We attend church regularly when we are in Norway, as well as
when we are home in America. I’ve
noticed that the role of the church in each country is quite different.
In America, the church acts as a social safety net for many
people. Most churches have benevolent
funds in order to help the needy, both within their church and outside of it. They also support other programs that provide
housing for the poor or feed the hungry.
Many pastors in America take on the role of counselors to help solve
problems in marriages or family situations and they put in far more hours than
they ever get paid for. It couldn’t be more opposite in Norway.
Since the government provides abundantly more than a person
could ever hope for or want, there are no real needs to be met in Norway. And since the Norwegians themselves would
never admit they had a problem, they’d certainly never seek out the counsel of
someone else, let alone their pastor.
A Pentecostal church we attend in Norway tries to meet the
needs of the business community, rather than individuals, as their form of
“outreach.”
Because there are no conference centers in our town, the
church makes their building available for such things. It’s mutually beneficial, since they receive income
from the events. They also lease their
parking lot during the week to a neighboring business, since parking is scarce. This income stream takes pressure off members
to donate money.
Another win/win scenario is that the church invites local
artists to display their artwork in the church’s foyer and café for a few
months at a time. They charge nothing to
have it hanging on the walls and if something sells, they take no profit. They also benefit from having fresh, new
artwork to look at, as Norwegians place a high value on original artwork.
The pastor of the church owns his own business and just
works part-time at the church. He has a
pool of people to draw from to give the Sunday morning sermons so he’s not even
tied to the pulpit every week, let alone the church building. It’s a rare occasion that would find him at
church afterhours – which is so the opposite of the pastors on staff at our
church in America where they give so much of their own time in serving their
congregation.
Many people are drawn into a relationship with God during
their darkest period, when they realize their needs are beyond their own
abilities. The church in America often gives
hope and practical help in those times.
In Norway, however, God is not where people turn in their most desperate
hour because their government has taken over that job.
