Unscripted Fellowship

This summer, Abby Davis embarked on a transformative six-week mission trip to Oslo, Norway, where she experienced the deep community of church beyond the traditional walls. Today, she shares how God confirmed her calling to missions, teaching her the importance of living intentionally for Jesus in every aspect of life!

This summer, I was able to go on a six-week mission-based trip to Oslo Norway! This was certainly one of the most impactful trips of my life and I learned so much about different cultures, myself, and most importantly how God works and moves cross-culturally. I could write pages upon pages of what I've learned and experienced, as well as all the ways the Lord worked and moved in every way and form in my time in Norway, but here is an overview, and highlights of what all the Lord got to do with my summer!

The Impact of Home-Based Church Communities

One specific thing that the Lord revealed to me this summer is that ministry can look very different from what we are used to. Most of our church experience and the environment in which we worked was very different from America and the American church system. It was amazing to see how people can still hear the same gospel message in such a different way. One of the unique things about the church we worked with was the atmosphere. The churches (Home Church and Crosspoint) had small groups/church meetings in their homes. It was such an eye-opening experience to see the intentionality in the community within the body of believers there.

A New View of Church

I saw the local church doing its job of having Jesus at the center of everything and building a community around Christ. Even though to most Americans, their meeting would look different or "interesting", it was one of the most Biblically sound and looking gatherings of believers as described in Acts 2:42-47. I believe the Lord displayed that church does not have to be a simple sermon with a big worship band and sitting in pews. It can be sitting in a house until midnight going in and out of spiritual conversations around cups of coffee until the buses stop running.

Embracing the Call

Through serving this summer the Lord confirmed a call to missions that I've been feeling for a long time and showed me that life can always be intentional for Jesus in everything we do. I also learned that celebrating and rejoicing in everything is crucial. While we were there, not a person was saved, or accepted Christ for the first time, BUT we had Gospel conversations and helped create an environment where Christ-centeredness could thrive for the people staying in Norway which we counted as a win. The European culture is structurally based on Christianity, but it is so lost and full of apathy and depression.

One of the best ministry outlets I participated in was called Coffee Bike. Norwegians love coffee and free things, and the church there has found a way to combine them with sharing the Gospel. We make coffee on a bike with a table and hand it out to people with hopes of starting a gospel conversation. We had many chances and times where we got to tell people about the love of Jesus and the hope you can find in Him, which is one of the most amazing impacts of my time there!

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