Christian workers in the Nordic country are both being recruited and sent out to countries around the world. “We cannot allow money to replace people”.

2020 was anything but normal for missionaries across the planet. Many went back to their home countries, and many who were meant to go working in the mission field, were not able to do so.

The pandemic has limited all kinds of Christian activity worldwide, but it has not completely stopped Norwegian missions organizations from going forward. Some have been more on the offensive than others.

New missionaries recruited

Youth With A Mission Norway is the largest sending organization in the country with around 150 full time and long term workers in different countries in a normal situation. This number has gone slightly down during the pandemic.

YWAM’s national leadership might have been tempted to take a step back under the circumstances, but instead chose the opposite. They decided to advertise in Christian newspapers in order to recruit new missionaries.

This YWAM tactic worked. They asked missionary candidates to get in touch with them, and five people did.

“All five were serious candidates, and that is a good response”, says missions leader Yngvild Hofstad to Kristelig Pressekontor.

“Our main aim was to proclaim that we still do send missionaries, even during the pandemic”, Hofstad adds.

Returning to the mission field

Norsk Luthersk Misjonssamband (NLM) have traditionally been the largest missions organization in Scandinavia for decades. When the pandemic started a year ago they had 110 missionaries in 14 countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Shortly after that the number was down to 40. Some nine months later, many missionaries had returned to the mission fields and the total number of missionaries was around 90.

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(c) Evangelical Focus, used with permission