Proposal to fund the Greenland Ministry Facility
Objectives
- Provision of a long-term ministry and worship facility in Nuuk
- Provide a long-term base for felt-needs and evangelistic ministries across Greenland
First Steps
- Identify a suitable house for purchase.
- Purchase the house in the name of the Danish Union and provide needed refurbishment.
What will be the measurable results of this special project?
Purchase and equipping of a house in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, as a long-term base for felt-needs and evangelistic ministry across Greenland.
Project Details
Greenland is a land of large numbers. It is the world’s largest island – 2,175,000 square kilometers (approx. 840,000 square miles) – in area. Of this area, 1,830,000 square kilometers (approx. 780,000 square miles) lie permanently under the icecap. Length from north to south is nearly 2,700 kilometers (approx. 1.600 miles), and from east to west, it has a maximum width of 1,000 kilometers (approx. 600 miles).
The population consists of mostly Greenlanders (c. 50,000, mostly indigenous peoples), Danes (c. 6,000), and c. 1,000 Scandinavians and people from other countries. About 83% of the population live in the relatively few towns. The capital city is Nuuk/Godthaab with 16,000 persons. The missionaries will be based in Nuuk because this is the capital city, has the largest population, has the best transportation and communication links, and is the natural logistical hub for the entire country.
In terms of religious history, Greenland was sighted by Norsemen c. 975 AD, and approximately 982 settlers from Iceland came to Greenland. In 1410 AD, all connections between Scandinavia and Greenland ceased and the Scandinavian settlements disappeared. Around 1715-20, a Lutheran pastor, Hans Egede, wanted to find the old Norsemen and bring them into the truth, as proclaimed by Lutherans. He traveled to Greenland with permission from the Danish King and worked there from 1721-1736, but he found no Norsemen. He worked with the indigenous community, and all of Greenland became Lutheran. In 1953, Greenland ceased to be a colony and became a part of Denmark.
The dominant religion is the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Danish state church. Besides the Lutheran Church – nearly everyone belongs to this church – there is a limited number of free churches such as Baptists (their church is in Ilulissat, 600km north of Nuuk), Pentecostals (several small missions on the west coast), Roman Catholics (a church in Nuuk) and a handful of Adventists. There is also a very small presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baha’i and Latter-Day Saints.
The first SDA contacts were made by publications brought by fishermen from the Faeroe Islands. In 1953, Pastor Andreas Nielsen of Denmark was appointed to begin evangelism in Greenland. He arrived in Greenland and began with literature work (door-to-door canvassing) together with evangelism/public meetings. In 1954, Pastor Nielsen baptized the first Greenlander. He built a parsonage, a physiotherapy clinic and an apartment for health personnel in Nuuk. He also constructed a church. This mission station was sold by the Danish Union in 1995 and is today known as the “Nuuk Cultural Museum.”
The Physiotherapy Clinic (known as “Skodsborg Badet”) functioned until 1992 and had to close down due to political reasons – all treatments had to be done at the state hospital and not in private clinics. From 1954-1995, the SDA Church was small and unorganized, and 19 persons were baptized. Almost all have now died of old age.
Today there are three Greenlandic members and two Danish members, plus a few backsliders and several friends. Pastor John Pedersen in Denmark keeps in contact with these individuals and visits them once a year. The Lutheran Church is the main church, and Greenlanders attend on Sundays. The Greenland ministry facility will support ongoing church planting across Greenland, where a missionary family can be based, providing space for youth and felt-needs ministry trips through a partnership between AFM, the Danish Union Conference and the Trans-European Division to establish a viable and sustainable SDA church-planting presence in Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland.
Having a ministry facility will provide a base for the Trans-European Division and Danish Union to conduct short-term mission trips each year, focusing on youth, family and felt-needs ministry activities in Nuuk and elsewhere in Greenland.
The purchase of this facility will reduce the monthly costs of the Greenlanders of Greenland Project by approximately $3,500, as the cost of housing is high in Nuuk due to the limited availability of housing in Greenland. This will greatly ease the fundraising for the VMCs assigned to the Greenlanders of Greenland Project.
The Danish Union will provide annual return trips to Denmark for career missionaries to promote the project at the Danish Union camp meeting and in local Danish congregations. The Trans-European Division (TED) will promote the Greenlanders of Greenland Project across the Union youth departments of the TED to generate interest in youth projects, short-term mission trips and felt-needs ministry trips in Greenland each year.
Funding Needed
To fully fund the stated objectives, AFM will need your help to raise $400,000 for the purchase of this facility. Thank you for your generous support.
