After seven years of church planting, Mötesplats Ystad — a free church initiative in the southern Swedish town of Ystad — takes the formal step of becoming a congregation this weekend. The move fulfils the goal that has guided the project from its beginning: to establish a worshipping community in the town itself. Pastor Bengt Jörnland, who leads the initiative on a part-time basis, describes the moment as both exciting and sobering. "Now we are a congregation," he says, adding that the step carries greater responsibility for its leaders.
Mötesplats Ystad grew out of Skillinge missionshus, a joint congregation of Equmeniakyrkan (the Uniting Church of Sweden) and Evangeliska Frikyrkan (EFK). For years, people from Ystad had travelled some 35 kilometres to Skillinge for worship, until the desire to start something local took root. In 2019 the congregation secured church-planting funds from Equmeniakyrkan and began holding services in Ystad's Catholic church and running courses in a local café. The new congregation remains juridically part of Skillinge missionshus but gains its own congregational order, bank account, and dual affiliation to both denominations.
Worship attendance has grown from ten to twelve people shortly after the pandemic to between twenty and thirty today, with around ten to fifteen formal members — among them 89-year-old Ulla, who is joining the new congregation while keeping her ties to Skillinge. The initiative is also known for its monthly "Taste and see" services and a low-threshold conversation course, "Seek and find courage for life," which has since spread to congregations across Sweden. Regional church leaders Lasse Svensson of Equmeniakyrkan and Anna-Lena Thoursie of EFK will take part in Sunday's celebration.
(Originally published in Swedish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Equmeniakyrkan / Sändaren — sandaren.se
