Norway gets two new Christian schools in a difficult time

In a time when the Norwegian government is cracking down on independent schools and where Bible schools have had their funding cut, the Pentecostal Jesus Church will start two new primary schools in the Oslo area. The Christian daily Dagen spoke with Ådne Dæhlin, leader of the working group behind the Hans Nielsen Hauge primary school.

Disturbing

Dæhlin sees a “disturbing number of young people” state that they do not know the purpose of life or lack faith that they will have a good life. “We hope to be a counterweight to this development.” The new school wants to give children a “good foundation”. “We want the children internalise that they have a purpose in life, and release the talents in the individual student. For all this; we have a lot to learn from Hans Nielsen Hauge.”

The new school will bear Hauge’s name. He was a 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran lay minister and led a well-known Pietist revival movement later known as the Haugean Movement. His opposition to the religious and secular establishment gave a voice to the common people, which became extra important when the industrial revolution took place in Norway. Thus Hauge has been of value both for religious and secular Norway.

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It was not easy to create two new Christian schools, Dæhlin says. “Finding suitable premises in the big city has been the biggest obstacle so far. Now we are working hard to start up in August.”

Already in 2021, the Norwegian Directorate of Education approved the school’s application. Their initial hope was to start in the autumn of 2021, but the search for suitable premises and a good headmaster took a lot of time. Now, the working group found someone who will lead both schools.

Right

To retain approval from Udir, the school must start within three years. Autumn 2023 is, therefore, the last autumn they can start. If they do not start within the three-year period, they, therefore, lose the right to run a school and must apply again.

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Although there are less than six months until school starts, Dæhlin is optimistic. “We believe that it should be possible to get enough students to create a good school environment and that the project should turn around financially.”

Traditional

Although the Pentecostal church wholly owns the school, Dæhlin hopes that Christians from several backgrounds will send their children to the school. “We want to reach out broadly and have a profile that allows many families to feel at home there. We must be predictable and traditionally conservative in values, which means that many families can recognise themselves, regardless of whether they are usually part of a Christian context.”