Church

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.