A new assembly inaugurated

Today I spent the morning in Vällingby. As the general secretary of the Swedish Bible Society I was, some time ago, invited to attend the inauguration of the Pentecost City Church in Stockholm. I gladly accepted the invitation and today was the day.

This specific Pentecostal denomination has its origins in Ghana. It was formed in 1953 and has over 20 000 congregations with more than 4 000 000 members worldwide. This is "mission to the north". The worldwide church in changing landscapes.

The congregation rents a venue in Vällingby. It used to be a place where an organisation of immigrants from Syria had its operations. The leader of the Church told me that since the Government of Sweden had changed its policies and decided not to give grants to such organisations, the Syrians moved out and the Pentecost Church could move in. Some companies were also looking at the same venue, but the landlord were Christian and decided to allow the Church to get the contract. 

The history of this Church started already in 2016. I quote from a text that was part of the program for this occasion:

The story began in 2016, when the leadership of the Church of Pentecost – Sweden headed by the then National Head, Ps Livingstone Joseph Mensah, carved a small group of young adults from the Central Assembly to start a PIWC using the English language as a communication tool to spread the gospel within Stockholm and its environs. These young adults met weekly to pray, study God’s Word, and encourage one another. Their heartfelt prayer and desire were simple: that God would raise a church where people from every nation could experience His presence, find a spiritual home, and be equipped to spread the gospel. The congregation started meeting in a rented hall in Hallunda, using the mornings between 10 and 12 on Sundays for services. Out of this humble beginning, God began to move. Resources were limited, yet faith abounded.

Dr Ben Debrah presents the leadership of the Pentecostal 
City Church of Stockholm.

We were further told that Apostle Dr Ben and Mrs. Oheneba Akua Debrah came from UK in 2021 and took over the leadership of the Church of Pentecost – Sweden. The text continues:

They were convinced that God had called this small group of young adults not only to plant a congregation, but to establish a spiritual family which is very much inclusive and opened to people from all walks of life. Despite the challenges at the time — such as inadequate permanent meeting spaces, barriers to becoming more culturally and racially diverse, and financial constraints—the fellowship grew steadily. /…/ Today a small group of 8 which begun this journey records a total congregation of 76 comprising 4 nationalities.

We were three guests. Nausikaa Haupt who is an Ecumenical Officer at the Christian Council of Sweden was one of us. She also represented the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm and Bishop Anders Arborelius. Olof Edsinger is the General Secretary of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. He was well known to especially the Dr Ben Debrah. And then it was me.

The hospitality of the congregation was warm and welcoming. Dr Ben preached over Acts 19 (the full chapter was read) and the theme was: Jesus and the city. It was a contextual sermon wanting to encourage the congregation to influence the city of Stockholm in a transforming way. He spoke about gangs and drugs and how the problems we have in Sweden cannot be changed with new legislation. Jesus is the cure!

I was especially impressed by three young males who delivered some Spoken words. I believe that this young, vibrant Church walks the talk.

After two and half hour, which to me – with my South African experience – was not especially long, the service ended and we were all invited to “fika”. That was one of few Swedish words used. One of the Bible readings, however, was read in Swedish. Also the announcements were given both in English and Swedish.

When I left the building a second service had already begun. It was the Ghanaian part of the worship – in Twee – one of the most used languages in Ghana. Dr Ben told me that this service would be much more African and vibrant. After having opened the door to the hall and seen for myself I realised that this was the case.

Probably half of the service we sang worship songs.
And the worship was led by a number of different, young persons.

At one stage some of us just had to enter the floor
and start dancing.

At the end of the service Dr Ben asked if someone was
there for the first time. Thos persons were all ask to come
in front and introduce themselves.

Emmanuel is the local Pastor.

A group of young women were responsible for the technical part
of the service.

This is how the stage looked like when I arrived.

This is the entrance of the Church building.