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Related topics “Change My Life” Mikael’s journey from addiction, isolation, and spiritual struggle to surrender and ministry reveals how God transformed his life and led him to help launch Oikos House, a growing Adventist church plant in Helsinki.
“If You exist, change my life.” It was a simple prayer from a discouraged teenager who felt trapped in habits he couldn’t break. Mikael grew up in a Christian home in Finland, a fourth-generation Seventh-day Adventist on his father’s side. His mother discovered the Adventist faith through evangelistic meetings shortly after marrying Mikael’s father. When she later learned she was pregnant, she made a quiet promise to God: I will dedicate this child for Your service. As a small child, Mikael sensed that dedication without fully understanding it. He remembers pretending to be a pastor at age three, holding “home church” services in his living room. He was baptized at 11 and felt sensitive to God’s leading. But soon after, his family moved to rural Finland, where the Adventist church was small and Mikael felt isolated—both as a believer and as part of an ethnic minority. Wanting desperately to belong, he began smoking, drinking, and partying during his early teen years. Weekends were filled with alcohol, and Sabbaths sometimes found him sitting in the back of church with a hangover. He never stopped believing in God, but he felt torn between faith and the pull of the world. Adventist summer camps became a lifeline. Each year, Mikael felt drawn back to God—but once he returned to school, willpower alone wasn’t enough to change his habits. By age 15, his struggle reached its darkest point. “I made choices I deeply regretted,” he recalled. “It felt like a spiritual battle.” At one camp, Mikael listened as a visiting speaker shared his testimony of transformation. Sitting in the back row, Mikael thought, When I’m 25, I’ll get my life together. Even then, beneath the confusion, he sensed a quiet calling—a purpose he couldn’t fully explain but couldn’t escape either. The turning point came not through self-discipline, but surrender. Late one night, after another weekend of partying, Mikael looked at his reflection at a train station and asked himself, Who am I becoming? Back in his dorm room, he prayed honestly: “God, I love this lifestyle. I don’t even want to change. But if You want to, You have my permission.” Not long after, he prayed again: “If You exist, change my life.” God answered—not with dramatic emotion, but with quiet transformation. Mikael found himself longing for something different. He stopped his bad habits and began spending time with friends who took faith seriously. One evening, after praying with them, he felt no rush of emotion—yet everything changed. “I didn’t feel anything,” he said. “But I was never the same again.” Soon after, God began stretching him in unexpected ways. One Sabbath afternoon, while bored and wandering through a shopping mall, Mikael felt impressed to speak to strangers about God. Though he felt unqualified, he obeyed. As he spoke, faith that once felt distant suddenly became real. “It was like God was teaching me as I spoke,” he said. That experience marked the beginning of a journey into ministry. After high school, Mikael joined a mission training program in Australia. There, a dream began to form: planting a church back home in Finland. In 2019, he contacted church leaders and joined early planning efforts for a new ministry in Helsinki. Then came 2020. The pandemic halted plans, separated Mikael from his girlfriend overseas, drained his finances, and plunged him into deep discouragement. Sleep-deprived and isolated, he questioned why God would give him such hope only to take it away. Yet even in that season, God was quietly at work. That summer, a small team formed. Then a house became available with less than a month’s notice. By August 2020, the doors of Oikos House opened. What began as a fragile step of faith has grown into a vibrant Seventh-day Adventist church plant. Each Sabbath, young adults gather in the home for Bible study, worship, shared meals, and fellowship. People come from many backgrounds, over 30 nationalities, creating a warm, welcoming space where faith feels real. Over the past six years, hundreds have passed through Oikos House. Many have chosen baptism. Others have grown deeper in faith and stepped into leadership. Young people once searching for belonging have found a spiritual family. Mikael sees God’s hand clearly now. Today, Oikos House is outgrowing its space. The dream is bigger now: to plant another church and raise up a new generation of young leaders who will serve across Finland and beyond. This quarter, part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help support future church plants branching off of the Oikos House—places where faith is lived around the table, prayers are honest, and lives are changed.  Story Tips · Show the location of Helsinki, Finland on a map · Download photos for this story from Facebook: bit.ly/fb-mq · Share facts related to Finland (see below) Fast Facts · The brown bear is the national animal of Finland. The national bird is the swan, the national flower is the lily-of-the-valley, and the national tree is the silver birch. · There are more than 168,000 lakes in Finland and 179,000 islands. · Lapland is the largest and furthest-north region in Finland and is partly in the Arctic Circle. The Finnish name for Lapland is “ Lappi ” and in Swedish it is “ Lappland. ” · Finland has been ranked the world’s happiest country for the last seven years. · There are around 3 million saunas in Finland: that is one sauna for every two Finns. · The colors of the Finnish flag represent the blue of the lakes and white of the snow.  Get to know the region Related publications More Youth & Adult Mission Stories Topics

Mikael’s journey from addiction, isolation, and spiritual struggle to surrender and ministry reveals how God transformed his life and led him to help launch Oikos House, a growing Adventist church plant in Helsinki.

“Change My Life”

Related topics One Gospel, many urban accents: rethinking mission in the world’s cities New resources and mission experiences highlight the need for approaches shaped by the people and communities of each city.
Seventh-day Adventist mission in the world’s cities cannot rely on a single model or approach, Manuel Arteaga told members of the General Conference (GC) Executive Committee on October 11, calling on church leaders to listen more closely to the communities they hope to reach. Arteaga, director of the Globla Mission Center for Urban Mission (CFUM) at the GC, presented his report on the third day of Annual Council, highlighting lessons from urban mission projects around the world and outlining new initiatives designed to connect, inspire, and equip urban missionaries and church planters. “There’s no such thing as ‘the city,’” Arteaga said. “We have cities, and they’re diverse, and they’re different, and each one of them has a different context.” Urban mission, he added, requires the church “to learn how to speak to each and every one of these contexts.” Drawing on the experience of Pentecost, Arteaga said the early church did not expect people to learn its language first. Instead, through the Holy Spirit, the church learned to speak theirs. That principle, he said, shapes the work of CFUM, one of six Global Mission Centers supporting the church in sharing the gospel across diverse cultural and religious contexts. Rather than exporting a single urban mission model worldwide, the center works with divisions to develop approaches suited to individual cities. “There is one gospel that we proclaim. We know that we have one mission as a church,” Arteaga said. But reaching diverse cities, he added, requires the church to speak in “many urban accents.” Listening to cities During the past year, CFUM leaders visited several regions to listen, learn, and develop mission approaches alongside local leaders. Those conversations centered on a key question: “What are our cities saying?” Arteaga said effective urban church planting must go beyond simply establishing churches in cities or for cities. Congregations, he said, should be “doing life with the city,” understanding their communities and building bridges with the people who live there. The center also worked with church leaders to develop contextualized mission initiatives for priority cities and to produce Urban Life in the Word , a new Bible study resource designed to explore biblical prophecy from an urban perspective. The resource is part of a broader series of Bible studies developed collaboratively by the six Global Mission Centers to reach people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. The studies include materials designed for Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, urban, and secular audiences. Plans call for the studies to be made available online through Adventist World Radio ’s Global Bible School. Online training designed to help members and mission workers use them will also be available. Divisions will also be able to localize materials for their own cultural and mission contexts, in collaboration with the Global Mission Centers. “We don’t have the answer,” Arteaga said of CFUM’s role. “We are here to make sure that we come alongside you to discern faithful answers together,” including asking what the Holy Spirit is already doing in cities around the world. Mission taking different forms Arteaga illustrated that approach with experiences from recent visits to Japan and cities in Taiwan, where he saw mission taking different forms according to the opportunities within each community. In Tokyo, Japan, Adventists are using hospitality, house churches, and urban centers of influence to connect with people in one of the world’s highly secular cities. One house church began during the COVID-19 pandemic after a woman facing a cancer diagnosis began worshiping at home with her children. One Sabbath, a neighborhood boy knocked on the door and asked if he could join. He returned with friends, and the group continued to grow. Arteaga said about 20 young adults now regularly gather for worship in her home. In Taiwan, Arteaga met a businessman whose encounter with Jesus changed the way he used his time and resources. An apartment purchased with money his mother had saved for retirement became a place of worship in his community. To connect with neighbors, he began playing the ukulele and writing songs based on their stories. “What we see in him is someone who is faithfully using his time and his talents to reach people for Jesus Christ,” he said. Another experience came from a Korean pastor serving in Taiwan who initially tried to reach students at a nearby university but encountered restrictions on proselytizing. Interest in Korean culture eventually provided another way to connect. Students approached the pastor to learn Korean, and those relationships developed into a language club. Arteaga said the ministry has since expanded, creating opportunities to connect with students and share the gospel. Finding the next urban missionaries The experiences led Arteaga to turn his attention to people who may already have ideas for reaching their cities but need encouragement and support to move forward. “How many more potential missionaries?” he asked. “How many more young adults are staying awake at night, imagining this church plant that they believe [in]?” Arteaga outlined plans for a new global initiative centered on what he called “Dreamers,” designed to connect people with a vision for urban mission. Plans include a video series featuring missionaries, urban centers of influence, church plants, and house churches from across the world, allowing their experiences to be shared in one place. “A space where ‘Dreamers’ inspire ‘Dreamers’ to do mission,” Arteaga said. “A space where realized mission awakens new mission. A space where someone’s mission breakthrough becomes someone else’s mission beginning.” The center also plans to launch the Dreamers Academy, an online space where those interested in starting an urban mission initiative can learn the steps involved and receive coaching. A Dreamers Playbook and stories featuring church planters, Urban Center of Influence pioneers, house church leaders, and other urban missionaries are also planned. Arteaga closed his report by returning to the idea that reaching cities requires the church to understand and speak to their different contexts. “The city may not speak our language, but the Holy Spirit teaches us to speak theirs,” he said. “One name. One gospel. One voice. And we will do so in many urban accents.” This article was provided by the ANN . Get to know the region More Stories Topics

New resources and mission experiences highlight the need for approaches shaped by the people and communities of each city.

One Gospel, many urban accents: rethinking mission in the world’s cities

Related topics Global Mission Centers introduce new Bible studies for diverse communities Six new Bible study guides designed to share faith across cultures and religions.
In response to frequent requests for contextualized Bible study resources, the Seventh-day Adventist Church ’s six Global Mission Centers have developed six new study guides adaptable to local communities. ChanMin Chung, director of the Global Mission Centers, introduced the resources on October 11, during the 2026 Annual Council. These adaptable studies will provide church members and frontline workers with resources to share their faith with people from different traditions, including those who express interest through digital media. Chung explained that the centers focus on three mission windows: urban populations, secular and post-Christian communities, and the 10/40 Window. “Jesus is for everyone,” Chung emphasized. “We are not talking about headcounts or numbers. We are talking about people who need to know Jesus. That is why our six Global Mission Centers exist.” Bible studies for different audiences The new Bible studies are designed to help Adventist members and frontline workers share biblical teachings with people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. Recognizing that traditional approaches may not resonate with every audience, the guides introduce Scripture through familiar concepts and questions, providing a foundation that can be adapted to the unique needs of local communities. Among the guides introduced was Prophecies of the Coming Messiah , a 12-part Bible study series developed by the Global Mission Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations. Recognizing that many Muslims honor Jesus and want to learn more about Him, the studies explore Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and their fulfillment in Jesus' life. “Our goal is to equip Adventists to use these 12 Bible studies with their Muslim friends to explore the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and how they were fulfilled in the life of Jesus,” explained Petras Badahaur, director of the Global Mission Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations. “The studies encourage respectful conversation and careful reading of Scripture within relationships of trust and friendship.” The Global Mission Center for Urban Ministry also developed another study, Urban Life in the Word , to connect biblical teachings with the experiences of people living in cities. The lessons explore the same gospel message and biblical prophecies found in traditional Adventist Bible studies, but approach them through the realities and questions of urban life. “The intention is more than gaining biblical knowledge. The hope is that every encounter with Scripture will lead to a deeper relationship with the God who is love,” explained Manny Arteaga, director of the Global Mission Center for Urban Ministry. “At its heart is a simple yet transformative invitation: to fall in love with a God who knows us fully and loves us deeply.” Making the resources available The new Bible studies will be distributed to division leaders and mission directors, who will work with the Global Mission Centers to adapt the materials for their respective communities. Chung emphasized that the initial printed copies are intended for review and discussion rather than immediate public distribution, allowing local leaders to recommend changes before the studies are shared more broadly. Beyond the printed guides, the Global Bible School will make the studies available. Video versions are being developed to accommodate different learning preferences, allowing individuals to watch or listen to the lessons. To help members use these resources, the Global Mission Centers are preparing online training courses through the Adventist Learning Community . Chung also highlighted existing courses on the platform that help Adventists build friendships with people of other faiths. Following the presentation, church leaders joined in prayer to dedicate the new resources to God. The studies are expected to give Adventist members additional tools to share Jesus with people in their communities. This article was provided by the ANN . Get to know the region More Stories Topics

Six new Bible study guides designed to share faith across cultures and religions.

Global Mission Centers introduce new Bible studies for diverse communities

Related topics ‘Mission Refocus’ stories challenge Adventist leaders to go where the need Is greatest Annual Council program highlights the need for more missionaries in underserved communities.
Seventh-day Adventist leaders on the second day of Annual Council set aside votes, reports and other agenda items Friday evening, October 9, for worship and reflection on what it means to answer God’s call to mission. More than 440 church leaders from around the world, gathered at the General Conference (GC) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, heard firsthand accounts of faith, sacrifice, and service from missionaries serving in communities where sharing the gospel often begins with building trust, forming friendships, and finding new ways to connect with people. Their experiences, woven throughout the evening with music, Scripture readings, and interactive moments, offered a glimpse into Mission Refocus, the church’s effort to send more missionaries and resources to places where the Adventist presence is limited or nonexistent. The initiative emphasizes the 10/40 Window, major urban areas, and secular and post-Christian societies. The testimonies also reflected this year’s Annual Council theme, “Called for Mission,” through the experiences of missionaries serving across cultures and far from familiar surroundings. “Tonight is a special program centered on the stories and lives of those who have been sent through Mission Refocus,” said Rick McEdward, executive secretary of the GC, as he welcomed leaders. A mission that changed her Among the missionaries featured was Katie Davis, who spent nine months as a student missionary in Cambodia through the Andrews University student mission program. Davis served at an Adventist center of influence where language and music classes, a vegetarian restaurant, and other activities are designed to build relationships within the community. She said she quickly discovered that sharing her faith in Cambodia required a different approach. “My mission changed to be representing Jesus through my actions, my words, and my daily behavior, and completely relying on the Holy Spirit every single day,” Davis said. During her nine months there, Davis said she used her social work training to conduct mental health workshops in villages, help children develop social-emotional skills, form friendships that led to Bible studies, and help a Cambodian teenager prepare for studies abroad. But Davis told leaders that one of the greatest transformations took place in her own life. “My mission experience wasn't about what I wanted to give to my people, but it was the very tool that God used to disciple me, to break my assumptions, and to build my faith,” she said. Now pursuing a master’s degree in community and international development, Davis challenged church leaders to give young people opportunities to serve now. “When you give us, young people, the trust, the opportunity, and the space to go serve, whether that’s across the world in Cambodia or right here locally in our communities, God does incredible things in our hearts.” Building relationships in a post-Christian community For one missionary family serving in a highly secular, post-Christian setting, church planting has centered on building friendships and trust. By creating opportunities for meaningful connections, they have opened the way for people who might not initially connect with a traditional church to explore questions about life and faith. Those connections have gradually opened the way for deeper spiritual conversations. One participant who identified as an atheist began studying the Bible and attending Sabbath worship, while another who had described himself as agnostic expressed a desire to give God another chance. A Bible study group has since taken shape and is being developed as the foundation for a new congregation and a model for reaching other post-Christian communities. That experience reflects a broader challenge across the Trans-European Division (TED). Robert Csizmadia, the division’s executive secretary, pointed to its largest mission field, home to some 65 million people and nearly one-third of the division’s population, where there is roughly one Adventist for every 82,000 non-Adventists. In a region increasingly shaped by secular and post-Christian cultures, Csizmadia said reaching people requires new approaches to mission, describing TED as a “mission lab” for finding new ways to connect with those communities. “We want to be partners in mission,” he said. “We would like to accept you into our mission field. And we would like to support you in your mission field.” An alarm clock for mission Throughout the evening, the sound and image of an alarm clock reinforced a sense of urgency. Bible passages including Romans 13:11-12, John 9:4, Luke 10:2, Matthew 25:13, and Matthew 28:19-20 were used to point leaders toward the urgency of reaching people who have yet to hear the gospel. “These Bible verses are meant to be alarm clocks to awaken us in mission,” said Justin Kim, editor of Adventist Review . Kim then turned that reflection toward the audience, inviting leaders to use their phones for an interactive word cloud. They responded to questions about where they had served, where mission workers are most needed, and what mission needs most. Countries and regions from around the world appeared on the screen, while “workers,” “Holy Spirit,” “love,” and “prayer” emerged among the needs identified for mission. Kim also challenged leaders to consider what they were willing to surrender for mission, calling them to “reconsecrate” and “recalibrate” their lives with a greater burden for other cultures, countries, and peoples. Crossing the barriers McEdward returned to that urgency in his closing appeal, tracing the biblical call to take God's blessings to the nations and challenging leaders not to allow geographic, ethnic, linguistic, or religious barriers to limit the church's mission. “God's people are called to cross barriers for the gospel,” he said. “It's not for adventure that we go. It's not for some kind of extra stamp on our passport that we go.” He also pointed to the relationship between Mission Refocus and OneVoice27 , the church’s worldwide digital evangelism initiative. Digital tools can carry the gospel into new places, he said, but the church also needs people on the ground who can build relationships with those reached through technology. The connection reflected the church’s broader emphasis on being “Integrated for Mission,” bringing missionaries, members, leaders, and initiatives together in a shared effort to reach people beyond the church’s current presence. McEdward challenged leaders to ensure that OneVoice27 extends to languages and populations where the Adventist Church has little or no representation. “Make sure we're doing something for the groups, ethnic groups, and languages which we have no representation in the church,” he said. Pointing to missionaries who had left familiar surroundings and, in some cases, significant security to serve elsewhere, McEdward stressed the need for more workers. “Can we have more? Can we send more like them?” he asked. “Can we see this world have more shining lights like them?” But he emphasized that the responsibility extends beyond those who are sent. Drawing from God's call to Abraham to bless the nations, McEdward reminded leaders of their own place in that mission: “You also are part of the solution to bring God's blessings to the nations The evening closed with a prayer by GC president Erton Köhler, who thanked missionaries for their service and called leaders to renewed commitment. “Keep the mission alive through us,” he prayed. “Help us to be always focused on the mission in everything we do to prepare this world for the second coming of Jesus.” This article was provided by the ANN . Get to know the region More Stories Topics

Annual Council program highlights the need for more missionaries in underserved communities.

‘Mission Refocus’ stories challenge Adventist leaders to go where the need Is greatest

Related topics General Conference staff give funds during Mission Week During Mission Week, General Conference staff donated more than US$19,000 to a mission project in a sensitive region, contributing to over US$130,000 in employee-supported mission projects worldwide since 2015.
Staff at the General Conference (GC) located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, recently gave more than US$19,000 to a mission project in a sensitive region during this year’s Mission Week. GC staff have personally given more than US$130,000 to mission projects since 2015, supporting work from the Canadian Arctic to West Africa and from the Middle East to northern Asia. There was no Mission Week in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed the office. Past projects have included sending church planters to an unreached city, purchasing a brick-making machine for use on a hospital construction site in Southeast Asia, and helping refugee children access education in the Middle East. “You know that the workers of the General Conference are committed to mission when they consistently, year by year, support local mission projects personally,” said Rick McEdward, GC secretary. Mission Week is an annual event that began in September 2011, featuring internationally themed meals in the cafeteria, a silent auction, a Skype call with a missionary, and mission videos in the auditorium during the noon hour. Later, a specific mission project was adopted, and the Mission Bazaar was introduced. While the bazaar helps make the week memorable and adds some excitement to a typical week in the office, the majority of the funds raised from the project come from personal employee donations. Mission Week projects are often located in sensitive regions, and having a project shared only with employees inside the building means more information can be shared openly. The bazaar features international items donated by GC staff and collected during their travels. Many staff have served as international missionaries and donate items accumulated during their service. Mission Week is not the only time employees are invited to support a mission project. Every spring, during the GC week of prayer, employees are invited to support a special project. Last spring, employees contributed more than US$13,000 to help launch a community project in a center of influence in Southeast Asia. "Mission week is one of my favorite times of the year, but we know mission isn't a once-a-year event—it's global and ongoing,” said Rick Kajiura, Communication director for the Office of Adventist Mission , whose team plans the programs and events for the week. “My heart is touched by the support from this building because I know that what they are giving here for the special project is that extra they are finding after the regular support they give through their local churches.” Get to know the region More Stories Topics

During Mission Week, General Conference staff donated more than US$19,000 to a mission project in a sensitive region, contributing to over US$130,000 in employee-supported mission projects worldwide since 2015.

General Conference staff give funds during Mission Week

Related topics To Adventist Leader (Part 2) Marek finds the Adventist Church, accepts Christ, and begins a transformed life of ministry and service.
Marek’s life began to change as he read The Great Controversy in Poland. He decided to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. He read that smoking is bad and decided to quit. But he couldn’t. One Saturday, he passed a street poster offering a five-day stop smoking class. The address was a Seventh-day Adventist church. Marek had never heard of the denomination before, even after reading The Great Controversy and visiting the Adventist bookstore where he had bought the book. Marek went straight to the church. He saw a poster for The Great Controversy on the church bulletin board and knew he had found the right place. It was 2 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, and the church normally would have been empty after worship services, but a group of literature evangelists were there, and they invited Marek to return the next Sabbath morning to worship. Marek returned the next Sabbath and enjoyed the sermon. He was amazed at the kindness of the churchgoers. They told him that a large group of young people would meet in a nearby city the next Sabbath and invited him to go with them. The next Sabbath morning, Marek waited by a road for the Adventists to pick him up. It was a hot day, and he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. As he waited, he sensed two voices speaking to him. One said, “Stay outside, and enjoy the nice weather.” The other urged, “Wait here because it’s really important that you go to this meeting.” The Adventists arrived and took him to the meeting. The worship service amazed Marek. Every word was meaningful to him. The preacher, a British pastor from London, spoke until noon. Then he said, “I know I am supposed to end now, but I know there is somebody here who needs Jesus.” Marek thought, “Who told him about me?” The pastor then shared his personal story. He was born into a religious family but had left the church. He had used drugs and drank. His church and even his mother had stopped praying for him. “Then I met Jesus,” he said. “He took me up from the bottom where I was, and now I’m here to tell you about His power. And that He can change your life.” Then the pastor made his appeal. “If you want Jesus to change your life, just come here to the front,” he said. Marek saw 1,000 people in the crowd and cringed at the thought of standing in front of them. With the very next sentence, the pastor addressed his doubts. “Don’t think about others looking at you,” he said. “Just come here. Come to the front. It’s between you and God.” Marek stood up. He couldn’t sit anymore. His heart beat wildly as he went to the front. As the pastor prayed, Marek understood the plan of salvation for the first time. He had lived a bad life, and Jesus had taken his place. Marek began to cry, and nobody could stop him. The tears flowed freely. But Marek also was excited and joyful. “I really feel that God saved my life not only for His kingdom but also from physical death,” Marek said later. While studying at the Adventist seminary, he learned that his childhood friend Matthew was found dead with a knife in his heart. He had been using a lot of drugs, and no one knows what happened. He was only 23. His other childhood friend, Martin, ended up in prison for seven “I really want to help young people find their purpose in life sooner than I did,” he said. “Maybe they will live better lives after hearing my story. I’m really thankful to God. He saved me from everything, and He gave me everything. So, I have given everything to Him.” Get to know the region More Inside Stories Topics

Marek finds the Adventist Church, accepts Christ, and begins a transformed life of ministry and service.

To Adventist Leader (Part 2)

Related topics Brave for Jesus Fourteen-year-old Lucjica grows in faith through the influence of her grandparents and courageously shares her Adventist beliefs with classmates, showing how young people can stand confidently for Jesus.
When Lucjica was a baby, her grandparents carried her to church. Now she is 14 years old and she walks into church on her own, holding tightly to the faith they helped plant in her heart. Lucjica lives with her mother in Croatia. Her mother believes in God but does not attend church regularly. But every Sabbath since she was six years old, Lucjica has gone to church with her grandmother and grandfather. “My grandma teaches me everything about Jesus,” Lucjica says. “She shows me how to live healthy, how to choose good things to watch, how to follow God’s rules.” Her grandmother reads from the Bible and from Ellen G. White’s books. Since she was just two years old, Lucjica has listened to Bible stories. One of her favorites is Queen Esther—the brave young woman who stood up for her people. Lucjica has learned to be brave too. Her favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” She says she feels safe when she prays. She prays about school grades. She prays about problems at home. She prays when she feels unsure. And God answers. At church she loves Sabbath School. She is in the 5th–8th grade class. They study the Bible, pray together, and learn to forgive, to be kind, and not to judge others. “It’s very necessary,” she says. “Especially for the mental health of kids.” She also loves Pathfinders. They meet on Sundays: sometimes at church, sometimes in the park. She enjoys camping, being outdoors, and spending time with her friends. But one of the bravest moments of her life didn’t happen at church. It happened at school. Lucjica is the only Seventh-day Adventist in her class. All 22 of her classmates are from another religion. One day, she was talking with her teacher about her beliefs. She explained what Adventists believe about the Sabbath, about praying directly to God, and about healthy food choices. Instead of criticizing her, the teacher surprised her. “Would you like to make a presentation to the class about your religion?” the teacher asked. Lucjica agreed. She wasn’t afraid. “God stood by me,” she says simply. In her presentation, she explained why Adventists don’t eat pork. She showed what the Bible says about the Sabbath. She explained that Adventists don’t pray to saints but speak directly to God. Her classmates were quiet. They listened carefully. Many of them had never heard these things before. When she finished, her teacher gave her two “A’s” for her work. But more important than the grades was something else: courage. “It’s rare for young people here to know much about the Bible,” she says. “So, I want to share my beliefs with everyone.” Lucjica knows that being different can be hard. “You don’t always have real friends at school,” she admits. “So, we learn to be brave. We [friends at church] stick together.” Her faith is not loud or proud in a showy way. It is steady. It is grounded. It is taught by a grandmother who loves Jesus deeply—and by a God who answers prayer. This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help rebuild the Zagreb 1 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Croatia after it was severely damaged by an earthquake. A new church building will give children and young people like Lucjica a safe place to worship, learn, pray, and grow strong in their faith. Let’s give generously so more boys and girls can be brave for Jesus.  Story Tips · Show the continent of Europe on a map, pointing out the country of Croatia. Then show the capital city of Zagreb, where part of this quarter’s offering will go to help rebuild the church that was severely damaged by an earthquake. · Watch short videos and download photos at facebook.com/missionquarterlies · For children’s Bible studies, resources, and more, visit: children.adventist.org MISSION RECORD Croatia has 40 Seventh-day Adventist churches and 2,389 members. With a population of 3,851,000 people, that means there is one Adventist for every 1,612 people in the country. Most people in Croatia are Christians—nearly 90 percent of the population. About 80 percent are Catholic, 3 percent are Orthodox, and about 5 percent belong to other Christian churches. A little more than 10 percent of the population say they have no religion or belong to another faith. The Adventist Church has had a publishing work in Croatia for more than 100 years. Around 1913, a small publishing house called Život i zdravlje (“Life and Health”) was started in Zagreb, the capital city. It continued its work until World War II. After Croatia became independent in the early 1990s, the Znaci Vremena (“Signs of the Times”) branch in Zagreb later became today’s Croatian Publishing House. Croatia is also home to Adriatic Union College and the Adventist Secondary School in Maruševec, where young people can learn and grow in their faith. Get to know the region More Children Mission Stories Topics

Fourteen-year-old Lucjica grows in faith through the influence of her grandparents and courageously shares her Adventist beliefs with classmates, showing how young people can stand confidently for Jesus.

Brave for Jesus

Related topics Every Step a Battle Joe’s journey from grief, anxiety, and spiritual emptiness leads him back to God and to OIKOS House in Helsinki, where he finds healing, belonging, and a calling to pastoral ministry.
Joe almost turned back more than once. The Sabbath morning he first came to OIKOS House in Helsinki, everything inside him resisted going. Though he had recently begun his journey of faith, anxiety pressed hard as he left his home, walked to the train station, boarded the train, and then walked again toward an unfamiliar house. “It felt like every step was a battle,” Joe recalled. “I didn’t know about spiritual warfare then—but I know now that something didn’t want me to come.” The final walk from the station should have taken five minutes. Instead, it took fifteen—and three prayers. Standing outside the door, Joe hesitated. What if this is the wrong place? What if they don’t accept me? he thought. He pressed the doorbell, telling himself that if no one answered within five seconds, he would run home. The door opened almost immediately. With warm smiles and a genuine welcome, the fear that had followed Joe all morning vanished. “It was like crossing a barrier,” he said. “The anxiety disappeared the moment I stepped inside.” For the first time, church felt different. Joe’s journey to that doorstep began long before Finland. Born in Thailand to a Finnish father and a Thai mother, Joe spent much of his childhood attending Adventist schools. He learned Bible stories, sang hymns, and prayed before meals—but faith felt distant. “I believed God existed,” he said. “But I didn’t know Him personally.” When Joe was 13, his mother passed away. Though she had found Christian faith shortly before her death, the loss left Joe deeply confused and bitter. A youth group that had once felt like a refuge dissolved soon after, and his questions about God went unanswered. “I didn’t understand why a loving God would take my mother, and then the youth group,” Joe said. “So, I walked away.” For years, he searched elsewhere for belonging through parties, alcohol, and later alternative spiritual paths. Nothing lasted. What once numbed the pain eventually deepened it. By his late twenties, Joe felt empty and exhausted. Depression and anxiety weighed heavily, and a painful breakup only intensified his despair. “One night, I felt like the world had nothing left to offer me,” he said. As Joe reached the lowest point of his life, a single word impressed itself on his heart: Pray. “I knew exactly who that prayer was meant for—the God I had learned about as a child,” Joe said. That night, Joe prayed honestly and desperately, asking God to take away his pain and give him life. Exhausted from months of sleeplessness, he fell asleep. When he woke, something was different. “The depression was gone,” he said simply. “I knew it wasn’t me. It had to be God.” Days later, biking to work in the cold winter darkness, Joe felt joy rising in his heart. “It felt like the sun was shining just for me,” he said. With a grateful heart, he committed his life fully to God. Not long afterward, Joe followed an invitation to OIKOS House. “I had never experienced church like that,” he said. “People listened. They wanted to know my story. There was no judgment—only belonging.” Joe stayed late that first Sabbath, sharing his testimony again and again with people who genuinely cared. From that day on, he knew he had found a spiritual family. “What struck me most,” Joe said, “was that OIKOS doesn’t just talk about Jesus’ teachings—it tries to live them.” Encouraged by the community that believed in him, Joe began to sense a new calling. Today, he is studying theology, preparing for pastoral ministry. His dream is to serve at OIKOS House and help plant new churches—places where others searching for belonging can encounter God just as he did. “This house is just a tool,” Joe reflected. “What matters is God’s kingdom—and helping others discover the love that changed my life.” Looking back, Joe sees God’s hand in every step, from seeds planted in childhood to a long, difficult walk toward a house where he finally found home. Joe’s journey reminds us that finding faith often begins with finding community. Through ministries like OIKOS House, God is creating spaces where people burdened by loneliness, doubt, or fear can encounter genuine belonging and the healing love of Christ. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will support OIKOS as it expands its outreach and prepares to plant new churches for the next generation. Thank you for your faithful giving.  Story Tips · Show the location of Helsinki, Finland on a map. · Download photos for this story from Facebook: bit.ly/fb-mq. · Share facts related to Finland (see below) Fast Facts · The official name of Finland is the Republic of Finland. · The capital and largest city of Finland is Helsinki. · The Finnish name for Finland is Suomi . · Finland’s currency is the Euro. · The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish, although national languages like Sámi, Karelian, and Finnish Kalo are also recognized. · The national anthem of Finland (“Our Land”) can be sung in Finnish (“ Maamme ”) and Swedish (“ Vårt land ”). Get to know the region Related publications More Youth & Adult Mission Stories Topics

Joe’s journey from grief, anxiety, and spiritual emptiness leads him back to God and to OIKOS House in Helsinki, where he finds healing, belonging, and a calling to pastoral ministry.

Every Step a Battle

Related topics From Drug Dealer (Part 1) Marek’s life of drugs and dealing begins to change when a search for truth leads him to Jesus and The Great Controversy.
Matthew and Martin were Marek’s best friends. If a fight broke out at school, the same three teens were always to blame: Matthew, Martin, and Marek. Today, Matthew is dead; Martin spent seven years in prison; and Marek is a former drug dealer who serves as one of the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland. What happened? Marek grew up in a Christian family in southern Poland. His life fell apart at the age of 18 when his girlfriend left him. He stayed home for two weeks, lying in bed and crying. Finally, he decided to pray: “God, I want her back.” Nothing happened. Then he prayed, “God, I don’t want to wake up anymore because it’s so painful.” Still, nothing happened. Marek stopped praying and became an atheist. He started using drugs. Then his friend Martin decided to sell drugs and invited Marek to join him. Marek quickly became successful at selling and using drugs. He thought, “This is great. You have lots of money, and you get to party all the time!” Two years passed, and Marek couldn’t find anyone to join him at a big party on New Year’s Eve. Disappointed, Marek decided to visit his grandmother. That night, he found himself staring at a picture of Jesus in his grandmother’s home. He thought, “Even if I don’t believe in God, Jesus was real. He was here.” His thoughts drifted back to how he read the Bible as a boy. He remembered that the Bible depicted Jesus as a good person who treated people well. Several days later, Marek visited a woman who promised to reveal his future. She shuffled cards and warned about the end of the world. Astonished, Marek asked when the world would end. She said in exactly one year. Marek started reading the book of Revelation, hoping to learn how the world would end, but understood nothing. Turning to the gospels, he was amazed to learn that Jesus had a kingdom where people would be happy and live forever. One night, after a party, he was sitting in a car, eating takeout food with friends. Out the window he saw a bookstore called Signs of the Times. The name caught his attention. The next day, he went to the bookstore and asked, “Do you have some books about Nostradamus?” The woman behind the counter said, “No, but if you are interested in prophecy, we have The Great Controversy .” Marek bought the thick book by Ellen White and was stunned as he read the story of the Christian church from the destruction of Jerusalem to Jesus’ second coming. He double-checked what he read in the Bible and online. Everything seemed to match up. One night, as he read The Great Controversy in bed, he asked himself, “Am I gaining light from reading this book?” At that moment, the light bulb in the lamp above his head began to blink for 10, 15, 20 seconds. That was unusual, and Marek grew nervous. Suddenly, he noticed a reflection of himself in a window. All he could see was his head and the light bulb right above it. The bulb stopped sputtering and shone brightly again. The answer was clear. It was the first time in his life that he sensed God’s presence and love. He knelt and said, “God, if You are like this, I want to serve You.” Get to know the region More Inside Stories Topics

Marek’s life of drugs and dealing begins to change when a search for truth leads him to Jesus and The Great Controversy.

From Drug Dealer (Part 1)

Related topics Finding Family on the Streets of Helsinki Jenny’s search for Christian community leads her to OIKOS House in Helsinki, where friendship, discipleship, forgiveness, and faith transform her life and give her a new sense of belonging and purpose.
Jenny wasn’t looking for a church that winter day in Helsinki’s city center—she was praying for friends. Only three months earlier, she had begun a personal journey of faith. While waiting for her mother at a doctor’s appointment, Jenny wandered through the streets, quietly asking God for Christian community. Almost immediately, she felt impressed to walk down a particular street near a busy square. That decision changed everything. There, she met a small group from OIKOS House, a Seventh-day Adventist church plant in Helsinki. One of the outreach volunteers approached her with an unexpected question: “Has anyone ever written a poem for you?” When she said no, he asked her to share three words. One of them was “peace.” As they talked, Jenny admitted she believed in God, but she didn’t yet realize the group was Christian. When they explained they were inviting people to church, another volunteer, Linda, shared about OIKOS House. Contact information was exchanged, and a simple invitation followed. At first, Jenny hesitated. But she trusted the same God who had led her down that street. “I wasn’t afraid,” she later said. “I knew this was from Him.” Two weeks later, she rang the doorbell of the OIKOS House. “I was expecting a church building,” Jenny recalled with a smile. “I thought, What if there’s just a family having dinner inside? But I prayed, ‘Lord, You led me here—so keep leading me.’” She was welcomed warmly. Worship flowed naturally into small-group conversations, and strangers quickly became friends. “It felt like family right away,” she said. “So, I just kept coming.” Jenny grew up with a mixed religious background, with her parents coming from two different religions. But going to church was never a consistent part of her life. As a young adult, she lived a secular lifestyle and found herself in a painful relationship that left her emotionally broken. “I was miserable and searching for something to hold onto,” she said. “I knew about God, and that was my last hope.” In desperation she prayer, “ If You are really there, please help me.” God answered. As Jenny began forming a personal relationship with Jesus, she found the strength to leave the relationship and her old way of life behind. In prayer, God also did something she never thought possible—He removed her anger and bitterness. “I realized I didn’t hate him [the boyfriend who had cheated on her] anymore,” she said. “And I told him that Jesus had taken the anger away.” Through forgiveness, Jenny was able to share the gospel with her former boyfriend—something she says she could never have done on her own. After stepping away from her old life, Jenny experienced a quiet season of growth—time with God, her family, and prayer for new friends. Those prayers were answered through OIKOS House. “What I love most about OIKOS is that it’s family,” she said. “Everyone is welcome as they are. People from so many backgrounds—and it just works.” Through that community, Jenny met Timi, who had been part of the original OIKOS core team. Their friendship grew into a relationship rooted in faith, prayer, and purpose. After nine months of dating, they became engaged during the ARISE discipleship program and were married in July 2025. Jenny also participated in ARISE Finland, a three-month discipleship and outreach program held in eastern Finland. There, Bible study, community living, and hands-on outreach deepened her faith. “The most important thing I learned,” she said, “was that God is love. When you see that, the whole Bible comes together.” Today, Jenny is studying early childhood education at the University of Helsinki, preparing for a future of service. She and Timi live near OIKOS House, just minutes from where she first rang the doorbell. Looking back, Jenny sees God’s hand clearly: from a simple prayer on a city street to a spiritual family, a restored life, and a heart ready for mission. “I didn’t connect the dots at first,” she said. “But now I see—God was leading me the whole way.” Across Finland, many young adults, like Jenny, are searching for community, purpose, and a place where faith feels personal and lived. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help OIKOS House expand that ministry by launching a new church plant designed especially for families. Just as a simple invitation on a Helsinki street led Jenny to spiritual family and new life in Christ, your mission offerings help create spaces where others can encounter God, find belonging, and begin their own journey of faith. Thank you for praying for church plants and for your generous mission offerings.  Story Tips · Show the location of Helsinki, Finland on a map · Download photos for this story from Facebook: bit.ly/fb-mq · Share facts related to Finland (see below) Mission Post · Finland has 58 Seventh-day Adventist churches, 9 companies, and 4,063 members. With a population of 5,624,000, that is one church member for every 1,384 Finns. · Around 62 percent of Finns belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, 35 percent are unaffiliated with any religion, and only 3 percent belong to other religions. · The first Seventh-day Adventist in Finland was a sea captain—A. F. Lundqvist, who, while docked at Liverpool, England in 1885, bought Uriah Smith’s Daniel and the Revelation and Ellen White’s The Great Controversy from a colporteur. He remained a faithful church member until his death in 1955, aged 97. · The first Church worker in Finland was a Swedish canvassing leader, Emil Lind, who was sent to Finland in 1891. He found the work difficult and was even threatened with exile to Siberia. · In 1892, the Swedish Conference president, Olof Johnson, and two Bible workers, Augusta Larsson and Matilda Lindgren, came to Helsinki. Because foreigners could not hold public meetings, Johnson held them in his own home. · The SDA Church in Finland has one school, Finland Junior College, and one retirement home, Nurmikoti Oy . Get to know the region Related publications More Youth & Adult Mission Stories Topics

Jenny’s search for Christian community leads her to OIKOS House in Helsinki, where friendship, discipleship, forgiveness, and faith transform her life and give her a new sense of belonging and purpose.

Finding Family on the Streets of Helsinki

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