Pentecostalism in Norway


Pentecostal congregations in Norway is the largest Protestant free church in Norway with a total membership at 39,590 people in 2009.
YearPentecostalPercent
198042,5181.04%
199043,4711.02%
200045,0061.04%
200542,7440.92%
200939,5900.82%

The Pentecostal movement in Norway is a Christian movement. It is not a single organized unit, but consists of a community of 340 independent churches. The Norwegian Pentecostal movement runs humanitarian work, schools and missions in about 30 countries.
The Pentecostal movement follows a biblical, radical Christian teaching. The beliefs of water baptism and baptism in the Holy Ghost are the characteristics of the Pentecostal movement, and this is perceived as the great difference between Pentecostals and, for example, Lutherans. The gatherings in the Pentecostal movement are often held in "simple" rooms with few ecclesiastical decorations. The congregation is not considered the church itself, but more the people, the Christian community. In Norway, the Gospel Centre is the largest joint initiative in the movement.
The Norwegian Pentecostal movement has about 40,000 baptized members, and in addition, approx. 10,000 children by members. The number of members has remained stable over the past few years.
Thomas Ball Barratt brought the Pentecostal movement to Norway in 1907. Barratt did not want to establish a new Christian movement, but rather wanted the Christian communities to be renewed. That was not the case, and he became the founder of the Pentecostal movement in Norway. Barratt was active in both Sweden, Denmark and England, and when he visited Denmark in 1907, it became the beginning of the Danish Pentecostal movement. Barratt must be added to have been significant for the establishment of the Pentecostal movement in several European countries, perhaps especially Sweden and England.

Prevalence

In Norway, public statistics show that Pentecostal churches have about 40,000 baptized members, in addition, approx. 10,000 children of the members, so-called belonging
There are 340 Pentecostal churches in Norway. Most are traditional churches, but in recent years churches have also been established with different concepts, such as Jesus Church, which is a church where the target group is youth.
The Pentecostal movement is part of the Pentecostal movement, considered among the world's fastest growing religious movements, with 600 million members..
The concept of Pentecost covers the wider community. The Pentecost in the world is great and consists of many quite different free church congregations, organizations and societies, including the Charismatic Movement, the Jesus Movement, Baptists, the Faith Movement, the Oasis Movement and many others. The term Pentecostal movement is used to refer to the community of Pentecostal churches that has their historical roots right back to the beginning of Pentecostal revival. Their followers are called Pentecostals.
The Free Evangelical Assemblies, or the Free Friends as they are also called, are considered by many as part of the Pentecostal movement. Historically, there have been some slight differences in the view of baptism in the Holy Spirit. There are several other Pentecostal directions which in doctrine and practice are similar to Pentecostal movement, but which have a slightly different background and a somewhat different teaching. These include the Faith Movement and Maran Ata.

History

The Pentecostal movement has its roots back to the Holiness Movement, which made its mark in America in the 19th century. But it was in 1906 that the Pentecostal and baptism of the Holy Ghost really made a worldwide breakthrough at the revival in Azusa street, Los Angeles. The Pentecostal revival of the early 1900s affected many established denominations. What was important was the focus on Jesus Christ, the central teachings of the Bible, and the Holy Spirit. The personal life as a Christian was also central and was expressed in an increased desire for prayer and prayer, and the use of spiritual gifts.
The term Pentecostal church was first used in the early 1900s by various congregations concerned with revival.
The baptism of spirit, as it was called, and the Pentecostal revival came to Norway with Methodist priest Thomas Ball Barratt's return from the United States in December 1906. He had actually been on a fundraising trip, for the erection of a building in Kristiania. Barratt had longed for the purification of the heart and the baptism of spirit, and when he was in the United States he read randomly in the magazine The Apostolic Faith about this. From New York, where he stayed, he made contact with the spiritually baptized in Los Angeles, and this contact changed his life completely. Some time later he himself experienced "being filled with the spirit" and getting the tongue.

When the Spiritual Baptism came to Norway

When Barratt came to Kristiania in December 1906, it was the beginning of several revival meetings with tongues. When Barratt climbed the podium in the gymnasium in Kristiania on December 23, 1906, and told of his spiritual baptism, he stood and wept. This was the first meeting after his return, and although he did not utter a word, it was of great importance; the spirit was present. On the 2nd Christmas day, more people came to experience similar things. By New Year 1907, 10 people had been baptized spiritually. This is considered the beginning of the Pentecostal movement in Norway.
The meetings aroused great curiosity, and many often sought out the long meetings. People were saved or given a renewed Christian life. But many Christians were sceptical of Barratt's baptism of spirit, and the new revival faced strong opposition and criticism, in which the spiritually baptized were laughed at as religious fanatics. This contributed to the spread of the revival, and it spread like wildfire.
Initially, there was no set schedule in the meetings. The main content must have been song, prayer and message in the Spirit with tongue or prophetic speech. At first, there was no "preaching" in orderly form. The Pentecostal movement at the beginning was more subjective and impulsive than, and a great contrast to, the more determined form of meeting the Lutherans. Eventually speech and preaching became central to the gatherings.

Revival and stagnation

Despite ridicule and resistance, the Pentecostal movement grew rapidly. New congregations were formed especially in southern and eastern Norway, and especially in Telemark. Church planting or establishing business in new places has always been central to the movement. When new congregations are established, so-called outposts are formed. These are not independent churches or denominations, but are subject to the parent church.
Already from New Year 1907 the revival in Kristiania spread with great speed throughout the country. In many places, regular meetings began. Barratt did not want to establish a new Christian movement, but rather wanted the Christian communities to be renewed. That was not the case, and he became the founder of the Pentecostal movement in Norway.
Throughout the 1930s, Norway was characterized by revivals in several places. This affected a number of churches and denominations and was a period of growth for the entire Christian community in Norway.
From 1945, after the war, growth stagnated. This period was marked by a deeper and more personal dedication to prayer and fasting.
In 1937, thirty years after its establishment, there were 16 783 Pentecostal friends in Norway. At the 50th anniversary of 1957, there were 249 Pentecostal churches with 26,474 Pentecostal friends in Norway. In 2007, the figure is about 42,000, if children are included as well.

Dissenter Law

The Dissenter Act restricted those who were not members of the State Church. The dissents did not have full civil rights and at the same time were given some special duties. A dissenter was banned from several professions and had, among other things, a ban on teaching school, being a nurse, civil servant, judge or minister. This led to a kind of "ghetto existence" for members of the free churches. This treatment made them feel disregarded by society.
Gradually, the law changed somewhat, and the distinction between dissenters and the other Norwegian citizens decreased. In 1969, the dissent law was abolished, and the concept of dissent disappeared from Norwegian law. At the same time, the Norwegian constitution was amended to give full religious freedom in Norway.

Churches

On May 18, 1908, the Norwegian Pentecostal First Church was founded in Skien. It was called the Tabernacle. The background for the foundation of the congregation was Pastor CM Seehuus' break with the Baptist congregation in Skien, a congregation which he himself led.
From 1910, several already established congregations joined the movement, including Berøa Oslo, Betel Nærsnes, Philadelphia Skiptvet and Betania Kongsberg.
As late as 1916, almost ten years after its establishment in Norway, the first Pentecostal church in Kristiania was founded. It had 200 members, and the "congregation" had held meetings in various rented premises since 1910. Today it is called Filadelfia Oslo. The "new" Philadelphia was inaugurated in 1938, after a major rebuild. Filadelfia Oslo is the Norwegian Pentecostal movement's largest congregation.
Throughout the 1920s many new congregations were formed in several places in Norway. The reason was yet another strong experience of God's intervention in life and that the spiritual gifts and services, as described by the Christian indigenous people, had now come into operation again.

Mission

The Norwegian Pentecostal movement conducts missionary work in more than 30 countries on four continents. The missionary idea has always been central to the Norwegian Pentecostal movement, which has 300 active missionaries, of which approx. 140 are currently abroad. They are also involved in several projects, humanitarian aid and relief. These are very many missionaries compared to the movement's membership numbers. It is said that "there is one missionary for every 100 Pentecostal friends". This is because the movement is organized with many independent churches. And according to the Bible's example, in the Acts of the Apostles, it is the individual congregation that is responsible missionaries of the missionaries. The close contact between a missionary in the field and a church at home in Norway has therefore been positive for the missionary engagement.
In 1910, the first missionaries were sent to China, Argentina and India.
In 1915, a mission organization under the name of the Free Evangelical Missionary Federation was founded by TB Barratt. In 1920 the name was changed to Norway's Free Evangelical Pagan Mission. But in 1929 Barratt went in to dissolve it, which happened in 1932. From then on, it is the individual churches themselves that have been responsible for the missionaries being dispatched. The movement later did not have any joint mission organization that had a real responsibility for the missionary activities.
The Norwegian Pentecostal Church's External Mission is an "office" that coordinates practical things for missionaries, such as an overview of mission projects, Norad support, visa applications, airline tickets and more.
In 1922, the first missionaries were sent to the Congo, and after a somewhat difficult establishment this developed into a great work. The missionary work in Congo was given its own name, CELPA, in 1995, at the same time as the national took over the work.
In 1983, there were approximately 350 active missionaries, in 30 countries, and 70-80 graduates waiting to be released. Pentecostal friends have no particular celebration of Pentecost, although what happened on the first Pentecost, when the Spirit fell upon the disciples, are central Bible words in the movement.

Joint ventures

Finnmark's first private health enterprise, Betania Alta, was established in 1937. The task was to alleviate the social distress among Finnmark's population during the interwar years.
In 1952 the first mission boat was purchased: the Mission Boat "The Peace Messenger". It sailed along the Norwegian coast, to smaller places, with the gospel. In 1980 it was replaced with a larger boat. In 2007, the boat was sold; the certification requirements and operating expenses became too extensive. It is now remodeled and sails under the name MS «Vestgar».
In 1919, a Bible school was established in Møllergata in Oslo. The school was intended for 100 students, but 400 met at school start. This was the Norwegian Pentecostal Movement's first school. Later there were Bible schools or courses in several places in Norway. Hedmarktoppen, near Hamar, was first used as a convention site in 1954, while Hedmarktoppen Folkehøyskole was established in 1970, and later came Sandvik Folkehøyskole. Betel Trondheim started Tomasskolen, a Christian elementary school, in 2000.
The Pentecostal Gospel Center was founded in 1983 by Lise and Ludvig Karlsen. They were former drug addicts and felt a need for the community's outcasts. The first Gospel Center was opened in 1983 in a garage on Roa. The Gospel Center is Norway's largest private intervention in the field of substance abuse, and can accommodate 300 drug users at seven different centers around Norway. Hundreds have been given "a new life".
Other major joint initiatives are IBRA radio, Pentecostal Children's and Youth Committee and TV-Inter.

Conflicts and Reconciliation

In the late 1950s, Åge Samuelsen broke out of the movement and formed the church Maran Ata in Oslo. A few years later there was a split with Aril Edvardsen and the Evidence of Faith in Kvinesdal.
Several conflicts arose in the 1980s and 1990s, due to the preaching of faith in the Pentecostal movement. One of the more striking characters in this is Åge Åleskjær, who started his own church outside the Pentecostal movement in 1985. In the mid -1990s, reconciliation came between Pentecostalism, the Faith Movement, Åge Åleskjær, Evidence of Faith and Aril Edvardsen. The latter forms a separate branch. Åge Samuelsen's many songs are of great importance in the movement.

Credo

The Bible's words are interpreted to be true that everything in it is true, a biblical teaching and recognition of the whole Bible as God's holy and infallible words. At the same time, it is acknowledged that man does not understand everything or can fully explain all relationships. With the help of the Holy Spirit, however, Christians can gain a clearer understanding and greater understanding of what is written. The Pentecostal movement does not use explanatory or other scripture besides the Bible. The Pentecostal movement believes in the Bible's revelation of God as a Holy Trinity, that there are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The return of Jesus, thoughts of the last things, and the Millennium play an important role.
The baptism of the Spirit is an early Christian phenomenon, and first appeared on Pentecost in Jerusalem, following Jesus' ascension to heaven. The disciples were gathered. Then the Spirit fell upon them, and some saved disciples changed to become bold apostles. The baptized Christians received greater boldness and joy, and they also received spiritual gifts that became a manifestation that God was with them.
The tongue language is considered a prayer language that comes into force when you want to pray not only with your own thoughts and words, but also with your spirit. However, speaking in tongues does not necessarily play an equal role in everyone.
Salvation is understood as an active act on the part of God. The relationship between God and the human race was lost during the Fall of Adam. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross and resurrection, God restores the relationship between himself and the human race. All this happens through personal faith, which is a gift of God.
Communion has a central place in the service life of the movement, in commemoration and proclamation of the atoning death of Christ. The Lord's Supper refers to a deep union between Christ and His church.
Baptism is a baptism with full immersion in water, called believing baptism. Baptism is a voluntary choice. Baptism is an act that is done on the basis of faith and conviction. Baptism is a covenant of conscience between one who is baptized and God. For young children it is common to have a child blessing, which is not considered a baptism.
The Pentecostal movement has always had a social commitment to the poor and the excluded. This is done through relief work and collections. The outgoing missionary activity has focused on building schools, health services and taking care of the language and culture of each country.
The Pentecostal movement has a conservative view of sexuality and cohabitation.
The Pentecostals emphasize the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people, and are therefore Israel-friendly. Some give their support to Zionism.
Pentecostal friends have no particular celebration of Pentecost, although what happened during the first Pentecost, when the spirit fell upon the disciples, are central Bible words in the movement. They celebrate Christmas and Easter such as Lutherans.
The Pentecostal clear view of the Bible as God's word has been one of the reasons why they have been largely dismissive of the World Council of Churches because they believe this ecumenical movement has had too liberal a Bible view.

Organization

The individual congregation is registered as an independent religious community with the county governor and makes decisions on his own. But there is usually good contact between the different churches.
The organizational form within the congregations may vary. They often have a simple organization, modelled from the Bible, from the way the first Christian congregation was organized.
Many congregations are led by a pastor, who works with several elders or deacons. Traditionally, the congregations have had only men in leadership positions, but today there are congregations that have female leaders. Female speakers are not uncommon.

Membership

Individuals become members by enrolling in one particular congregation, preferably the local congregation at the place where they live. Usually, they are required to proclaim their Christian faith to the congregation, and as a rule they must also be baptized. One can only be a member of one religious community.
Children in congregations who have grown up within the movement but who have not yet been baptized are referred to as belonging, while those who are baptized are referred to as members.

Song and Music

Song and music have been very important and have followed the movement from the beginning. The Pentecostal movement broke with the conservative view of the style of music that fit into religious contexts. The members of the Pentecostal movement had little to spare for the hymn tax and the corals, which were associated with the church's liturgy and rituals. They emphasized having a "spiritual freedom" in the song style and performance. The song and music style was "folk, new and fresh". Precisely this was probably the reason why the Pentecostal movement made great progress. The movement also received some criticism for the lack of quality in lyrics and melodies.
Solo song, duet song and smaller song and music groups have characterized the movement. But the music style and performance has changed a lot from 1907.
Like the Methodists and the Salvation Army, it is not uncommon for brass bands in the larger churches. Among the last such brass bands that still exist are the Salen Horn Orchestra in Halden, the Filadelfia Horn Orchestra in Filadelfia Drammen, founded in 1956, and Betel Brass in Trondheim, founded in 1958.
TB Barratt was a singer, composer, musician and songwriter. Many of his songs are found in the songbooks Maran ata and Gospel Tones. From the age of 18, Barratt translated and wrote songs and hymns. In 1887 he published the first songbook Evangelical Songs containing 96 of Barratt's own songs. Barratt published the songbook Maran ata in 1911, with 587 songs. Much of the songs were written by Barratt, either newly written or translated from English. The songbook Gospel Tones was first published in 1979.
The record company Klango was established early on and released a number of gramophone records. Among the most famous artists were Kjell and Odd, Milly and Oddny and Karsten Ekorness. Later, Philadelphia publishing song and music on discs and cassettes. The name was later changed to REX forlag AS, which is now merged with Hermon Forlag.
Especially in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s string music was both common and popular. These were smaller singing groups with stringed instruments. Song choirs, mixed choirs or men's choirs were found in each church soon. Among the most well-known were probably the Philadelphia Choir in Oslo and Salem Mannskor who were on par with the best in Norway. The singing style was considered to be fresh and lively. The lyrics were almost exclusively evangelical, and were about the Christian salvation, the walk of life and Heaven.
In the 1980s and 1990s there was a period of many youth choirs. Several choirs released cassette or recordings. Betel String Music in Trondheim released three cassettes in the 1980s which became very popular, with typical songs in fresh string music style.
From the mid-1990s, many of the texts are characterized by more personal praise and worship. Dancing and drama groups with multimedia are becoming commonplace in youth environments.

Common Institutions

Sigmund T. Kristoffersen was elected leader of the Pentecostal Movement's Leadership Council in 2011.
The Norwegian churches have many common measures both locally, nationally and internationally. There may be mission work, care work, radio and television work, child labour and magazines. Preachers meet for discussions and cooperation. Every year, key people meet for the so-called preaching conference for consultation and inspiration.
The Pentecostal Gospel Centre was founded in 1983 to help drug addicts. Many hundreds of people have been given a new life. The gospel centre's motto is Still there is hope.
The Norwegian Pentecostal Exchequer is an "office" that coordinates practical things for the missionaries. The Norwegian Pentecostal movement conducts missionary work in more than 30 countries on four continents.
The Pentecostal Children's and Youth Committee coordinates the children's and youth work in the Pentecostal movement, publishes teaching material and organizes courses and conferences for leaders in children's and youth work.
The Pentecostal Leadership Council is a coordinating and coordinating body. The Council's most important task is planning, conducting and following up the Pentecostal Preachers' Conference. But also the processing of inquiries into the Pentecostal movement in Norway from public authorities, cross-Christian organizations and others. The leadership council will strengthen the community between the churches in the movement and take initiatives that make the movement visible in Norway. Sigmund Terje Kristoffersen is the leader of the management council, elected in 2011.
Other common institutes are:
IBRA radio was established in 1955. The name was later changed to IBRA media because it also focuses on TV broadcasts and the Internet. IBRA media is one of the largest TV and radio stations in the world and is owned by the Pentecostal churches in the Nordic countries. The purpose is to preach the Gospel to unreached people groups. IBRA broadcasts radio and TV to 110 countries in 82 different languages. It is estimated that 100 million TV and radio viewers can follow the broadcasts. Every day, IBRA receives thousands of listener and viewer responses to its programs. Each year, more than 250,000 people announce that they have received salvation, as a direct result of listening to the programs. The IBRA is neutral politically and does not criticize other religions or religious communities.
Many Norwegian Pentecostal churches produce radio programs and many broadcast local radio in their local environment. From 1983 several congregations established local radios. Several of the Pentecostal near-radios are among the oldest in Norway and were started just after the authorities disbanded the broadcast monopoly in 1981.
Some larger congregations are engaged in television production. In 1990 Filadelfia Oslo started with near-television in Oslo, under the name Filadelfia TV. Today this company has been transferred to TV Inter AS, which is committed to producing good Christian television programs. Egil Svartdahl's program Sunday open, got the first major contract with TV2 in 1993.

Journal

Barratt started the magazine Byposten as early as 1904, while serving as a pastor of the Methodist Church. The magazine changed its name in 1910 to Victory of the Cross. The format and page numbers have changed, in recent years the magazine has had the appearance of being a "newspaper" and is published once a week. From the beginning the Victory of the Cross has been the movement's hoof organ.
Other journals or publications are Leadership, Joy of Life, and the Gospel of All, Pentecostal Missionaries. Light in the East deals with mission work in Eurasia. The Shibbolet on the work of Norwegian Pentecostals in Israel. New Hope deals with mission work in Mozambique, and Good News deals with Child Aid

Schools

The Pentecostal movement in Norway has several schools.