HE WINDSHIELD WIPERS ON MY rental car are first overworked and then too dry as I prowl the streets of this small coastal city, looking for the location of its only Adventist church. Scudding clouds fresh from the North Sea deliver downbursts of rain in every other block, while on the alternating avenues, brief glimpses of midafternoon sunshine spill through. This is the warmest time of day, the tour books say, but on the seacoast of Norway, 53° F can feel much colder.

"Our address is Breidablikkgata 161," the pastor's crumpled e-mail message on the passenger seat proclaims. "Behind the state church." The last hint does the trick, for the tall copper spires of a great brick church dominate the north end of town. On the plateau over the larger building, a modest wood sanctuary crowns the hill--behind, I note, but very much above.

Unusual Beginnings
I've come to this herring town on Norway's southwest coast to learn about an unusual youth ministry project that has grown up here in the past six years. In this city revered by Norwegians as the place where an ancient king unified the nation and Christianity gained an early foothold, the Adventist congregation has been experimenting with novel ways to reach a younger, more secular audience. The Haugesund congregation's circumstances are similar to those of dozens of Adventist churches scattered across this country of 4.5 million: the average age of members is above 60; there are few young adults or children, even though Haugesund used to have large, thriving youth and Pathfinder programs. Those who have grown up in the embrace of the church have followed educational or career paths to more bustling places from which they return only on holidays or for funerals. The "signs of the times" can be read by all who enter here.

"Evangelism is about abundant life in Jesus," says Pastor Geir Fossum, "but this story really began with a funeral, or actually, two of them." The quiet, bearded pastor allows himself a smile as he recalls the unusual bequest that launched the Haugesund church's foray into creative youth ministry.

"About six years ago, the church got word that it was in line for a large sum of money from the estate of an elderly couple who had lived here in Haugesund," Fossum says. "They have lived most of their lives in the United States, but came here late in life. One of them--the wife, apparently--was a Seventh-day Adventist, and designated our congregation in her will, even though she never worshipped with us. Another portion of the estate went to another church in town with which her husband was affiliated."

The unexpected gift of 1 million Norwegian kroner (approximately US$160,000) created opportunities the aging membership had never previously considered. At the suggestion of the Norwegian Union's youth director, Willy Aronsen, the 100-member Haugesund congregation launched a youth evangelism project that included annual public meetings from January through March, and the conversion of the church's lower level into a vibrant youth meeting place.

Public evangelism is an especially difficult exercise in Scandinavia, even in Norway's "Bible Belt" southwest, in which Haugesund lies. In many regions of the country fewer than 1 in 10 Norwegians attend weekly worship services of any kind, and still fewer respond to print or televised invitations to Bible or prophecy seminars. The renovated youth ministry center of the Haugesund church was certainly appealing, and, along with the existing outdoor ministries program called "Trygge Valg" ("safe choices"), dramatically boosted the participation of area youth in the ministry. Weekly meetings that had been designed to strengthen the faith of Adventist teens now shifted to focus on these teens' non-Adventist friends.

As Big as All Outdoors
"There's no one reason that our youth group suddenly began growing," says Lis Åsheim with a sly smile. Lis and her husband, Kjell, are the local anchors of the youth evangelism project, and devote many Sundays and several evenings each week to hosting the active calendar of events. "Maybe it was the chance to sleep outdoors under reindeer skins. Maybe it was when we took them climbing the glacier in the mountains near Bergen . . . or the salmon safari in the river . . . or the sea kayaking."

"Many of the youth we're now working with came with us for the first time on one of the activities," she says. "And once they met other fun Christian youth, they came back here to the church for other activities."

The ambitious schedule of Outward Bound-style activities went on to also include horseback-riding, mountaineering, and snorkeling--activities that might have quickly depleted the funds from the estate bequest had not the ministry leaders found a novel way to bring other resources to bear. Encouraged by church officials to apply for alcohol prevention grants from the state-funded national Temperance Society, the Haugesund Youth Project soon began receiving government-distributed moneys to help build its vigorous outdoor ministry program. Regulations accompanying the state funding stipulated that the activities must aim at and include youth of all faiths and of no faith in the region, and be open to the participation of all in the target range. In the United States, government funding of any kind for a church-based entity might raise constitutional issues of church/state separation. In Norway, as in many other countries where the church operates, the funds are gladly accepted and constructively used.

Youth aged 15-20 soon began accompanying the Åsheims, Pastor Fossum, and other youth leaders on late summer and autumn outings across southern Norway. Hiking, swimming, parasailing, and rappelling off mountain peaks with a core of about six Adventist youth soon brought as many as 50 more area youth into the orbit of the church's youth ministry. None of the newcomers had previously had any connection with Adventism or the local congregation.

A Room for Living
A central focus of the growing ministry has been the regular Thursday evening "café" called "Avec" ("together with"), hosted on the church's lower level by the pastor and the Åsheims, and attended by 20-30 youth per week. Contemporary music, fruit drinks specially concocted by the pastor, and a relaxed, informal atmosphere combine to create a place many area teens find attractive. In each Thursday evening's mix is a presentation by Pastor Fossum of some Bible topic or Adventist belief, usually in a low-key discussion format.

"On any Thursday night we may have youth who are here for the first time," Fossum notes.

"And some are only here for a good time. But some really want to know more. For the most part, they're really open to different ideas. I can present almost any Advent-ist topic without scaring them away."

The relaxed café atmosphere doesn't always lend itself to smooth progressions through a Bible study, however. Some youth simply aren't interested in the topic, and move in and out of the meeting rooms. Others want to follow the topic being presented, but are distracted by other things happening in the room.

"That's one of the things you deal with in trying to look like a coffeehouse," Fossum adds. "You have to be willing to accept some distractions."

"Our focus in the Thursday night café time is on trying to mix Bible ideas with real friendship," says Kjell Åsheim, the tall blond organizer of many of the outdoor events. "The friendship part is very important to them at this age. If we're going to reach them with our doctrines, we're only going to do it by relating to them as friends."

"Almost all of them come back to our Thursday evening gatherings at least a second time," Kjell notes. "Some join us mainly for the outdoor activities in the summer and autumn. But others clearly make a connection here that truly matters to them."

"Friends bring their friends," adds Pastor Fossum. "Twice we've even had youth choose to celebrate their birthdays here. It's gratifying when they feel that it's better to be here than at their home or somewhere else less wholesome. That's the kind of reputation we want to continue to have."

Deeper Yet
Youth who show a deepening interest in Bible study are invited by the Åsheims to join a more focused study group in a home on another evening. As many as eight or nine youth sometimes gather for a meal and a more extended search for Bible truth. The same group also gathers on Sabbath morning to discuss the Sabbath school lesson, creating up to three contact times each week for the youth ministry leaders to disciple new believers.

One teenager sought out the Adventist youth group because she had to write a report about Seventh-day Adventists for a school project. After interviewing the pastor and the youth ministry leaders, she came to worship one Sabbath, and even attended an adult Sabbath school class. Invited to the public meetings that winter, she attended every time she could, as well as joining the Thursday night café group. Her many friendships have cemented her place in the ministry, and she is a regular participant in the small-group Bible study and Sabbath school discussions.

The relational approach is deliberately slow-paced, low-key--and time-consuming.

"I think I've frequently been very impatient as a pastor," Fossum notes. "I've wanted more progress: I've wanted more baptisms. I've wanted this to move faster. But every time I've decided it's not going well, we've seen something happen that has given us new faith in what we're doing."

Membership records indicate that eight youth have joined a congregation that didn't have any members under 30 when the project began several years ago. But the more significant statistic is the "influential" one: another 50 youth and young adults have been drawn into the orbit of the Haugesund Adventist church, effectively increasing its reach and relationships in the community by nearly 50 percent.

Everyone--Stretch!
To their credit, the mostly senior members of the Haugesund church have shown remarkable flexibility in accepting the changes brought about by the youth ministry project. As more youth, Adventist and otherwise, have begun attending worship services, the congregation's traditional worship style has been stretched to include unfamiliar elements.

"The youth have done a lot of new things when they were asked to lead out in worship," says Lis Åsheim. "Their music is certainly different from what's usually done, and they use the video more. And then, of course, they also bring their drums!"

"It's probably been an advantage that we don't have many Adventist youth who were taught that you can't use drums in church," laughs Kjell. "These kids are used to playing drums: they know what they're doing, and they play well. They're not practicing--or showing off their rebelliousness--like you might find in other places."

Non-Adventist youth are encouraged to lead out in the worship singing and occasionally even present part or all of the sermon, the pastor notes. "There seems to be a mutual respect growing," Fossum adds. "The adults will tolerate what they wouldn't choose for themselves, and the youth will come into a traditional service and make it more interesting for everyone."

The Åsheims and other local leaders have also invested most of a week each summer to take youth from their group to special training experiences coordinated by the Cornelius Café church in Oslo (see the November 25, 2004, AnchorPoints edition, "Planting for the Growing Season") and the Norwegian Union. The seven-hour bus trip over the mountains has been an important bonding experience for the Haugesund youth ministry team, deepening their trust in one another and exposing them to a wider network of others doing the same kind of work throughout Scandinavia and northern Europe. Seminars and presentations at the summer sessions focus on relationship evangelism, contemporary worship practices, reaching secular people, and leading others to Christ. Several Haugesund youth have been baptized while attending the training sessions.

"The real keys to growing the church in this region are flexibility and adaptability," notes Tor Tjeransen, president of the Norwegian Union and an admirer of the initiative begun in Haugesund. The administrator got personally involved in the Haugesund project in the winter of 2003, when he preached during the annual public meetings.

"If we can help our older members to care about the church that will follow them, to stretch to include elements and styles that don't naturally appeal to them--while at the same time creating respect among youth for what they can gain from the lessons learned by the older generation--we'll lay the basis for sustainable growth for the church," he adds. "Church ought to be the place where we work out our differences in the light of love and learn to live and witness together."

An unexpected bequest. Dedicated, relationally oriented local leaders. A safe and fun place to which youth can invite their friends. An unusual source of government funds. A congregation willing to flex to meet the future. All these have converged on Norway's southwest coast to produce a ministry that is offering fresh hope for the Adventist Church in one of its most challenging regions.

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Bill Knott is an associate editor of the Adventist Review.