We can’t just go up to someone and start preaching, but we can imitate Jesus’ method. The acronym is BLESS, and it is adapted from the observations of author Michael Frost in his book Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People.
Europe was once the heartland of Christianity, but today, many of its cities are among the most secular places on earth. What would it take to plant a church there?
Church planters Rob and Bethany Folkenberg moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, in November 2024 to help the local church reach its post-Christian population for Jesus. Recently, we asked Rob about their experiences.
Mission 360°: Rob, what motivated you and your wife, Bethany, to take on church planting?
Rob: We had pastored an established Adventist church and then went to seminary. As we studied, we realized we wanted to rub shoulders with people outside our Adventist bubble. We wanted to have friends we could introduce to Jesus. We prayed about it, and God answered that prayer. He threw us into a church-planting experience in Squamish, British Columbia, which was way outside our comfort zone! After four years of establishing a new church there, we received a call to church-plant in a cross-cultural setting. The personal lessons of learning how to make friends and represent our faith equipped us and made us excited to serve God in Copenhagen.
Mission 360°: What makes your ministry there challenging?
Rob: The hyper-secular, post-Christian folks we live around don’t seem interested in faith. Furthermore, Denmark is a well-established, smooth-running society. It’s hard to identify immediate needs the gospel can fill because most folks live a decent life without too many worries. Yet people here certainly have needs and pains, along with desires that Jesus can fill. Our first task is to look, learn, and discover what Jesus wants to do to transform lives in Copenhagen.
Mission 360°: What have you learned that you could share with someone who wants to minister to their neighbors in a city?
Rob: I use an acronym to help us embody our faith in a relationally meaningful way. We can’t just go up to someone and start preaching, but we can imitate Jesus’ method. The acronym is BLESS, and it is adapted from the observations of author Michael Frost in his book Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People. Frost examined the ministry habits of Jesus and noticed five themes. The B stands for Begin with Prayer. You must pursue your mission-focused life with an attitude of prayer, pursuing a friendship with Jesus first and asking for His divine guidance. Next is L, which stands for Listen. To make connections, you need to have your ears open and your mouth shut to learn the needs and what God wants to do. The third point is the most fun: Eat. Eating together means quality time, presence, and shared experience—all key to building friendships. The fourth point is Serve. Look for ways you can bless people. Acts of service build trust and connection and are surprisingly rare in our self-centered world. And the last S, and it’s last for a reason, is Share. When God opens a door and a question gets asked, this is your chance to share what God has done in your life.
Mission 360°: What has church planting in challenging areas done for your faith?
Rob: It’s taught me my need for prayer. During my first church-planting experience in Canada, I did pray, but for the most part, I tried to do things myself, separate from divine help. I drew on whatever training I had and whatever strategies I could read about. Over time, I burned myself out. No matter how hard I struggled, I didn’t have the perfect solutions. I’m learning that I need to trust God. He has ways and wisdom that I don’t know.
Mission 360°: Can you share a story of someone whose life was changed because of your work?
Rob: A friend grew up in church but had a negative experience. The picture he’d received of Jesus didn’t draw him in, and he became skeptical as he entered adulthood. Then, through becoming friends with my family, he observed how we did our best to live out the BLESS principles. He could sense that the life of service, sharing, and pastoring we were doing was genuine. That we really cared. And we were inspired by the example of Jesus—a different picture of Jesus than he had grown up with. I didn’t push my faith on him, but when he asked questions, I’d share. During a crisis, my friend chose to trust this new Jesus he was coming to see, and now he’s a passionate Christian. This journey happened because God used our family to show what Jesus is like. By living our faith intentionally in our relationships, my friend was drawn to Jesus.
There’s nothing more exciting than being a part of someone’s spiritual experience. Start with the basics of representing Jesus through the BLESS principles and then experience the joy that comes with the results.
The Post-Christian Window
Rob and Bethany Folkenberg serve in the Post-Christian Window, one of our church’s greatest mission challenges. This window includes Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and increasingly North America—countries that can no longer be called Christian and are abandoning Christian values.
Please help reach hearts for Jesus in the Post-Christian Window by supporting Global Mission church planters today.
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