The board of the Finnish Free Church (Suomen Vapaakirkko) met on 21 August and set in motion a review of the denomination's leadership structures, approved new investment in its summer-festival infrastructure, and outlined three priorities for 2027. The decisions, reported by the movement's newspaper Suomen Viikkolehti, touch the seminary, the denomination's conference centre and its national planning.
Rather than running separate recruitment searches for the rector of the Finnish Theological College (Teopolis) in Tampere and the executive director of the Kiponniemi centre, the board chose to consider the two posts together as part of a wider reshaping of how the denomination equips congregations for mission. A six-member working group has been asked to map alternative leadership structures across education, property, events and operations, and recruitment decisions will follow only once that review is complete.
On festivals, the board heard that around 150 volunteers served at this summer's gathering and agreed to spend €20,000–30,000 on the denomination's own tents and equipment for the Teopolis site, partly to cut future hire costs. For 2027 it named three priorities: clarifying the movement's core missional identity, strengthening regional connection and church planting under a “regional work 2.0” banner, and equipping leaders. The board also prepared a 2027 budget that anticipates a negative result.
(Originally published in Finnish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Suomen Vapaakirkko / Suomen Viikkolehti — svl.fi
