Niklas Piensoho, senior pastor of Filadelfiakyrkan (Philadelphia Church), a Pentecostal church in Stockholm, Sweden, leads a Swedish church reawakening that has grown from a handful of attendees in 2006 to over 1,000 across four campuses, reflecting broader future church trends and multisite growth. The average age has shifted from about 60 to 40, amid a culture where only 5% attend church on weekends.
Piensoho was recently hospitalized for back surgery. During his recovery, he encountered a nurse who provided him with exceptional care. Like most Swedes, she did not profess to be a Christian. As they talked, he could have asked about her lack of belief. Instead, he looked at her and said, “You were sent to me by God,” an approach that echoes efforts at reviving gospel and contagious faith in secular contexts.
She responded with curiosity, “Do you think so?”
“When you serve others, you are serving the Lord,” the pastor replied. “In fact, you’re like an angel.”
Rather than being angry, offended or uncomfortable, she was grateful. She was touched by his words, and the experience led to further spiritual conversations.
That’s typical of how Piensoho begins conversations about God. “My first step in talking with people here in one of the most secularized countries on earth,” he explains, “is not what most might expect.”