OAC Publications
Street Corner
Newsletter of OAC/Friluftsmissionen - Denmark
July 2000 Volume 7 no 2
With God All Things Are Possible
By Hans Jørn Østerby
I have a friend who has a very shady past. He has been sentenced 22 times for gross violence. He has stabbed and shot other people and wrecked a police car with a machine gun. As a member of Hell's Angels thrashing team he has smashed several apartments - and sometimes the residents as well - with a baseball club.
But during a term of imprisonment he received a Bible, and a transformation began. Today he shouts 'Hallelujah' at all times and makes you feel slightly embarrassed from time to time when walking down the street with him.
To me, he is one of the greatest living proofs of God's capability. That God has been able to reach this person makes me truly realise what Jesus says in Matthew 19,26 that with God all things are possible.
But at the same time, my friend is also a strong proof of the Devil's existence and the reality of evil, because he has been so seriously entangled in the net of the Devil that his way out of there is a long one. A very, very long one. He keeps falling in from time to time, as the Devil knows precisely when and where to launch his attacks.
But we believe and pray that the victory will be God's.
So let us not be discouraged by times of hardship when working in the street. People can be reached.
With God all things are possible.
Fm Follow Me
By Torben Østermark, National Director
In the beginning of his public function, Jesus called people with the simple words: Follow me. Among others he called Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John with these words in Mark 1,16-20. And as it so wonderfully says: They immediately left their nets and followed him. They heard the calling and followed Jesus.
It is a calling that has sounded for generations in our world. And people have obeyed the calling and followed Jesus. This is the very reason why there are Christians in the world today.
As you will see elsewhere in Street Corner, there will be some changes in Friluftsmissionen (Fm) /OAC Denmark. But there will be no changing of us being among those who pass on the words of Jesus, "Follow me." And that the abbreviation Fm may stand for 'follow me' as well, only underlines this fact.
Making Christ Known
The mark of Fm/OAC Denmark is our motto: Presenting Christ by all means everywhere. This has been the mark of Open Air Campaigners for more than one hundred years and for Fm/OAC Denmark for more than six years now.
Our calling is to preach the Gospel to others - especially to those who have never or only seldom heard it. We meet many such people in the street. Our calling is aimed at "the man in the street". He or she needs Jesus - even though they may not know it themselves.
We wish to be used by others. We are a service organization available for churches, mission organizations and others. Call on us for street meetings, campaigns for children's or youth clubs, or for preaching the Gospel to children and/or adults. You may also invite us to tell you about today's possibilities of evangelism - or to teach sketchboard or other creative, visual aids for evangelism.
Scandinavia and the Baltic States
Exciting things are happening in the other Nordic countries as well. In July Ole Christensen will be teaching at a conference in Finland, and he takes a team back with him to Denmark and onwards to the Baltic States at the end of July.
We have been to Norway several times, and I shall be going a couple of times this year as well. We hope and pray that we may find a person to start a Norwegian OAC branch.
In April and May Ole Christensen went to the Baltic States together with Anne Marie Jensen, Mette Jensen and Simon Dahl Nielsen - read more about their trip later on. Ole will be leaving again for the Baltic States in mid-July, taking with him among others Raimandos from Lithuania.
This is our third year with B.E.S.T. summer conferences. We are glad once again to be able to send off Danish youngsters on a couple of exciting mission weeks in Latvia and Lithuania.
In Latvia more persons have agreed to join a committee for the establishment of OAC in Latvia. It will be exciting to watch the development of that.
Friends
You are now reading the 25th edition of Street Corner. You may have read all of the previous editions - or maybe this is the first time you receive our newsletter. Either way, you are essential to Fm/OAC Denmark. Friends are important - and this, indeed, applies to us as well. Thank you for taking an interest in our work. Without your interest, your prayers, and your contribution, we would not be able to do the job that we do. We hope that we may count on your support in the future as well so that Fm/OAC Denmark may continue to pass on the message "Follow me" to other people.
New editor
With this issue of Street Corner we welcome a new editor of our newsletter - Hans Jørn Østerby - who is well known to many people as a singer etc. But would you mind introducing yourself to the readers of Street Corner...
- No, of course not! I am a self-taught editor, originally educated at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural High School. But through my music I experienced an uncontrollable desire to write more, and this led me to a job as a journalist five years ago. Later I became a freelance.
I have gladly accepted this editor assignment as I have a lot to thank Fm/OAC Denmark for, and I am only too happy to be able to pay back a little of my 'debt'.
It is my hope that we may continue to produce an interesting newsletter in the future as well.
Greetings From Team Baltic
By Ole Christensen, Evangelist
On April 2 we left Denmark, arriving 30 hours and 2,000 km later in Latvia where we have experienced a lot of things during the last month. In Kleipeda in Lithuania we had a fantastic street meeting in a small country town where more than 100 people stopped to listen in less than one hour. In Liepaja in Latvia we had several school meetings, and during our ten-day stay in this town we had the opportunity to preach the Gospel to more than 1,400 people, and here we also taught a seminar on sketchboard for the Sunday school teachers. In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, we held among other things a school meeting for 100 youngsters in 10th-12th grade. At first we could not get permission to hold this meeting, but God answered our prayers and made it possible! In May we shall continue our work in Latvia, but are going to visit Estonia as well at the end of the month. We expect to be back in Denmark on June 1. If you would like to receive our newsletter, please send us a letter or E-mail and we shall send it to you free of charge. On www.oac.dk you will also find a brief summary of our trip.
Young Lithuanian To Denmark
By Ole Christensen, Evangelist
As an extension of the work in the Baltic States a young man from Kleipeda in Lithuania has wished to join Team Baltic from June to November 2000. As a former participant in BEST in Lithuania he now wishes to learn more about evangelism and is coming to Denmark for further teaching. The church in Kleipeda supports his decision by paying his travelling expenses to Denmark, but is not able to pay for his board and lodging.
We therefore ask for a financial contribution to 18-year-old Raimondas Budvytis, whose budget for June-November amounts to 10,000 DKK.
Contributions can be paid to Fm/OAC Denmark's Giro account 604-3038, marked Ray (his English pet name). If you would like a Giro inpayment form, please give us a call.
Bakken Once More
By Hans Jørn Østerby
Traditions are good - especially good traditions. And it has become tradition that Gospel at Bakken takes place every spring.
This year, as well, it went very well - even though the date had been changed from Pentecost to 'St. Bededag' (public holiday in Denmark, falling on the fourth Friday after Easter). Many people went to the amusement park especially for the Fm/OAC Denmark's event, and thousands of the other guests had a fine and unexpected experience being presented with the Gospel in many visual ways.
On Friday more than 400 people came to the service, and an audience of 650 people attended the first performance on the big stage.
More of the artists this year were familiar faces from earlier years, but a couple of new names performed as well, among others Morten Josefsen - known from the TV-series 'Robinson Ekspeditionen' on Danish TV3. He acted as compère on the stage and preached the Gospel between times with only few aids. He placed two beer cases on top of each other, climbed up and preached with a voice that resounded down the streets.
Yes, indeed - when Fm/OAC Denmark goes the pace, there is no end of ways to preach the Gospel in the attempt to reach the man in the street with the Word of God.
Sketchboard sermon: When it hurts
By Jørgen Johansen, Evangelist
Hello! With a red brush I will make yellow letters - can you read this??
WHEN IT HURTS
What do you do when it hurts? Say, if you lost something or somebody? I mean hurting on the inside, - emotional hurts?
Do you close-up? start drinking? Do you ignore the feeling? It is very important to live through bad experiences.
At some stage in your life, you've properly lost something of great value to you: PROPERTY
- your teddy bear, money, job, house...
Everything was just fine, and suddenly you lost everything.... But these things are only material things.
What if you lost some of your close FAMILY?
- if one of your children died (accident or illness)?
- if you lost your wife/husband?
- if your wife/husband let you (divorce)?
What if you got problems with your HEALTH?
- if you got cancer or another serious illness?
- or an accident happened to you?
What would you do??
Many people would ask the question: WHY me?
Maybe you think that I have the answer? Well, you're wrong. I don't understand evil, only that it is evil and that evil hurts...
What I do know, is one who has been through suffering himself - the Son of God: Jesus.
Unjustly he suffered death on a cross to bring us hope and salvation. He know what it's like to be you (Hebr. 4,15).
Basically Jesus said: TRUST IN GOD
1) He has been there himself
2) There is life after death
3) There is forgiveness and hope for you
New National Director
By Bjørn Carlsen, Chairman
At its latest meeting the board of Friluftsmissionen/OAC Denmark decided to appoint Torben Østermark as new national director from May 1, 2000.
In every kind of work there comes a time for renewal - and this time has now come for Fm/OAC Denmark. From August Jørgen Johansen will be looking for new challenges, and it is with great joy and gratefulness we look back upon the last six years where Fm/OAC Denmark has grown to what it is today under his leadership.
We ask God's blessing upon Torben for this new assignment and anticipate that God will continue to use us to reach the man in the street with the Gospel.
STREET CORNER
is the newsletter from OAC/Friluftsmission in Denmark. We are working in the Nordic & the Baltic States.
The Purpose of OAC/Friluftsmissionen
To present Christ by all means to all people everywhere on the Evangelical-Lutheran basis in these countries, primarily through open air evangelism as well as in places and situations where unsaved people are. The characteristics of the work of OAC/Friluftsmissionen are: Teaching local congregations and societies in a sound Biblical preaching through sketchboard and gospel-magic. OAC/Friluftsmissionen is a faith mission financed through voluntary gifts. Wages are not paid to full time staff evangelists, but each one of them is responsible to the board for their own economy. So far OAC Denmark/Friluftsmissionen has three full time staff evangelists: Jørgen Johansen, Torben Østermark and Ole Christensen.
Gifts to OAC/Friluftsmissionen Denmark
Should you wish to support OAC Denmark/Friluftsmissionen regularly, you can do so either through a covenant or by cheque. Cheques should be made payable to Friluftsmissionen, Rebslagerporten 43, DK-2650 Hvidovre. A covenant form can be requested and made through OAC Britain, David & Alice Fanstone, 102 Dukes Ave., Muswell Hill, London N10 2QA, Tel/Fax +44 208 444 5254. (Gifts can be earmarked to Torben Østermark, Jørgen Johansen, Ole Christensen or to specific projects such as mission to the Baltic's.) We appreciate your gift very much.
Our address
OAC / Friluftsmissionen, Rebslagerporten 43, DK-2650 Hvidovre, Denmark, Tel +45 3677 1720, Fax +45 3677 9620, E-mail torben.ostermark@oaci.org, web site www.oac.dk