Mission Friends facts for kids

The Mission Friends (in Swedish, Missionsvännerna) was a group of Christians who wanted to share their faith. They started in Sweden and then spread to the United States among Swedish immigrants. This group was very focused on Pietism, a way of living out Christian faith with deep personal devotion. They were also part of a movement called Radical Pietism.

Over time, the Mission Friends influenced many Protestant churches. They helped form new groups, including Baptist and later Pentecostal churches. These new churches were often called "free churches" because they were independent.

The History of Mission Friends

How the Mission Friends Began in Sweden

The Mission Friends movement began in Sweden in the mid-1800s. It grew out of a desire for spiritual change within the Church of Sweden. This church was Lutheran, but some people felt it needed more spiritual energy.

Important leaders like Carl Olof Rosenius and Peter Fjellstedt helped start this movement. They were Pietists, meaning they believed in a very personal and active faith. In 1856, the Swedish Evangelical Mission was founded. This group became a main organization for the Mission Friends.

They called themselves "mission friends" (missionsvänner) because they cared a lot about sharing their faith. They focused on missions both at home and in other countries. Other groups connected to them included the Swedish Holiness Union and the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.

Mission Friends Come to America

The first Mission Friends moved to the United States in the early 1860s. They still saw themselves as Lutherans. However, they did not want to be named after any specific person or group.

Their first missionary group in America started in Swede Bend, Iowa, in 1868. A preacher named Carl August Björk led this group. It was a revival movement meant to bring new life to the local Lutheran church.

Around the same time, other revival groups were forming in the Midwest. Preachers like Hans Blom and A. W. Hedenschoug were active. In Chicago, another missionary group began in 1869. It soon became an official church.

In 1873, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod was formed. This group included most of the Swedish mission churches in America. The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod was created shortly after.

An American evangelist named Dwight L. Moody was very popular with the Mission Friends. Even though he wasn't Swedish, his teachings had a big impact on them.

Some Baptist groups, like Converge Worldwide, were also influenced by the Mission Friends. These groups are part of the Swedish Baptist tradition. They helped start other churches, like the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church.

Later, other churches with similar histories were formed. These include the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies and the Independent Assemblies of God, International. Both are Pentecostal groups. They grew from revivals among Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities.

Free Mission Friends and the Free Free

In the 1880s, there were discussions about joining the mission churches together. But some groups wanted to stay separate. In 1884, a group called De fria vännerna ('the Free Friends') split off. They later became the Evangelical Free Church of America.

These "Free Friends" did not believe in using labels for their churches. They wanted to focus on mission work that crossed different church groups. Preachers like Fredrik Franson, who was inspired by Moody, were part of this group.

Some of the more radical Free Mission Friends formed an even more separate group. They were led by August Davis and called themselves the "Free Free." They practiced things like speaking in tongues and healing. These practices are common in Pentecostalism.

In 1885, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod joined with other groups. They formed the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant in America. This group eventually became the Evangelical Covenant Church. It is like a sister church to the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden.

In the early 1900s, the Mission Friends were very active. They ran missions for immigrants and in places like Alaska and China. They also had a retirement home and a hospital. In 1895, they founded what is now North Park University. Their newspaper, Missionsvännen, was published for many years.

What the Mission Friends Believed

The Mission Friends were first connected to the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. However, they felt this church wasn't enthusiastic enough about missions. They also thought it mixed "spiritual" and "worldly" things too much.

Professor Axel Mellander described their beliefs. He said they generally followed Lutheran ideas about how God's grace works. They respected Martin Luther and studied his writings. But they did not want to be strictly bound by the Augsburg Confession. This was a key statement of Lutheran beliefs.

They believed it was wrong to name themselves after any person. Their church structure was a mix between Congregational (where each church is independent) and Presbyterian (where churches are connected by a larger system).

A Swedish leader named Paul Petter Waldenström greatly influenced their beliefs. He taught a different idea about the atonement. This is the idea of how humans are made right with God. Waldenström taught that humanity is reconciled to God, rather than the other way around. Almost all Mission Friends accepted this teaching.

See also

• George Scott, a Methodist preacher connected to the movement
• Pietisten, a journal for Mission Friends
• Minneapolis Veckoblad, a Swedish-language newspaper for Mission Friends
• Swedish Holiness Union