The council meeting of the Christian Council of Norway voted today on admitting BCC as a regular member of the council. The majority voted yes. BCC is pleased to be part of the Christian community, and looks forward to further cooperation.
By Berit H. Nilsen – Photo by the Christian Council of Norway
In his speech to the council meeting, BCC Church Elder Harald Kronstad thanked the council for good meetings and productive conversations in the past years.
After being observers since 2019, and after a thorough internal decision-making process, BCC applied for ordinary membership in what is Norway’s largest umbrella organization for Christian churches and denominations in the autumn of 2020. Now, the council meeting has decided to welcome BCC as a member. Kronstad underlines that it has been valuable to get to know the member churches, and that both dialogue and openness are crucial for collaboration.
“BCC believes that it is more important than ever that Christians stand together, to ensure religious freedom and the values of Christianity,” says Harald Kronstad.
BCC is the only Norwegian Christian church with an international reach, and has seen considerable development, especially in the last 25 years. The church has worked actively to develope a good framework of conditions for Christian work with the children and youth. There is extensive use of modern technology in communication, and the church has opened the way for gathering around the Christian faith with good facilities and tools.
“This has been possible because of widespread involvement, and dedicated people who have their eyes set on the cause, who have been willing to create both values and workplaces for the purpose of promoting the kingdom of God on earth,” says Kronstad.
With heads held high for Christian viewpoints
“We experience that young people are enthusiastic for a life of following Jesus, and they need support and help to be able to stand with heads held high in a society in which room for expression and freedom of religion is steadily decreasing, due to the fact that it has become more difficult to stand up publicly in support of Christian viewpoints,” says Kronstad
BCC has consciously taken this step of applying for membership in the Christian Councilof churches and denominations who have the Bible as their source, and who will work to promote Christianity in society.
“We believe it is crucial for Christian churches to have a forum where important topics can be discussed, and from our side, we want to actively contribute to that,” says Kronstad.
In the coming years, BCC has great expectations for the further development of our international church, and many plans for the Christian work to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission.
“We’re thankful for everyone who fulfills their part of this mission. This applies to both our fellow believers in BCC and other Christians who work for this purpose,” says Kronstad.