Despite a rich heritage of revival and global missions, Sweden is now one of the most secular societies in the world. The past 100 years have seen significant transformations, resulting in a surge of materialism, isolation, and relational fractures. Equally dramatic is the perilous decline in church participation. Sadly, the Swedish state church is seen as a mere cultural stepping-stone, lacking tangible spiritual vitality and influence.

There are a handful of excellent independent churches but the vast majority has suffered from crippling ideologies and simple association with a series of high-profile scandals. Most are marginalized by a pervasive suspicion, irrelevancy, or outright rejection. The majority of Swedes find little use for church and those who believe do so privately.

CAI’s project in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, is called H²0, short for “Hope, Respect, and Care” in Swedish.   Our goal is to follow God’s leading and initiate growing communities expressing these elements. Believing that Christ offers an abundant life even in the beautiful, isolating, and complicated “Garden of Sweden”, we want to create new spiritual curiosity, exploration, and ultimately Jesus-followers.

With a strong commitment to the Swedish language, we have begun in Angered, a section of Gothenburg reflecting the global immigration and its needs. We also seek to have a beneficial influence on the greater Gothenburg region as well.

Take a listen my friend and colleague, Marcus Fritch, as he describes the unique challenges of moving to another country to try and engage in missional/incarnational mission.  He is an amazing missional practitioner!!!

via vimeo.com