Every November, the Swedish Evangelical Alliance invites people from different parts of the denominational spectrum to a conference in Stockholm called Mission: Kingdom of God. Or, in Swedish: Uppdrag: Guds rike.

This year, the conference was held on the 14^th and 15^th of November, assembling about 130 participants.

The Alliance organises the gathering with a number of other organizations, including Christian think tanks, YWAM, Scripture Union, and Sallux.

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The inspiration for the conference largely comes from the European Leadership Forum (ELF) conference held every year in Poland. As with ELF, participants are asked to choose between different networks where they can dig deeper into an area of special interest, while at the same time meet with like-minded people from different parts of the country.

This year’s networks included Societal Influence (hosted by the Evangelical Alliance), Apologetics, Theology, Christian Scientists, Soul Care, Expository Preaching, and Youth workers.

Faith in conversation with politics, society, and the church

One of the load-bearing beams of the conference has to do with apologetics. Many of the participants come to Mission: Kingdom of God because they long for intellectual reflection around the Bible, the workplace and contemporary cultural and ideological issues.

At the network about Societal Influence, this meant 3 sessions with teaching and discussions about Christianity and political influence. Questions such as these were discussed: What mandate does Jesus give us in this area? What limitations does he give us? What is a healthy way to approach what is sometimes called the 'Seven Mountains Mandate'? And what is a truly Christian way to act, once such a Mountain is finally “conquered”?

In previous years, we have covered topics such as Religious Freedom, Identity politics, Middle East Culture and Europe’s Christian Heritage. This time, the conference also had a strong focus on theological issues, especially at the Theology network, but also in several of the plenary sessions.

The Bible shaping the Christian worldview

The Bible studies, for instance, centred around the short but substantial book of Jude in the New Testament, and it certainly proved to be both relevant and challenging for the present situation in Sweden.

Other topics that were discussed at the Theology network were the relationship between mysticism and revelation, and between God’s love and God’s holiness. At least in Sweden, the way these topics are approached tend to be quite defining of what it means to be an evangelical Christian.

While many people contributed to the teaching at Mission: Kingdom of God, we also had an international guest: the British author and apologetic Andy Bannister. Bannister was speaker also at our very first conference in 2018, and his combination of intellectual sharpness and disarming humor landed well with the Swedish audience. Last year’s international speaker was Amy Orr-Ewing, who also made a strong and lasting impression on the conference participants.

Why such a national conference?

For the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, Mission: Kingdom of God is important for several reasons. First of all, to have a recurring meeting point for evangelical Christians in Sweden, building identity and biblical clarity into the movement.

But also, to offer a conference where people are equipped not only for their church activities and “spiritual lives”, but also for their workplace and for their part in public discourse.

Christians should see themselves as ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, “no matter what he has called us to or where he has placed us in society”.

A version of this article was first published on the website of the European Evangelical Alliance, re-published with permission.