Pastors blown away by Scandinavian conference

This year's three guest speakers have seen countless ministry conferences and attended many church retreats over the years, but all were left astonished by the work God is doing in and through the people of Calvary Chapel Scandinavia.

One is a world-reknowned Bible commentator, another is one of Calvary Chapel's pioneer pastors on European soil, and another is a pastor serving in a country locked down with some of the thickest chains of religious tradition in Europe (i.e. Ireland). David Guzik, Nick Long, and Kevin Fitzgerald have all served as pastors and leaders in ministry for decades, and all three agreed to spend their first week in August this year as guest speakers at the Calvary Chapel Scandinavia (CCS) Conference outside Stockholm, Sweden.

"I wasn't ready for this!"
For Nick Long, pastor of CC Siegen in Germany, it was a delightful first encounter with the fresh work of God in Northern Europe.

"What a blast! I have been in on many prayer meetings for Scandinavia, but I wasn't ready for this. To see first hand what God is doing in and through these special folks was more of a blessing than Sue and I could have imagined. May God continue to bless this work," says Nick Long after participating in his first ever CCS Conference.

Encouraged by local teachers
As one of the initial founders of the annual CCS Conferences, David Guzik has only missed one of the now 12 such conferences (that historic absence occurred in 2009). This year he and his wife Inga-Lill had a little farther to travel than usual, since David has recently handed over his ministry as director of CC Bible College in Siegen, Germany to become the new pastor of CC Santa Barbara in California. In spite of the move, his ties to Scandinavia and the native home-country of his wife (Sweden) remain intact.

"One of the things that really impressed me this year was the level of the teaching by the local guys. To come back here and see their skills and gifts growing year by year is very encouraging. It is just so exciting to see God bless and grow these guys in their ministries," he says.

Keeping the hands to the plow
Having also been a guest speaker at the CCS Conference in 2008, pastor Kevin Fitzgerald from Crosspoint Dublin in Ireland was back for his second Scandinavian conference this year.

"It was just such an encouragement to fellowship with the saints in Scandinavia! The presence of God's Spirit - at times - was thick, and so obviously moving amongst His people. The fellowship was sweet; the Word was powerful. And my heart and hope is that the individual believers, and all the works - collectively - in this part of the world will have been strengthened in keeping their hands to the plow until Christ's soon return," says Kevin Fitzgerald.

This year the guest speakers joined with 4 local speakers (see photo below) to lead the conference participants through a powerful study of "The Sermon on the Mount". In addition to this, the guest speakers taught special sessions on marriage, singleness, hearing the voice of the Lord, how to serve with and pray for your pastor, and other workshop sessions.