Swedish pastors consider copying Finnish “Jesus campaign”

Pastor Morgan Carlsson has travelled to Finland. There, he spoke to the organisation behind the billboards with the Christian messages, Världen idag reports. There, Carlsson has seen the positive reactions on the campaign. Now, he wants to implement the same idea in Sweden. "Since the concept works in our neighbouring country, I see now obstacles to it not working here", he says to the newspaper.

In Finland, there are billboards with testimonies about Jesus in several cities. At bus stops and advertising spots in Helsinki, everyone can read the texts, Världen idag writes. On the images are famous Finns, who tell in one sentence what faith in Jesus means to them. The campaign started on September 19 and will run for 40 days. It is rolled out in about 200 cities and larger communities.

Behind the action are 394 Swedish congregations from various denominations, such as the Lutheran and Pentecostal churches.

Another pastor, Christer Roshamn, visited Helsinki, Finland, on a study trip. He was also very impressed by the campaign's support from different congregations. "I am positive and would like to be involved and inspire to go ahead with this", he said to Världen idag.

"The most important key is that pastors and leaders can embrace this different way of thinking. Also, unity between congregations in a commitment to people's salvation", pastor Carlsson adds. Pastor Roshamn agrees. He believes broad Christian support is one of the prerequisites to the campaign's success.

The organisation Mediemission is also very optimistic about starting a campaign in Sweden with billboards. It works closely with IRR-TV/Mediemission in Finland, the association behind the billboards in Finland. Mikael Severinsson from Mediemission says that the board has been discussing this option for nine years already. He also adds that he does not see any financial obstacles to implementing the campaign.