Dick Simonsson, the newly elected chair of Equmeniakyrkan's church board, has called on Sweden's largest free church denomination to regain its self-confidence and turn outward toward the communities it serves. In a wide-ranging interview with Sändaren, Simonsson said he sees greater opportunities than problems ahead for the church, but stressed that reversing the trend of decline will require local congregations to recover a clear sense of their calling and to meet people where they actually are rather than expecting them to walk through the church door.
Asked about his vision for the church of the future, Simonsson returned to an image that has guided him for years: an open door. "The first thing I think of is an open door," he said. "For me, it is about an open door toward society — that we fill the needs that exist there, not just an open door into the church but also out from the church." That vision was tested and proven during his time as chair of Nimbuskyrkan on the island of Öckerö, where the congregation had outgrown its premises. Rather than drawing up plans for a larger church building, the leadership went into the community and asked schools, businesses, the municipality, associations, and ordinary residents a simple question: "What can we do for you?"
The result was not a conventional church extension but a multi-purpose community hub incorporating a café, restaurant, youth hostel, upper secondary school, and youth meeting spaces. The main hall serves as a worship space for a few hours on Sundays but is alive with activity throughout the week. "We had hardly drawn a single line on paper before we built," Simonsson recalled. The approach embodies the kind of outward-facing, community-embedded congregational life that Equmeniakyrkan — formed in 2011 through the union of three Swedish free church traditions — now needs to cultivate across its roughly 600 congregations. For the broader free evangelical family, Simonsson's message resonates: the future belongs to churches willing to listen before they speak, and to serve before they invite.
(Originally published in Swedish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Equmeniakyrkan / Sändaren — sandaren.se
