The Spirit Acts at 14th Scandinavian Conference

On the outskirts of the Swedish village of Rimbo near Stockholm, the Spirit of God did a fresh work in the congregation of Calvary Chapel Scandinavia as they met for the 14th regional conference to study "the Acts of the Apostles" and receive new strength for ministry in the north.

It was the fourth consecutive time that the Calvary Chapel Scandinavia conference took place at the former castle in Ekebyholm an hour north of the Swedish capitol, and the 14th annual gathering of the Calvary Chapel crew of Scandinavia.



Local ministry leaders were joined by guest speakers - this year pastors Phil Metzger (CC Budapest & CCBC Europe), Mark Walsh (CCBC New Zealand), Arpad Horvath-Kavai (CCBC Europe), and Nate Holdridge (Calvary Monterey) - as they taught through the first 12 chapters of "the Acts of the Apostles". And just as in that very book of Scripture, the Spirit of God proved Himself as the main character and author of fresh acts of God at the conference.

Jesus is equipping people
"These conferences just keep getting sweeter and sweeter, because the people serving in Scandinavia are getting more and more knit together in love, as described in Colossians. Not only was God ministering to us all this year by speaking truth and challenge into our hearts through His Word, but it also seems that people were ministering to one another in a greater capacity than before," says Joel Wickström, who is part of the conference organizing team.

"It feels more and more like a family and a fully functional body of Christ when we get together for these conferences. I love it. For us as planners, it just gets easier and easier to organize, because Jesus is equipping and using people to serve and minister to each other. Hopefully, all who serve in ministries up here have gone home from this conference refreshed and strengthened for the work ahead in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden," he says.





The Spirit at Work
This year the conference kicked off Wednesday evening on August 1st and lasted until Sunday around noon on August 5th. In those five days the approximately 100 participants enjoyed 11 main sessions covering the first half of "the Acts of the Apostles", as well as various topical workshop sessions prepared specifically for married couples, singles, men, women, and worship leaders (respectively).

In between the studies of God's Word, there was also time for fun and games, such as the Viking Olympics and a beach volleyball tournament as most days of the conference were blessed with sunshine.

Local Swedish chefs served up traditional meatballs and other trademark delicacies throughout the five-day gathering, and the fellowship flowed freely at meal times and across the castle grounds in between sessions. All days were concluded with extended worship and prayer time in the main sanctuary, a time of the conference when the Spirit appeared to work strongly in people's hearts and minister to the needs of those present.

Click here for more information about how to hear or download the teachings from the Calvary Chapel Scandinavia Conference 2012.

Click on the video below to see the official video of the 2012 conference: