Word of Life (Sweden) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Word of Life |
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Word of Life in Uppsala, 2014
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| Classification | Evangelicalism |
| Orientation | Neo-charismatic movement |
| Senior pastor | Joakim Lundqvist, since 2013 |
| Headquarters | Uppsala, Sweden |
| Origin | 1983 |
| Members | 4,000 |
| Official website | livetsord.se/en/ |
Word of Life (Swedish: Livets Ord) is a megachurch in Uppsala and an international association of churches, within the Swedish Word of Faith movement. Livets Ord is the foremost example of the Neo-charismatic movement in Sweden, closely related to Word of Faith, and it may be viewed as a Swedish expression of similar Pentecostal elements in American Christianity.
History
The congregation was founded in Uppsala by Ulf Ekman on May 24, 1983. In 1987, it dedicated its new building in Uppsala. In 2012, it founded Word of Life International, an association of churches it helped establish around the world. Ekman passed on the local pastorship in Uppsala to Joakim Lundqvist in 2013. On 9 March 2014, Ekman announced his and his wife's leaving Livets Ord with the intent of joining the Catholic Church. In April 2022, Jan Blom was installed as the senior pastor. In August 2022, Jan Blom was injured in a serious motorcycle accident and is currently on sick leave. In the fall of 2023, Livets Ord implemented an interim leadership team of Simon Ahlstrand, Sebastian Asklund and Christian Åkerhielm.
Aside from church, the movement also runs academic schools for all ages and Bible Schools. It sends missionaries to Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Israel and India. In 2023, Word of Life International would have helped establish 1,000 churches.
Operation Jabotinsky
In conjunction with the Christian Zionists in the United States, the Livets Ord operate a fund to supply money to Russian Jews who want to move to Israel. The fund, named "Operation Jabotinsky", is named after Russian Ze'ev Jabotinsky.
Livets Ord Theological Seminary
The congregation had its own institution of tertiary education, Livets Ord Theological Seminary, between 1994 and 2014. It was affiliated with an American institution, Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the largest charismatic Christian university in the world, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Livets Ord Theological Seminary offered American Bachelor's and master's degrees in New Testament Studies, History, Education, and other fields under the auspices of Oral Roberts University, but it was never accredited by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education to award Swedish academic degrees.
In February 2014, Livets Ord announced its decision to close the seminary, because it had been operating under a loss for some time.
See also
- List of the largest evangelical churches
- List of the largest evangelical church auditoriums
- Church service
