Missionary Dick Brogden has issued what he describes as a "dangerous call" — an invitation to Christians to consider serving in regions of the world where the gospel has not yet taken root and where there is virtually no visible Christian presence. Writing in Suomen Viikkolehti, the weekly newspaper of the Evangelical Free Church of Finland (SVK), Brogden asked readers to imagine living in a city with no church buildings, celebrating Christmas without carols, and not knowing a single fellow believer — realities that describe vast stretches of the globe.
Brogden's challenge draws attention to what missiologists often term "unreached people groups" — communities where Christianity remains unknown and where the cultural and legal frameworks familiar to Western Christians simply do not exist. For the Finnish free church movement, which has sustained a strong tradition of global mission engagement for over a century, Brogden's call resonates deeply. SVK currently maintains mission partnerships across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and the question of how to reach the remaining unevangelised regions remains a live one within the denomination.
Rather than presenting the situation as a distant problem to be solved by others, Brogden frames it as a personal invitation — one that asks Christians in comfortable contexts whether they are prepared to relocate to places where the basic infrastructure of Christian community, from church buildings to legal recognition, must be built from the ground up. The article has drawn attention within Finnish free church circles, particularly as SVK's summer festival season — a traditional time for mission reflection and commissioning — gets underway.
(Originally published in Finnish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
For free church formation resources including this topic, visit Worldwide Evangelical Seminary.
Source: Suomen Vapaakirkko / Suomen Viikkolehti — svl.fi
