Happy New 2012!

Just a few hours left of 2011, wow, what a year it has been for SOS... I am so grateful to God for all the people that have given their lives to Jesus at our festivals, conferences and here at home in Stockholm! Thank you Jesus!

Tonight we celebrate, we are praying and believing God that 2012 will be a wonderful year! Happy New Year my friends! We are moving forward! Tomorrow I preach at SOS Church Stockholm at 4 pm, you are coming, right?! I am so looking forward to see the church again!

See ya!

Goliath Promoted David!

During this Christmas season my family had a Bible studie, reading from 1 Samuel chapter 16-17 together. The shepherd boy David fought against lion and bear. As a young teenegare he is anointed king over Israel by the prophet Samuel... When he heroicly kills the Philistine giant Goliath he is discovered and becomes a famous Royal Musician. He sings and plays and the evil spirits flee. He advances as warrior and becomes a notorious commander in chief for the Israeli Army! Famous, loved, popular, but also hated... He has to wait quite long, suffers because of the old king's jealousy, is accused for a coup attempt and is haunted. At last the entire kingdom is under his rule and David becomes the famous and loved warrior king and father of the people we know so well from history.

The battle against Goliath was what made the young David famous. The enemy Goliath actually promoted David.  Some battles you just have to fight, you cannot  get away from them. Certain battles are predestined and directed by heaven, how weird it may sound... Bring it on! Someone says. No, not another battle, can't take more now... Another one says. Ok, I guess I can take another beating, the third says.

Personally I am kinda hungry for a real fight. Nothing silly, but a real "nose-breaking" match with a heavyweight. I'm in shape, well trained, experienced and rested. 2012 will be a great year! Bring it on ;)! Huge battles, but also huge victories awaits!

See ya!

Leadership Day

It is with great joy that I want to invite you to the next Leadership Day! We look back at the previous one with gratitude, it's always so wonderful to meet! This time we have the honor of listening to Pastor Ron Johnson and Pastor Melodie Leake.

Pastor Ron Johnson is one of my best friends and a true spiritual dad and Apostle. Ron is the Lead Pastor at Markham Woods Church in Orlando FL, USA, but spends a lot of his time travelling speaking at different leadership seminars around the world as well. He is a great man of God with a big heart and one of the wisest and faith-filled men I have ever met. Melodie Leake is a mother of 5, who together with her husband Jeff are Lead Pastors at Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh PA, USA. Melodie leads the womens ministry at the church and stands together with her husband in their vision of planting 100 new churches in the next 10 years. She is a strong woman of God with both feet on the ground, and a great role model when it comes to keeping a balance between family-life and ministry. Come and listen and take part of what God has placed on Ron and Melodie's hearts, come and pray and have fellowship with us!   When: Saturday, February 11th 2012 Where: SOS Church Stockholm, Sweden   Time: 9 am - 4 pm   Schedule: 9-09:30 am Registration 9:30-10 am Worship 10-10:50 am Melodie Leake, session 1 10:50-11 am Coffee break 11-12 noon Melodie Leake, session 2 12-1 pm Lunch 1-2 pm Ron Johnson, session 3 2-2:20 pm Coffee break 2:20-3:30 pm Ron Johnson, session 4 3:30-4 pm Conclusion by Johannes Amritzer Welcome to the Leadership Day! See ya!

What is your excuse?!

Realize your dreams in 2012! Make the most of what God has given you.

Set in Stone

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

Acts 2:42

Four things are mentioned in this text that seems to be the center of the first and youngest Christian church, as it is described in the New Testament.

1)     The teachings of the apostles’.

2)     The fellowship.

3)     The breaking of bread.

4)     Prayer.

Four foundation stones. Four pillars deeply driven into the ground. Four concrete bases, one in each corner. Yes... Then the house of God stands firm.

That is how the church in the book of Acts was built, and this is how we are trying to build SOS Church Stockholm.

Today we, (SOS staff), have been on a boat all day, going from Kapellskär to Mariehamn. A one day cruise in the Swedish/Finnish archipelago with a huge Christmas buffet on the meny. We have laughed, had coffee, played cards, played with the kids, played chess and just hung out with each other… So much fun! So spiritual. So important. It is so good for a church and its leader to just rest, with no demands, work or effective activity; it is called fellowship.

We run six Bible Schools in SOS, preaching and teaching from the Bible seven days a week… We celebrate communion in our house churches and with our families around the kitchen table on a regular basis. We pray, fast, do spiritual warfare and have prayer nights.

Let this Christmas be a time of fellowship without demands for you, your family and your siblings in the church. Laugh, talk and rest together! Enjoy each other’s friendship and sense of humor!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Cor 13:14

See ya!

Christmas at SOS

Success! Our church's Christmas Show was sooo successful! Three productions, many new people and great entertainment! I am so proud of our Fine Arts Pastor, Julia and Samuel Willkander and Maria and Ante Evermin who have produced, been sitting in the tech booth and seen to that light, sound, big screens and everything else worked! Our emcees, Jenny Jensen and Jonatan Kvist, who created the party-feel! So proud of all our talents in the church; people doing skits, music, dance, speeches, yes, everything has been so professional and cool.

Yesterday I had a Dr appointment, a lunch meeting then I checked the exams I gave the Bible school students a couple of weeks ago, after that we headed over to our annual Christmas party with the students of SOS Mission Bible College... Today we are going on a cruise to Finland with 84 SOS leaders! We are enjoying Christmas together, just hanging out, laughing and eating good!

See ya!

Christmas Show at SOS Church

Three evenings of Christmas celebration and party start at our church now (Dec 16-18). The show starts tonight at 7 pm, tomorrow at 7 pm and Sunday at 4 pm! More than 300 tickets are already sold... If you haven't had time to buy a ticket, you can buy one at the entrance tonight...

Bring your neighbors, working collegues, friends and family members! Let them experience a Jesus-Christmas :)! SOS is a huge warm family and safe place for all the nationalities of Stockholm. We open the gates and say; God is good and we wish you a blessed Christmas!

See ya!

Faith Goals for SOS Church 2012

At our latest leadership gathering in SOS Church (Dec 7) we agreed on these faith goals for 2012 for our church downtown... Our "Vision Sunday" and Kick Off for 2012, where we will share these goals with the entire church is January 8th, but I want to start sowing the seeds in your heart even now... We will continue to win Stockholm through our motto; "everyone makes one disciple per year!"

Here are our goals;

1) To grow from 350 active adult members to 600... (If we include kids, teenagers and our seeker-friends, we are already a good crowd).

2) Have 2 celebrations every Sunday! We'll start January 22nd, 12 noon and 4 pm!


3) We believe God for 75 people baptized in water!


4) We are planting a daugther church in Switzerland March 18th! SOS Church Bienne!


5) We will invite our pastors that lead our mission bases to come to Sweden once during 2012!


6) We are standing in faith for 30,000 new, wild Jesus-disciples in follow-up classes after the festival in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in June!

7) Three new businessess to be started from SOS Business Class!

Yes! We are storming forward! Aggressive for Stockholm and Sweden!

See ya!

Happy...

I'm pastoring home in Stockholm and enjoying it... Meetings with newly saved, life coaching conversations with church members, pre-marriage counseling, leadership gatherings, prayer meetings, teaching at our Bible College (first year) and speaking to our students in our pastoral training school (second year) about the Bible. Interesting subjects too; The Healing Ministry of Jesus in year one and; The Church in the Multi Cultural Society in the second year... Our students come from all over the world and are so ambitious. Yes, everything is actually really good! But, we are missing you! Apply to the school here! We are accepting students both in January and in August 2012!

I have meetings with business men and business men to-be, preparing my message for this Sunday's Celebration and having mentor-meetings with all my pastors (6 couples) this week... Soon we'll go on a cruise with 84 SOS leaders to Finland, so much fun!

I am enjoying myself like a king, love to build church in the capital of Sweden! Stockholm, my dear Stockholm... Stockholm is the city of my life-calling, I want to live, serve Jesus and wash the feet of the people here, and then die happy and full one day...

This Sunday we are baptizing again; so wonderful with all these changed lives!

I'm trying to work out, drive Adam to his karate lessons, Alicia to her riding lessons, shop, yes, everything that is a part of our everyday life... You probably know what I mean?

My son, Adam!


Our Christmas Show in SOS Church takes place next weekend, December 16-18, don't forget to buy tickets to all your coworkers, neighbors and friends.

See ya!

SOS Business Class

We start something totally new in SOS this week; SOS Business Class. The vision for SOS Business Class is to help coach people start 70 new businessess in the next 10 years... As a member you will receive invitations to meetings on a regular basis, breakfast meetings, dinners, retreats, lectures and prayer where we want to build a strong and productive fellowship among business people. We hope that you will find tools and inspiration that will help you succeed with your business and company!

SOS Business Class is for you, who want to serve God though your business and be a part of, and support different projects in the Kingdom of God.

The first gathering is this Saturday, December 10th at 2-4 pm at SOS Church's Café. Come dressed up, come with your business idea, your thoughts on starting a business, or come with your business! I think this will be fantastic and so much fun, and I believe that God will release a wave of business enterprizes in the church in the future! The future is bright! God wants to give you business ideas, God is for you!

Welcome Saturday at 2 pm!

See ya!

To See People...

Hagar was alone and abandoned. A foreign slave, driven away. She was in trouble with her matron. Hagar is sitting by a spring of water in a dry, hot desert and wilderness. She is crying and her pain is like an erupting volcanoe, and her tears never seem to cease...

She is far away from her Egyptian family and mom's safety and care... She is young, pregnant, emotional and vulnerable... Her matron trew her out and called her nasty things. She is carrying the baby of the mighty and so much older Abraham... She has actually only done what was asked of her, and gave herself to her matron's husband, beacuse her matron told her to. Hagar loves her matron Sara, and she always liked the good hearted and God-fearing Abraham. This was never her idea, but Sara's, from beginning to end... She doesn't understand Sara's sudden jealousy and outburt of rage, just beacause she was proud of her belly and told some of her girlfriends who the daddy was... Ok, so she's pregnant now. And? That was the point, right? Sara couldn't have biological kids of her own and organized this... Convinced Hagar. Convinced the hesitant Abraham.

Hagar doesn't understad. Doesen't understand anything. So unfair. So stupid. She just feels used, poor and has no saying. Why did Sara hit her so hard? Why didn't Abraham defend her? Why was she suddenly treated like a whore? She who had always been super-loyal. Why all these harsh and unfair words? "Of course I'm happy about the child I'm carrying, and that I have been chosen to be the mommy of Abraham's baby. Yes, I feel special, but... It wasn't fun to be with the guy... The night with Abraham had just felt scary, wrong and weird. He is nice, but... What should I do?" Hagar is crying, snot running, sobbing... Crap. Everything turned out so wrong, and she could do nothing about it...

Suddenly a young man stands before her; a beautiful angel from God. He speaks comforting words and says beautiful things about the baby and the future. God has seen her suffering and sent His angel with a message! Wow! Is this really happening?

Hagar wipes her tears and feels loved again, strong and seen. God understands her. God sees her. God is good, fair and will restore both her and the child. God has a plan. Oh, vad comfort. God is in control.

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 

Genesis 16:13

My friend, God sees you! All my blog readers; God sees you! Let us become like our Lord, and see people! See people, for real. Stop and see! Stockholm and the world need people with true empathy who sees and understands. People with comfort and a message from heaven.

See ya!

Visit from California!

One of my best friends are visiting us this week, Michael Williams from Modesto, CA, USA. Michael is the Senior Associate Pastor at Calvary Temple Worship Center in Modesto, a church with more than 7,000 members that is contantly growing. Calvary Temple is one of our partner churches in the US. I met Michael several years ago and we have camped together at festivals both in Bulgaria and Haiti since then. He is a wonderful man of God and friend!

Michael and Kelli with family...

I am so enjoying spending time with him here in Stockholm this week! He taught at SOS Mission Bible College yesterday and will be preaching at our celebration at 4 pm this Sunday! Michael has a great passion to pray for the sick and often see miracles take place... Don't miss this service on Sunday, bring a friend, it will be awesome!

My Maria...

Yesterday was my Maria's birthday... I am so grateful that I have such a wonderful wife... She's been my girl for more than 20 years now and is better looking now than ever! I am the happiest man on earth! Last night we celebrated by going to the movies the whole family!

See ya!

Our First Daughter Church!

SOS Church Stockholm is about to plant its first daugther church! We feel that now when we are about to exceed 500 people who attend our celebrations on a regular basis that it's time for us to plant our first church... Timothee and Manuelle Zürcher who attended SOS Mission Bible College last year will be Lead Pastors and our own Ma-Jo Bulundwe will be the Associate Pastor in SOS Church Bienne, Switzerland! What a team! We are sooo proud of them!

Timothee and Manuelle Zürcher...

Ma-Jo Bulundwe...

The launch of the church will be Sunday March 18th 2012 and I will fly down and preach then. Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh PA and Freedom Valley Worship Center in Gettysburg PA, USA are also a part of this and we are so thankful for that.

The church in Bienne have grown from 25 to 75 active members in just a few months. Right now Timothee and Manuelle and the church are working on renovating their new premises.

The pastoral team here at home and the church are so happy for, and proud of Tim and Manuelle and their team! SOS Church Bienne is here to stay, conquer and win :)!

See ya!