Thank you for visiting, dear politicians

Since January last year, 50 members of the Danish Parliament have visited free churches around the country — and this has been a mutual eye-opener.

By Mikael Wandt Laursen
General Secretary of FrikirkeNet

The word “eye-opener” comes up again when some of the 50 MPs who have visited free churches around the country since January 2018 describe the visit. In fact, many came up with an image of free churches, as some who cared for themselves in a corner of society and did not care much about anyone but themselves.
But what the politicians encountered was something quite different:

• Free churches, which are open to all people, no matter what their history may offer.
• Free churches that insist on being part of society, and who cooperate with churches, municipalities and enthusiasts to make Denmark a better place for everyone.
• And free churches, which are motivated by a classical Christian belief in God, his love for the individual, and the power to give people a new beginning regardless of history.

In other words, the politicians experienced the free church DNA, which clearly says no to isolation and parallel societies — and yes to taking joint responsibility for the development of society. And it was an aha experience of the more important ones. Because at a time when religion is increasingly present in both social conversation and legislation, it is essential that our elected officials are given as many examples as possible of how religion can be a gift and resource that we need — even in a modern society.

New realizations occurred not only in the minds of politicians. The Free Churches, too, had to re-evaluate preconceived attitudes and perceptions. Thus, several were surprised that our elected officials would devote two or three hours to visiting free churches to hear about who we are and what we want. And the meeting with the politicians was a meeting with people who were really interested in understanding this part of Danish society as well.
Many free churches have undergone major developments over the past 20 years in terms of engaging with the community - both socially and culturally. The visits of politicians have shown us that it has been useful and that we are in a different place from twenty years ago. At the same time, the visits also show that there are many possibilities for cooperation that we have not yet explored.
Trust and relationships are the key word for us, together with other actors, to influence society so that it becomes a place where people flourish. And in the process, more will have an eye-opener when they discover what a gift faith can be; not just to society, but to the individual as well.