THE MARCH BRUNSTAD MAGAZINE – THE LATEST NEWS FROM BCC

8. March, 2020

During the Brunstad Magazine members received information about continuing operations in BCC and the Brunstad Foundation, news from the Bible project for the youth, and the plans for the church’s upcoming conferences and youth camps.

By Johanne Reiersrud – Photo by Lidiya Lukashuk

During Saturday’s broadcast attendees sat in the main hall at Oslofjord Convention Center, where BCC’s conference for women was held. The program was also distributed via BrunstadTV to members in other parts of the world.

Below is a summary from the broadcast.

Church activities and property management – separate operations

There is an interesting story behind the nearly completed giant building project at Oslofjord. An informational film was presented, in which the current structure for BCC as a church versus the role of the Brunstad Foundation in providing property management was explained.

Kåre J. Smith explained the historical context behind the church’s commitment to finance the expansion project, and the significance this has had for our church conferences, which we’ll continue to hold in the future. The people who attend and the substance of the conferences is what draw us to this place.The word of God we partake of during the conferences uphold a life-changing power, making it a necessity that we gather as often as we do.

Tore Aslaksen, board member and CFO of the Brunstad Foundation announced an important decision to explore a new ownership structure for the Oslofjord companies, which today are owned by the Foundation. It will take 1-2 years to study this further, and many decisions will have to be made before a final solution can be presented. The Brunstad Foundation is committed to safeguarding its values and fulfilling its purpose in the best possible way, while allowing the convention center to conduct its commercial activities separate from a Christian affiliation.

Gradual updates to BCC’s statutes – more women will take part

Berit Hustad Nilsen, Chair of the Board and Communications Manager for BCC, provided a status update on the forthcoming changes to the organization’s statutes, where the first stage of the process will be voted on in the next meeting of representatives.

Approval of these changes will mean women can join of the one of the church’s upper bodies, the representative assembly. This was historical and good news that received positive response from the audience.

Kåre J. Smith, Berit Hustad Nilsen and Tore Aslaksen share a light moment during the Brunstad Magazine.

The Bible illuminated in new ways

This year there has been a huge undertaking in BCC for the project that has put the Bible, more specifically the letter to the Hebrews, on the agenda. A short film clip showed some of the work behind each episode of the weekly animated films and podcasts.

Kåre J. Smith and Bernt Aksel Larsen are active contributors to the project and have a strong commitment to the project’s purpose: that young people are stirred up to live for Jesus. To understand what the letter’s author wanted to tell us requires a personal effort to read and discuss the content, and of course to live what we read.

The upcoming Easter Camp, organized by the Brunstad Youth Club, is planned as a powerful finale to the project. The whole church will celebrate Palm Sunday with a meal inspired by Jewish traditions from the time of Jesus.

The goal of the Hebrews project is for the youth to be gripped by the Word of God and the gospel, and many resources have been utilized in this work. Photo by BCC

Information about spring conferences

News about the spring conferences:
– The Easter conference will be better organized for families, with a special children’s program.
– The Pentecost conference will include a live broadcast of the mission feast organized by the church from Sandefjord, Norway.
– There will be a soccer tournament for children after the Pentecost conference, organized by the church-affiliated Xercize sports association.

Lise Østermark, manager of the BCC Events department, gave information regarding the closely monitored coronavirus situation. BCC adheres to the authorities’ recommendations, and any changes or updates in connection with upcoming events will be communicated through the member portal.

Songs: Several generations contributed to Saturday’s show, which included both information, fundraising and spiritual inspiration. Photo by BCC

Local enthusiasm for fundraising

The church from Sandefjord, Norway has been entrusted with presenting the next semi-annual Mission Feast. Two representatives from the local church shared the plans for the feast program and revealed their goal for the next BCC mission collection – 10 million Norwegian kroner.

Vidar Kronstad, board chairman from BKM Sandefjord explained how the Hebrews project inspired them to contribute, so the church will have the means needed for its future mission work and to spread the gospel.

Humor and enthusiasm for the fundraising competition

One of the goals for the Brunstad Magazine is to stimulate fundraising. This year, a fundraising campaign is underway for a security fund in the local churches. In addition, the youth clubs have their annual fundraising plans for youth work and camps. “Team BYC” i.e. the youth, challenged the adults, called “Team Allstars”. It is a friendly and informal competition, in which the status in relation to their set goals is measured, and each month the losing team must accept small humorous “punishment”.

This time it was Team Allstars who lost, and the three fundraising leaders had to take a test about Letter to the Hebrews, with Bjørn Nilsen as the examiner. While it was a somewhat nerve-wracking situation for the representatives, it had an edifying result for the audience in the hall.