Swedish Alliance Mission
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The Swedish Alliance Mission, ''SAM'', ( Swedish: ) is a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
denomination in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, mainly based in the town of
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
. Its roots are in the 19th-century revival. , the denomination had 13,777 members spread among 153 Swedish congregations and congregations outside Sweden. The denomination was established in 1919 as a merger of Jönköping Mission Society, the Jönköping District Christian Youth Association and the Scandinavian Alliance Mission in Sweden.


History

The Swedish Alliance Mission has its roots in the revival of the 19th century, mainly in Jönköping and neighboring counties. One of its leading figures was , who in 1836 became the priest of Kristine Church in Jönköping. There he invited people to read the Bible, and an "awakened" group was formed. Elmblad was soon transferred due to protests and was later active in the
Swedish Evangelical Mission The Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) ( Swedish: 'Evangelical Homeland Foundation', EFS) is an independent, low-church, New Evangelical () movement within the Church of Sweden. Described as "middle-of-the-road" due to maintaining its independ ...
(, EFS). The group in Jönköping continued to meet in homes, despite the Conventicle Act, which forbade religious gatherings without the participation of a priest. In 1853 the Jönköping Tract Society was founded with lecturer as chairman, with the aim of spreading evangelical
tracts Tract may refer to: Geography and real estate * Housing tract, an area of land that is subdivided into smaller individual lots * Land lot or tract, a section of land * Census tract, a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census ...
. The organization was influenced by preacher
Carl Olof Rosenius Carl Olof Rosenius (3 February 1816 – 24 February 1868) was a Swedish lay preacher, author and editor of the monthly '' Pietisten'' (The Pietist) from 1842 to 1868.''Twice-Born Hymns'' by J. Irving Erickson, (Chicago: Covenant Press, 1976) ...
' teachings. First and later were hired as colporteurs. After three years, Thor Hartwig Odencrants became the society's chairman, a position he held for 30 years until 1886. In 1861, with Odencrants still at the helm, this society was reorganized as the Jönköping Mission Society, whose activity mainly focused on sending
lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...
s to various auxiliary associations. In addition, the association mediated funds collected, including from sewing associations, which were mainly distributed to international projects run by the Swedish Evangelical Mission and the Swedish Mission Covenant. In rural areas, local auxiliary associations were gradually formed, which received traveling preachers from the Jönköping Association and collected funds for the missionary activities recommended by the Jönköping Mission Society. A common way of raising money for the mission was for the local sewing association to organize mission auctions, where the women's handicrafts were sold; these were usually held in the spring. In 1860, Jönköping's first mission building was built, with room for about 1000 people. It was mainly used for the association's four quarterly meetings, which were held in connection with Jönköping's market days in January, March, May and October. These gatherings attracted many visitors from an area tens of kilometers away from the city, so the mission building soon felt too small. Thus, in 1876, a larger building was constructed at Odengatan/Målargatan på Öster in Jönköping, with room for about 3000 people. The number of traveling preachers gradually increased and they traveled to an increasingly large area, including
Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...
and
Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
in addition to
Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
. In 1886, pastor became chairman of the Jönköping Mission Society. Palmberg, a priest in Månsarp parish, was a recognized public speaker and gathered large audiences. Gradually, more and more mission buildings were built by the local assistant associations, to be used for meetings when the traveling preacher came to visit, but also for auctions. Palmberg was a popular speaker at the inauguration of local mission buildings. In these buildings, local missionary associations were formed, sometimes the first association in the town, with a board, treasury and minutes. Some missionary societies joined the Jönköping Mission Society as auxiliary organizations, others joined the Swedish Mission Covenant; still others joined both. Initially, these associations had no employed preachers, but as finances allowed, circuit preachers or local preachers were employed in larger places, with the number of traveling preachers gradually decreasing. In 1855, a Christian youth association was formed in Jönköping, which organized Bible studies, choirs and a variety of events. Members would, for example, visit elderly people every week to distribute and read newspapers, taking the previous week's issue to be distributed at the next location. Similar associations were gradually formed in other places within the Mission Society's area of operation. In 1892, the ('Jönköping District Youth Association') was formed by 18 local youth associations, whose main task was to send a missionary to China under their own auspices. Similarly, the girls formed young women's associations, which also cooperated in a joint association. The boys' and girls' associations gradually merged and were then called youth associations. In 1907, ('Jönköping District Youth Association') was formed, bringing together both boys and girls, an organization that from 1919 was called the Swedish Alliance Mission Youth Association (, SAU). Swedish-American Fredrik Franson, a well-known world evangelist, visited Sweden several times. Through an American organization (the Scandinavian Alliance Mission), he undertook the task of recruiting 200 missionaries, mainly to China. He searched primarily among Swedish immigrants in America, but he also visited Europe and Sweden to inspire missionary activity and recruit missionaries. Through short courses, Franson attracted several young Swedes to become missionaries. To provide support for these missionaries, an association was formed in 1900 in Jönköping (the Scandiavian Alliance Mission in Sweden), with links to the Jönköping Mission Society and the Jönköping District Youth Association. The number of missionaries supported by this association increased and the commitment to missionary work, mainly in China, India and Southern Africa, grew rapidly. The chairman of the Scandinavian Alliance Mission was vicar Sven Emil Hagberg in Sandseryd. In 1919, the Swedish Alliance Mission was formed through the merger of the Jönköping Mission Society, Scandinavian Alliance Mission in Sweden and the Youth Association. This was a natural step, as the three organizations had their roots in the same new evangelical revival and mainly involved the same people. The Swedish Alliance Mission subsequently evolved from an intra-church mission organization to a
free church A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A f ...
denomination. The legacy of the revival lives on through evangelism and mission. It has done extensive youth work, which has been a distinctive feature of the movement.


Theology

The Swedish Alliance Mission's theology is linked to its historical heritage. In particular, the Swedish Alliance Mission has roots from the
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
state church (
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...
) as an intra-church missionary association, which is reflected in the Alliance Mission's practice of
infant baptism Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, va ...
. The early roots of the Alliance Mission, like much of the rest of the revivalist movement, used a form of
civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...
to the Conventicle Act (1726–1858), i.e. the ban on gathering as a religious group without a priest present. A theological belief that characterized the roots of the Swedish Alliance Mission, as well as other parts of the revival movement, was the
Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...
emphasis on personal conversion and
sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
. Preaching played a central role as people gathered in homes and mission houses. The Swedish Alliance Mission has held to the Anselmian doctrine of the
atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...
and has generally had a more conservative biblical view. The Swedish Alliance Mission was influenced by other parts of the revivalist movement in Sweden, perhaps mainly after it developed from an intra-church missionary association to a free church denomination. The influence of
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
baptismal practice (
believer's baptism Believer's baptism (also called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of Infant baptism, baptizing infants. C ...
) is certainly present in the Swedish Alliance Mission; it follows the so-called "double baptismal practice" though its roots are clearly anchored in a Lutheran theological view. The
ecumenical movement Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
has meant that SAM today mainly cooperates with other free church denominations such as the
Evangelical Free Church in Sweden The Evangelical Free Church in Sweden () is a Baptists, Baptist Christian denomination in Sweden. It is affiliated with the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Örebro. History Evangeliska Frikyrka ...
and the Pentecostal movement (the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches). The most obvious example of collaboration and the influence of the ecumenical movement, of which the Alliance Mission is a part, is the joint theology and leadership training program (ALT), run together with the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches and the
Evangelical Free Church in Sweden The Evangelical Free Church in Sweden () is a Baptists, Baptist Christian denomination in Sweden. It is affiliated with the European Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Örebro. History Evangeliska Frikyrka ...
.


See also

* Läsare


References


External links


Svenska AlliansmissionenJönköpings allianskyrka
{{Authority control 1919 establishments in Sweden Christian organizations established in 1919 20th-century establishments in Jönköping County