become connected with the growing immigrant population. Through this, they hope to see refugees and other immigrants find open hearts, homes and churches in Finland.

Please pray that the women in the group find their comfort and belonging in Jesus Christ. Pray that the churches in Finland, and other parts of Europe, will open their homes to immigrants seeking friendship and love.  

A developing OM project, called Safe Passage, focuses on meeting refugees at their initial entry points in Europe, providing information as well as water, food and essentials. To give to OM’s relief efforts, or for more information about how to get involved, please contact your local OM office.

*Name changed

Currently, the new vehicle is undergoing renovations in order to better function as the multipurpose ministry centre that it will become. Freshly painted, it already looks ready for the road, but interior work still continues.

The original Bus4Life vehicle—now well over 800,000 kilometres (about 500,000 miles) behind it—passed inspections in Finland on 3 March and started the journey south that same day. With about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) to cover in a week, Bus4Life driver Esa Tuuri knew he would not be doing much sightseeing on his way across Eastern Europe. The first Bus4Life outreach of 2015 was scheduled for the beginning of March in Moldova.

The new bus will replace the current one later this spring when the interior work is completed. However, the original vehicle will not retire just yet. Due to many requests from OM ministries in several nations, a decision to keep both vehicles running this year was made. The new bus will be used full time, and the old will be used whenever an opportunity arises—and a Finnish volunteer driver is available. Operating both busses is a major step of faith for OM and will require both prayers and finances to succeed.

Operating two vehicles will allow Central and Eastern European OM offices to extend their work and shared vision with local churches and para-church organisations. One of these organisations is Hungarian Table 22, which reaches out to human-trafficking victims on the streets of Budapest and around Hungary.

The group would like to use the bus as their “rolling office”, making it possible to invite women inside for coffee and encouragement. This offers them a short escape from the streets and gives them an opportunity to meet and pray with local Christians, as well as speak with a social worker, should they be looking for help to leave their situation.

Please pray for the Bus4Life ministry and its 2015 tour across Eastern Europe.

While waiting for their car to get fixed, the team met young Finnish Christians and shared with them about the international work that OM was doing throughout the world. As a result of the brief encounter, nearly 60 Finns participated in OM’s summer outreaches the following summer. Over the past five decades, approximately 3,000 Finns have participated in OM’s work.

OM Finland’s goal for 2015 is to send 225 Finnish participants and volunteers to TeenStreet youth conference, 100 individuals to short-terms programmes, and 20 new long-term missionaries into the world. These numbers would represent an increase in each category of participants, and show OM Finland’s continued commitment to expanding their reach as an organisation that spreads the love of Jesus around the world.

OM Finland’s 50th anniversary celebration will culminate in a gala on Saturday, 19 September 2015. The celebration, held at Tampere Hall, will focus on expressing gratitude to God for the many events and individuals of the past, but also on sharing the excitement of the years to come.

Frank Dietz, who now lives in the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary gala. He has been instrumental in leading OM Finland to where they are today, and has had a distinguished and vast career with OM International. Frank will also speak on the annual OM Finland Missions Cruise, which will take place on board MS Viking Grace 11-12 September, sailing from Turku to Stockholm, Sweden, and back.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, OM Finland has launched a fundraising campaign that seeks to raise 100,000 euros (about 109,000 USD) to be used to extend the work of mobilising and sending Finnish missionaries.

I have been overwhelmed by the quality of contemporary Christian music in Finland. Over the last months I have met two well-known Christian artists: Antti Honkkila of the metal bands Terapia and Tera, and Tatu Kekkonen with his rock band KLS. I have been impressed by their humility, approachability, and most of all, their attitude towards presenting God with their music. Aspiring Christian musicians could learn a lot from the Christian music scene in Finland.

Music therapy

Antti Honkkila is the lead guitarist and founding member of Terapia, and of later years Tera. Spanning the last 25 years these two bands have been pioneers of contemporary Christian music in Finland.

Antti grew up in a Christian household and started going to a church youth group at age 12. It was in the youth group that he started to learn the guitar and met Petri Lassila, who became one of Antti’s closest friends. The two boys started playing music together.

“What happened is a mystery to me,” Antti recalls. “We started playing because we needed to get some music therapy – and started calling ourselves Terapia (Finnish word for therapy). Music brought joy to us, and we were able to express ourselves through music.”

Back then rock ‘n’ roll was big, and metal music was just becoming popular. There were good bands playing rock ‘n’ roll in Finland, and Antti and Petri didn’t want to do the same as everyone else. They listened to metal and saw that metal was going to be the next big thing. No Christian band was playing metal – yet.

“I think we were the first Finnish Christian band to play metal,” Antti says. “We played together for six years before we released our first record in 1993. The record went on to be voted Christian record of the year. We were young and ambitious, but we never thought we would be that big.”

The message of salvation

I didn’t have the best opinion of Christian music before coming to Finland. I didn’t appreciate the genre, and I often felt that the message was too soft. I wanted to find out how people reacted to Terapia’s music. I was also curious as to what the band’s message was. Antti was very honest with his answers.

“There was an article in a Christian magazine about how rock music shouldn’t be played by Christians,” Antti recalls. “It affected Finland quite a lot. We were told that what we were doing was wrong. But in the 1700s, Bach was considered to be Satan’s music, and now it is played in all churches. Everything new is considered bad, but it is not necessarily so.”

Terapia’s message centred on salvation.

“We wanted to tell people that Jesus saves,” Antti says. “It was evangelistic and certainly very clumsy in the beginning. The first album had some songs which are quite hard for me to listen to now, but I am not ashamed. They were true at the time, and they still are, just the lyrics are quite direct.”

Always pray

As I listened to Antti’s stories it became clear that God’s hand was upon the band. The five band members sat in a bus 150 days a year, had some great fun and some big fights. They talked together and prayed a lot. After every gig, they would make time to talk and pray with those who came to hear them. Often they would be there all night because so many people wanted to talk with them.

“It was also humbling that amongst it God was doing something great. We know ourselves, we are not worthy of anything. It is all God’s grace.”

Another striking thing about the band is their lifestyle of prayer. Every rehearsal and gig would be dedicated to God in prayer. Antti says, “For me prayer is a constant thing. When I meet people I pray for them, and when I am walking the streets I am praying for them.”

So what advice would Antti give aspiring musicians wanting to use music to promote Jesus?

“Always pray and be humble, for God is against the proud. Be honest, work hard and practise a lot.”

As I’ve visited different towns in Finland, I have asked people what their memories of Terapia are like. Everywhere I’ve heard the same answers: “Their message guided me to God”, “I became a Christian because of their music”, and “The honesty of their lyrics still helps me through hard times”.

Antti continues to play the guitar with Tera. But most of all he is a full-time youth minister in the town of Ylöjärvi. I have witnessed his dedication and care for the young people. He says, “The place where I feel closest to God is when someone tells me ‘I want to believe’. That is the best thing that can happen, and thankfully it still does.”

For more information about the work of OM in Finland, visit their news page here.

In addition to equipping the participants professionally, the goal was to meet each one on a personal level, offering an opportunity for reflection and self-discovery.

“You can’t offer any ready-made solutions in youth ministry,” says Miika Parkkinen, OM Europe’s kids and youth ministry coordinator. “In the end it’s about people working with people. If you understand yourself, it’s easier for you to understand others.”

The training consisted of seminars by three different speakers: author and educator Pip Wilson (UK), counsellor Sonja Pichler (CH), and child psychiatrist Riitta Parkkinen (FI).   

Difficult people don’t exist

Dressed in jeans and a baseball cap, 75-year-old Pip Wilson opens his seminar by saying, “All I want to say is you are beautiful.”

Pip, who often introduces himself as “a beautiful human being”, uses the sentence frequently. He wants people to know they are unique; no one in this world is like them. If we understand and accept our uniqueness, we can learn to understand others, helping them to discover their own uniqueness. “There’s no such thing as difficult people,” Pip declares. “There’s just difficult behaviour.”

“Disruptive behaviour is most often founded in a negative self-image,” Miika believes. “As youth workers, we should stop and pay attention to the unique and valuable person behind the problematic behaviour. What are the events and messages that have formed his identity? What is he trying to communicate through the behaviour? These are the key questions.”

Instead of “deleting” (removing) a person with difficult behaviour from a given situation, he should be met. “We can’t solve other people’s problems,” Miika says. “But if you learn to understand the problem behind someone’s behaviour, you can help him process and evaluate his situation. The behaviour itself will only change through his personal transformation.”

Beautiful pearl

Sonja, too, believes that there is always a reason behind difficult behaviour. It is a symptom rather than a problem in itself. If someone is incapable of expressing the pain or shame that he is experiencing, he will develop coping mechanisms that helps him live with the issue at hand. The coping might come through cutting, substance abuse, or violence, and the problematic behaviour will not change unless the reasons behind it are dealt with.

Sonja seeks to create hope for people by guiding them to process their pain and difficult feelings without the damaging behaviour. Sometimes people need help to simply recognise what they are feeling and experiencing.

“But the focus is never in the past. It’s in the future and what can be,” Sonja says. “I always try to find the hidden uniqueness in a person – the beautiful pearl that’s been wrapped up in pain. And when someone realises his or her beauty as a result of God’s creating work, I rejoice. It’s a miracle.”

Little by little Salome developed an interest for Finland. At first, it was all about Lauri Ylönen, the lead singer of The Rasmus, whom she found attractive. Soon, Salome’s friends and family were making jokes about how Salome wanted to find a Finnish boyfriend. Friends of her parents even took photos of not-so-attractive men during a trip to Finland in order to “convince” Salome that Finnish men weren’t that attractive after all.

As Salome matured she continued to grow more interested in Finland as a country. She no longer cared much for either The Rasmus or the Finnish men; she simply wanted to travel and learn more about this land of a thousand lakes.

In 2009, Salome and her mother packed their bags and headed north for what was their first-ever mother-daughter trip. The trip was followed by others, and finally, in the spring of 2014, Salome fulfilled her long-time dream to live in Finland short term.

“My father spent two years serving with OM India and Nepal in the late 1980s,” Salome says. “He always told us kids that if we ever wanted to join OM, he would support us.”

Yet, it took some convincing before he agreed to give his blessing to Salome to join OM Finland for three months. “I think he still believed it was all about the Finnish boys!” Salome laughs.

In January, Salome joined OM Finland’s kids and youth ministry team and started spending most of her week nights with unchurched children and teenagers in suburban Tampere.

“Many of the kids don’t get much attention at home,” Salome believes. “My role was to hang out with them and simply be there for them. It really isn’t so much about having great programmes – it’s all about spending time with them.”

Despite the language barrier, Salome connected with several of the children. Her “favourite” was a 10-year-old boy with a broken family background; he had been introduced to Salome as “the troublemaker” who tried to get attention by acting up. But perhaps due to a positive change at home, the boy calmed down and changed his attitude during the spring months.

 “We jumped on the trampoline and he tried to convince me to try new tricks,” Salome laughs. “We also played tag, and all the kids chased me instead of each other. I've never gotten so much exercise in my life!”

There were times when Salome wondered what her role was in the ministry. After all, most of the time she couldn’t understand what people were saying. But then she went into the kitchen and started making sandwiches for the kids. Many of them were hungry, and a few said they only ate at school. As she provided practical help, the Finnish-speaking volunteers could spend more time with the kids.

It was the same volunteers that most impressed Salome. Some of them are only teenagers themselves. All are committed to giving their free time weekly to spend time with children and teenagers who are perhaps not the most privileged among their peers.

“Most people have a wrong impression of the Finns,” Salome declares. “The ones I met are not introverted or reserved at all. They are all about community and having fun. They have warm hearts.”

Salome enjoyed her church community in Finland and says she liked how people gathered together after Sunday services to share a cup of tea and catch up with each other. Her new friends were eager to introduce her to Finnish customs such as mämmi, a traditional Finnish Easter dessert made of rye flour, midnight snacks at a local hotdog kiosk, and hide-and-seek-by-car, which is “hilarious if you are with the right people”.

One of Salome’s personal goals was to grow closer to God during her time in Finland. Three months ago, she says, her relationship with God “wasn’t the strongest”. In Tampere, she had a mentor who met with her weekly. They read Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline and talked about the book and all matters of faith. Salome talked about faith with her mentor, grew in her faith and began to see a bigger picture.

“I am more excited about God now,” she says. “I have learnt things that I can take home and put into practice.”

It’s a two-way street. You give, and you receive. Jumping on the trampoline is good for all.

“Romanians are so much louder than Finnish folks,” Tuukka says. “And meals are not so much about food as they are about community. But with time you get used to everything.”

Tuukka admits to having had his starkest moments of culture shock in the Moldovan countryside, where the only available bathroom was a wooden shack. The roads were unpaved and the houses were made of mud. Poverty was all around.

For the local children, however, visiting the Bus4Life was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The bus, which by Finnish standards is old and less than perfect, was the grandest and most wonderful thing they had ever seen. And when the team set up a jumping castle, the children could hardly contain themselves.

Setting up shop by the road

Tuukka served as the Bus4Life driver for two years. During that time the bus served not only as a centre for evangelism and outreach, Christian bookstore, café and theatre, but also as a home away from home for Tuukka. His “home bunk” was hidden in a cabinet at the back of the bus. On most nights, however, he slept in beds all around Eastern Europe where local OM teams and volunteers happily hosted him.

Besides driving, Tuukka helped local teams set up the bus for outreaches. He boiled water for tea and made sure the projector was ready for showing the Jesus film. Sometimes he participated in the actual programme, too, sharing his testimony and encouraging people to turn to God.

“If over a hundred kids showed up for kids’ programmes, language barriers no longer mattered – all help was welcomed,” Tuukka laughs.

Miracle on wheels

Tuukka has since returned to Finland. While not sure what’s next, Tuukka would like to return to the mission field one day.

“Sharing the gospel is important and very beneficial,” Tuukka says. “It changes a person’s life and brings concrete relief to individuals and communities.”

When asked about the future of the current Bus4Life vehicle, Tuukka laughs out loud. “The bus travels on pure grace,” he says. “It is a miracle that a vehicle with 800,000 kilometres on it is still running.”

Introducing the new driver

Bus4Life begins its seventh tour on 12 February 2014. Esa Tuuri, from Lappeenranta, Finland, will take Tuukka’s place as the new driver.

Esa first heard of the Bus4Life ministry five years ago when OM Finland was looking for “an adventurous driver”. At that time now 28-year-old Esa had just begun his university studies, and the time was not right for applying for the position. A few years later, a friend brought him a brochure once again looking for a new driver for the ministry. “This sounds like you,” the friend said and encouraged Esa to get in touch with OM.

In fall 2012, Esa travelled to Romania and rode to Hungary on board the Bus4Life. During his week-long trip, he made the decision to be the next driver.

“Driving the bus seemed like something I could do,” Esa remembers, admitting that many of the practical aspects of the work still make him a bit nervous. It is one thing to sit and watch someone else drive, and something completely different to navigate Eastern Europe on your own.

Yet Esa is confident this is where he wants to serve. His main motivation for going is the opportunity to spread Christian literature. “Through Christian literature people can learn about the Bible and encounter Jesus,” he says. And that, to him, is worth whatever trouble he might face on the road.

The Bus4Life team would like to see the work expand in the coming years. The bus attracts big crowds, offering them a safe, comfortable environment to meet believers and hear the gospel. During the summer months, the bus receives so many invitations that the team has to decline many of them. Opportunities and needs arise all around Eastern Europe. The harvest is plentiful.

Please pray for Esa and the Bus4Life team as they begin their seventh tour on 12 February 2014. For more information about the Bus4Life and OM Finland, visit their news page.

Shaun was an American exchange student in Finland when he was made aware that a person's faith just wasn't open for discussion in that North European culture.

"Finns are not comfortable speaking about their faith in casual conversation. They are typically baptised as babies into the state church and confirmed at 15. They're married and buried Lutherans. They know the Bible and they're 'Christians', but for most their everyday life is divided from real fellowship with God."

Shaun found himself drawn to university students who seemed the most unreached of all, and with whom he felt most comfortable. Involvement with a new church plant in Tampere eventually led to studying theology in graduate school. It also led to meeting Katja, who became his wife in 2004. The Rossis now live in Helsinki with two small children and two more--twins!--expected in December.

Downloading ideas

Shaun enjoys pastoring an ethnically-diverse church consisting of many college students and young families. This past summer he took 20 members to OM's Transform 2013. Most then went on outreach teams.

"Basically, everyone in the church was involved," he relates. "They gave and they prayed. In one weekend we raised 6,000 Euros to cover conference costs. I fully expect those 20 participants will have a ripple effect on the church, and that missions will become more and more a part of who we are. We also sent individuals to Love Moldova and TeenStreet last summer. I want our church to see that even as a small group we can make a impact. As a pastor it makes me feel good when other people get ideas, download them and see what happens!" 

Teaching others how to start new churches

Planting churches as a way to grow the Kingdom of God is not a priority in many Finnish churches. While many do evangelism, explains Shaun, they do not see it necessary to plant new churches. "There are also lots of places to learn theology and lots of doctors of theology, but a gap in actually applying theology to communities.

"There's a big disconnect. Churches usually follow two extremes, either judgmental or so liberal they don't believe in much of anything. And most churches are incredibly territorial. Church planting has meant church splits: you taking people from my church. More groups are now reaching out to refugees and other unchurched people, particularly the Free Churches like Baptists and Pentecostals. But we saw the need for starting a church-planting institute in Helskini.

"At Agricola Theological Institute (ATI) we are raising up church planters and people who aspire to church leadership. We teach some theology courses, even Greek, but it's really about giving people a heart to pastor, to love their communities and shepherd well."

Shaun Rossi, now pursuing a doctorate in theology, says he likes teaching and feels fulfilled in his ministry. "Whatever I do I think it will flow from shepherding," he adds. "That's why I'm a pastor, to involve the community and work closely with the church body.

"The church is a disciple-making mechanism, what God intended from His creation. We are called to community--that is why we plant churches. We in OM Europe want to continue to work with existing churches, but we also want to plant new ones."

Planting new churches is one of OM Europe’s primary ministry goals. A pastor of a church plant himself, Finland-based Shaun Rossi overseas OM’s church planting work in Europe.

“Every European church was once a church plant that was planted because there were a people in a community that were not properly acquainted with God,” Shaun says. “It is for the same reason more churches need to be planted today.”

The last decades have seen tremendous change in Europe. New churches are needed to both replace old, non-thriving congregations and reach out to the “new peoples, cultures, and generations” who never had an opportunity to hear the gospel.

“Church planting is right at the heart of the mission of God,” Shaun explains. “The Great Commission and its call for global disciple-making is the biblical mandate for church planting. The local church is where discipleship happens.”

Church planting is pioneering work, which means the workers face many challenges and wear many hats. In addition to being socially gifted and meeting other character requirements, planters also need training in theology. Cooperation with WEST will ensure that OM church planters are properly trained for their work.

What the cooperation will look like for each individual student depends on his or her personal circumstances. Some students could begin with year-long intensive studies and then move to his or her appointed OM field. Others could study part-time through a mixed mode of distance learning and campus visits. This could be particularly helpful for church planters already in the field.

One young man and his family are launching into a new church planting ministry with the help of WEST’s training. Troy Pitney travelled to Portugal for the first time in July 2012. Less than a year prior to his trip, Troy and his family had moved from Oregon, US, to Germany to join the OM Transform staff.

They were excited to live in Germany but hoped to only stay for a couple of years before moving to the Mediterranean, where the Transform outreaches take place.

“It’s been great to live in Germany and focus on inviting Christians to minister in the Mediterranean nations,” Troy says. “But the most authentic ministry happens where you live.”

God willing, the Pitneys will move to Portugal in the fall of 2014 as church planters—although Troy would rather use the term loosely. Instead, he and his wife, Michelle, talk about “natural discipleship relationships and mentoring”. They simply want to establish their lives in their new surroundings and then “let the Lord overflow”.

“I love my kids and I love my wife,” Troy explains. “It’s a rare thing to live like that. No man looks at another man and hates him because he loves his family. Rather he wonders how it’s done. That gives me an opportunity to point to Christ.”

Troy and Michelle are confident that when they follow Christ in their daily life others will join them. In five years, they’d like to see “a house gathering or five—or 10 gatherings”. God is in charge.

In September, the Pitneys travelled north to learn about church planting in Finland. They met with pastors, visited churches, and spent time with Shaun Rossi, who is helping them prepare for church planting. In January, Troy will begin his theology studies at WEST through a distance-learning programme.

When asked why Portugal needs them, Troy and Michelle smile and respond enthusiastically: “Portugal needs anyone who is excited about the authentic gospel of Jesus, anyone who had an encounter with Jesus and can’t stop talking about it.”

“Do you drink?” someone asks. Jasmiina smiles and shakes her head. “You must smoke then, right?” Jasmiina shakes her head again.

She looks like them, yet something is different about her.

Postmodern parenting

Jasmiina comes from a Christian family. Her father, Miika Parkkinen, serves as OM Europe’s kids and youth ministry coordinator. For the past year, Jasmiina has been volunteering alongside her father, reaching out to un-churched teenagers in Tampere. Instead of inviting them to church, Mix Ministries—a ministry lead by Miika—goes where the teens are: the local youth centre. The door is open to everyone, and an average of 40-50 teenagers show up every Monday night.

“Alcoholism is a serious problem in this part of town,” Miika explains. “On some Fridays when the city hosts the youth club, less than 10 teens come. They are the only ones who are not intoxicated and are allowed indoors. Everyone else is on the streets drinking.”

Alcoholism is present in every generation. Many families have accepted that unemployment and living on social security is their lot in life, their “destiny”. Heavy use of intoxicants is seen as not only acceptable, but glamorous.

In this part of town, it is not enough to address problems that the teenagers have. In many cases, social marginalisation has taken place generations ago. The families are unwell and dysfunctional, and the whole area seems shrouded in hopelessness. Few teenagers realise that they matter and have value. Depression abounds.

Miika talks about “the great social divide” that “isn’t a desirable topic but undoubtedly exists”. He describes teens that do well in school and fill out college applications—while their peers struggle to pass exams, encounter social difficulties and suffer from a lack of motivation. Miika insists that the deal breaker isn’t finances, but rather parenting. Many teens have little or no parental guidance in their lives. Their parents are postmodernists who believe everyone should define right and wrong for themselves.

“Their children grow up believing everything that doesn’t hurt others is good,” Miika explains. “But how do you define [what] doesn’t hurt others?”

Good manners are another thing not modelled at home.

“It is not a given that a 14-15-year-old knows how to say thank you and I’m sorry,” Jasmiina says. “I’m in a habit of asking them to respond to my hello and say thank you when I make them a sandwich.”

Hope and big dreams

On Thursdays, after wrapping up a long day of history studies at the University of Tampere, Jasmiina takes the bus to another part of town to meet with immigrant girls. The weekly meetings started because the girls themselves requested “a girls’ club”, a place for them to meet apart from the boys. Now a handful of them get together with Jasmiina and her team to work on projects and simply talk.

When she is not racing from one suburb to another, Jasmiina logs onto Facebook. She serves as one of seven administrators in the “Young Christians” group. The group has over 10, 000 members, ages 13 to 30, and seeks to unite young Finnish Christians across denominations. In the group, members share words of encouragement, Bible verses and prayer requests with one another.

“Young Christians have very similar problems to what I see at the youth centre,” Jasmiina says. “There is a lot of anxiety, depression and fatigue.”

The Facebook group has its own support network that consists of 18 people, some of whom are professionals. Professional help is necessary because many are alone with their problems and need counselling. Occasionally members express desperation that requires immediate response: Suicidal messages are met with real-life urgency—outside of Facebook.

“It’s alarming that young believers experience so much anxiety,” Jasmiina ponders. “But at the end of the day they have great faith in God who hears their prayers and they trust that there is hope after despair. They place value in education and want to succeed in life; they dream big.”

At the youth centre dreams don’t fly so high. Jasmiina refuses to accept the hopelessness that traps all ingenuity. She wants to tell her fellow teenagers about Jesus, to show them how they were made in God’s image. She wants to plant dreams in the suburbs.

A reliable, committed adult—if just one—can make a difference. The seed has already been planted.

“Jasmiina, are you serious about Jesus?” someone asks. Her actions give her answer: Yes.

A ministry of OM Finland, Mix Ministries reaches out to un-churched children and youth in Tampere and Kuopio. The ministry consists of 10 different clubs and reaches dozens of 7-17-year-olds every week. Mix Ministries employs one full-time OM staff member and relies heavily on volunteers. Please pray for committed volunteers and finances to cover the costs (rental spaces and salary) as the ministry continues to grow.

Yet, against all odds, what we find at United Community Church (UCC) in the capital area of Helsinki is exactly that.

According to UCC Pastor and OMer Shaun Rossi, the church has “held a pattern of preaching expositionally through the Bible” throughout its history. Planted in 2007, UCC is an international English-speaking church ministering to both Finns and foreigners living in Finland. Shaun wants people to know Christ and to learn to trust and depend on Him.

“I suppose many think that to be relevant today you must water down the truth of God’s Word,” says Shaun. “We decided we would speak the Bible for what it is to the best of our ability—really, what else do we have to give people?”

In addition to Sunday preaching, the Bible is being taught in what UCC calls "Growth" classes. These Monday night classes are divided into three six-week segments that cover topics from Christian doctrine to world missions. The outcome of the classes has been that people have learnt to go to the Bible themselves.

“We have seen people respond with a real hunger for more and more,” Shaun explains.

Are you reading the Bible?

When he was a new believer, Shaun read and studied a lot of theology. A good friend noticed that while he was reading a lot about the Bible, he didn’t spend much time reading the Bible itself.

“He called me out asking whether I was reading the Bible regularly,” Shaun recalls and admits he wasn’t. He felt “a gentle conviction” and began to read the Bible daily, a habit that has been “pretty consistent with the occasional lull”.

Shaun wants to lead by setting an example. He believes Christian books and Internet sermons can be beneficial, but insists that the real question is whether or not you are reading the Bible.

“For me reading the Bible is not about wanting instant help,” Shaun says. “I think many are deterred from reading the Bible because they want all of their questions and problems answered during their morning devotions. For me, the real fruit of Bible reading can be seen in looking back over the years and seeing how the Word has strengthened and moulded me and been a source of grace in my life.”

Investing in Christian men

An IT project manager by profession, Rob Curtis is in charge of men’s ministry at UCC. He believes “spiritual growth doesn’t just happen”. Rather, churches have to invest in it in order to see change.

According to Rob, churches in the West have been “spoon feeding” Christians for decades. The result is “large chunks of Christian generations feeling ill-equipped and inadequate” to evangelise, lead family devotions or “anything that even vaguely resembles a daily walk with God”.

“Young Christians need to be taught God’s Word and how to use it and live by it themselves,” Rob says. He wants to be a catalyst, rocking the boat and stirring things up.

“Telling people the truth comes easily to me,” he admits. “However, it only helps if you love the person with the love that God has put inside you. You can’t pass something on that you don’t have. I need to be living out a fresh, daily relationship with God myself. That is the greatest challenge, and it is only doable by walking humbly before God.”

Finding answers

A few years ago, Minni Suova, a fashion designer from Helsinki, became curious about the Bible and decided to join a friend’s Bible study group. She was not attending a church at the time. However, what she learnt through the Bible study started affecting Minni’s thinking.

“All those passages about the church being important—if I wanted to take what I was reading seriously, I had to find myself a church,” she recalls.

Minni came to UCC to visit and never went anywhere else.

“Why keep looking?” she asks. “I feel at home here, and besides, no church will ever be perfect and meet all of my requirements. By committing to this church, I can grow and help others to grow as well.”

Today, Minni serves as the missions coordinator at UCC. “I was never particularly interested in missions,” Minni admits. “But the position needed to be filled, the work needed to be done, and there I was. Why not take the job?

“Sometimes we spend too much time trying to figure out what our calling is,” Minni adds. “Maybe I wasn’t so interested in missions before. Now I am. I have found my place in the church.”

Minni still attends the same Bible study. The group consists of women from different church backgrounds. While their theological stances vary, they all share a genuine desire to know God’s Word.

“We go through the Bible book by book,” Minni explains. “I’m in a habit of getting stuck on hard questions, which I can’t let go of until I understand what the Bible says about them. The group has walked with me and helped me find answers.”

Joy through challenges

 A student of theology and tourism, Satu Kolehmainen started attending UCC three years ago. Last year Satu lived through a personal crisis through which her relationship with Jesus changed dramatically.

“I had been a listener rather than a doer,” Satu explains, referring to James 1:22, which says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV*). “But then God allowed such challenges and trials in my life that I had to depend on Him.”

In the midst of the challenges, Satu started reading the Bible in a new way. Pastor Shaun advised her to meditate God’s Word. That prompted Satu to memorise Scripture verses, which she then repeated silently over and over again.

“At first I didn’t feel anything,” she recalls. “I was simply putting together a collection of comforting passages.”

But soon the words started moulding and changing Satu. She clung to God’s promises, and slowly but surely those promises started becoming true.

“My life in Christ is no longer about achievement,” Satu says. “Now it’s about having a relationship with Him.”

Today, bursting with joy and excitement, Satu believes God allows us to sometimes face challenges simply because we need to realise how much we need Jesus. It’s easy to believe what she says. Her eyes twinkle, and one can almost touch the joy radiating from her.

Like Satu, many at UCC have found that God’s Word is truth, indeed.

*Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

During its 10-month tour, Bus4Life will visit seven countries, some of them multiple times, including Moldova and Ukraine, which means “lots of paperwork and waiting up to a few days,” says the Bus4Life driver. Bus4Life is scheduled to visit Ukraine mid- to late- June for its third visit to the country.

Tuukka Linkopuu of Finland, who returns for a second year as the Bus4Life driver, is hoping for “good weather and few technical breakdowns”. Technical problems are common, since the bus is over 20 years old and has travelled 768,000 kilometres. But God has made it possible for the bus and its ministry to keep rolling.

During last year’s tour, Tuukka, along with a team of local Ukrainian believers, had finished an outreach in a countryside village and started his journey back into town. It was past 22:00 when Tuukka noticed the gas pedal had stopped working. He halted the bus in the quiet countryside to decide his next move when a mechanic dressed in work clothes came down the road on his bicycle. The team translated between Tuukka and the mechanic to explain the problem, and this lone bicycle-rider was able to fix the bus within 10 minutes.

The Bus4Life vehicle underwent inspection and extensive repairs in January and is now beginning its sixth tour. OM Finland is looking for a newer vehicle to replace, or join, the current Bus4Life.

“The harvest is plentiful…” says Matt 9:37 (NIV). Two vehicles would provide even more opportunities for ministry. Please pray for the Bus4Life ministry and for God to provide another vehicle.  

What happens when you lock 17 men from 10 countries into one house for three weeks?

“It can be like sitting on a ticking time bomb,” says Daniel Ottoson. “But it can also be an amazing testimony of God’s love.”

Daniel, originally from New Jersey, US, served with OM in Southeast Asia for two years between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, as a result of on-going unrest in the country, the government issued a curfew that lasted for 21 days. During this time, Daniel and his fellow OMers were forced to stay at home. Unable to leave their neighbourhood, they invited their neighbours over. One of the neighbours was very hard on the gospel. But after observing the multicultural community for several days, he approached Daniel and asked, “How do you survive without killing each other?”

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  - John 13:34-35 (NIV)

The question stirred something inside Daniel. He realised the amazing testimony it was that people from all over the world were living together in community, serving the same God. It was clear to Daniel that there was something special about the witness of multicultural Christian communities. He soon developed a desire to work in similar contexts.

Road to Finland

During his time in Asia, Daniel befriended another OMer, Anne Keinänen from Finland. The two were later married.

The Ottosons considered working with OM USA. Before settling in the US, though, they wanted to spend time in Finland so Daniel could be introduced to Anne’s homeland. But while in Finland, both got “a sense of being at home”, and felt called to remain in Finland. Daniel, a chef by profession, got a job at a local university in Espoo. One day his co-workers informed him that there was an American missionary handing out tracts in the cafeteria. It was OM’s Shaun Rossi, head pastor of an international congregation in the area. The two Americans shared a common love for the church, and soon Daniel left his job as a chef and started working for the United Community Church (UCC).

UCC, an international English-speaking church, has three campuses in the capital area of Helsinki, Finland. UCC seeks to be a congregation where people from different backgrounds and religious walks can feel comfortable, grow in Christ and serve with their gifts. Approximately 300 people attend UCC’s weekly worship services. There are many Finns as well as foreigners from close to 30 nations. In addition, the church runs special programmes for kids, teens, women and men, as well as offer small groups, prayer and growth classes.

Living proof

Daniel serves as a site leader on the UCC Leppävaara campus. While most of his time goes into leading and organising various events, Daniel is also a committed student working towards a BA Honours in Theology degree.

The Leppävaara site is the largest of the three UCC campuses. Weekly attendance is about 170 with many nationalities represented. “We have so many people coming to Finland every year from all over the world,” Daniel explains. “Many will return to their home countries sooner or later or will at least have contact there. If they go back and tell others about Jesus, we can have a worldwide effect.”

Nevertheless, Daniel wants to avoid calling UCC “international”. About half of the members are Finnish with little or no international background. Daniel finds great joy in seeing Finns and foreigners reconciled, serving and loving Jesus together. People at UCC are living proof of God’s love—much like Daniel’s community in Asia.

“European children and teenagers transcend ethnicity, culture and religion,” says Miika Parkkinen, leader of Mix Ministries, OM Finland’s youth ministry, and OM Europe’s Empowering Kids&Youth ministry. “It is most important to encounter them and to encourage churches to get active in ministering to them.”

Miika and his virtual team focus on meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of the next generation in different countries across Europe.

Go to the youth

Europe consists of over 30 nations, is home to more inhabitants than the United States and is culturally and linguistically diverse.

Though many youth centres run by local towns exist in Western Europe, Miika says that the concept is foreign in Eastern Europe.

“The Communist Party worked with the youth, but after the fall of communism the youth programmes collapsed as well,” explains Miika. Therefore, OM teams in Hungary and Moldova reach out to children and teens through sports and summer camps.

While churches in Europe do a lot of youth and children’s ministry for children and teens from Christian families, OM Europe seeks to reach teens who do not come from a Christian background and don’t attend church-affiliated activities.

Interacting with the youth is more important than any programme.

“We go where the teenagers already are and meet them in their own surroundings,” says Miika. OM teams carry out programmes at youth centres in Western Europe: Finland, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, amongst others.

Research on the needs of European youth and the experience of those working with teens around Europe shows that the greatest need of young people is to establish a conversational relationship with an adult.

“Interacting with the youth is more important than any programme,” says Miika. “There is no one correct way to do youth ministry. Instead, it is essential to offer an environment where we can encounter teenagers and where they can feel safe.”

Stepping Out

“These teenagers and children may turn out to be a different kind of Christ-follower than we are,” continues Miika. “I hope that despite our cultural differences, we would go to places and instead of converting anyone, we would look for ways to befriend God together with the teenagers.

“I hope that the new generation would grow to have a different image of what it means to be a believer. Our generation spends too much time in Christian strongholds and is afraid of encountering the world.”

Miika and his team realise that everyone in Europe has an idea of Christianity, though it may not be based on correct information. “We need to understand it is a process,” he says. “Most people come to faith through a personal contact. The longer you are with the same children and teenagers, the more they will listen.”

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*Source - BBC News / www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14838749 - © 2011 BBC