Over many years, BCC has carried out active missionary work on several continents. Via the net, through personal contact and through support of regional conference centers, the church has worked in order that the gospel might be spread to all mankind.
Text: Johanne Reiersrud – Photo: BCC
Donations to the missionary work have been a regular and important part of the church’s collections for many years, and every six months members throughout the world gather in front of TV screens to follow along with the mission-focused services that are arranged in various countries and local churches. In October it’s the local church Linnenbach’s turn, and they focusing particularly on the missions collection for this feast.
Jesus’ Great Commission is the foundation
Since it’s small beginning in the 1900’s, BCC, with its vision of bringing individuals in connection with Jesus, has worked so that a personal faith can be born in individuals. Gathering many members has never been a goal in itself, and it is Jesus’ Great Commission that has formed the basis for our work with bringing the doctrine of the Gospel to all mankind.
På 70-tallet: Aksel J. Smith m.fl., på misjonsreise i Mexico. Foto: BCC
Meeting People where They Are
Johan Oscar Smith spoke to people he met in his profession as marine officer, and in the course of time he found fellow-believers along the whole of the Norwegian coastline. From Norway the same word continued to spread to several countries, first and foremost to Northern Europe. After Smith’s death, others continued to travel round about and preach the word, and the message reached several continents. Today there are thriving local churches spread throughout the whole of Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
BCC has contributed financially and otherwise to the construction of a dozen conference centers throughout several continents. Members from all over the world have supported these efforts, facilitating more people being able to gather around the Gospel – not least people in countries with fewer financial resources. In turn, the Gospel spreads from person to person through ordinary encounters in the course of daily life. This person to person mission work has always been and continues to be the church’s missionary profile.
Missionary Work Creates New Possibilities in Poor Parts of the World
Through projects in several countries, have people in poorer regions received places to gather, and workplaces have been created. This form of indirect humanitarian aid is in many ways “help to self-help”. According to our experience this is the best help to give others both in the short and the long term.
In connection with several of these projects, active occupational training is being given to young people who otherwise might have very limited work possibilities. In this way, we can provide motivated people with the opportunity to support themselves. The mission projects have therefore created many positive trickle-down effects, where resourceful people with abilities and a desire to contribute positively in their own environment have grown up in otherwise impoverished regions.
All this leads back to Jesus’ Great Commission, making people disciples and teaching them to keep His words. Jesus Himself was on the giving side all His life, and even when he was hanging on the cross, He wanted to be of help to those around Him.
aktivkristendom.no / activechristianity.org. The main focus of these pages is a continuous strengthening of the faith and the mission, and in the course of 2017 they are to be translated into as many as 15 languages.
Here, everyone who is interested in reading about BCC’s faith and doctrine can find the church’s core literature which are easily accessible as e-books. The message of the Gospel is presented by articles on the net, films and personal testimonies. Social media is actively used in order to reach more, and in this way new readers are led to the main content of the webpage.