Roughly 1,300 adults and children gathered in Örebro for Equmeniakyrkan’s first-ever Vision Conference, a denominational gathering that placed small-group conversation rather than lecture-style programming at the centre of the experience. Delegates sat in the same discussion groups throughout the day, with each session beginning with a short introduction before groups continued the conversation themselves. Organisers said the format was chosen deliberately to surface the questions and convictions that the wider church is carrying into its next season.
The conference was structured around four thematic tracks: a church for everyone, addressing generational gaps between the denomination and its youth movement; a growing church, focused on church planting, pathways to faith, and evangelism; a church that wants to be one, exploring unity amid diversity; and a church that carries hope in society, featuring input from Sweden’s Agency for Youth and Civil Society. Conference coordinator Sara Löfstedt reflected afterward that she believed strongly in what happens “when people get to talk with each other,” adding that she experienced “strongly that God’s Spirit is moving here.”
Speakers included Saman Yoklaksanapray of the Thailand Karen Baptist Convention, regional church leaders from across Sweden, and denominational leader Karin Wiborn. A parallel children’s and youth programme ran alongside the adult sessions with crafts, scouting, singing, and film. For a denomination formed in 2011 from the merger of three Swedish free church traditions, the turnout — far exceeding typical conference attendance — was widely interpreted by delegates as a signal of renewed engagement and hope. Delegate Josef Rizkallah from Dals-Ed captured the mood: “It says a lot that people want to be here and see what the future can mean.”
(Originally published in Swedish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Equmeniakyrkan / Sändaren — sandaren.se
