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28-786: As of 2020, the denomination had 13,777 members spread among 153 Swedish congregations and congregations outside Sweden. The denomination was established in 1919 as a merger of Jönköping Mission Society , the Jönköping District Christian Youth Association and the Scandinavian Alliance Mission in Sweden . The Swedish Alliance Mission has its roots in the nyevangelism revival of the 19th century, mainly in Jönköping and neighboring counties. One of its leading figures

56-607: A "circuit". Circuit preaching became common during and between the Second Great Awakening and Third Great Awakening in the United States . The style was most common west of the Appalachian Mountains , where American settlement pushed westward throughout the 19th century. In the early years of the U.S., many new churches did not yet have a permanent pastor or structure, and in response,

84-466: A Christian youth association was formed in Jönköping, which organized Bible studies, choirs and a variety of events. Members would, for example, visit elderly people every week to distribute and read newspapers, taking the previous week's issue to be distributed at the next location. Similar associations were gradually formed in other places within the Mission Society's area of operation. In 1892,

112-539: A central role as people gathered in homes and mission houses. The Swedish Alliance Mission has held to the Anselmian doctrine of the atonement and has generally had a more conservative biblical view. The Swedish Alliance Mission was influenced by other parts of the revivalist movement in Sweden, perhaps mainly after it developed from an intra-church missionary association to a free church denomination. The influence of Baptist baptismal practice ( believer's baptism )

140-524: A return to the tenets of Luther ; sometimes it was taken further, however, so that not only atonement but also justification was considered to have taken place with the death of Christ. Paul Petter Waldenström 's new, more subjective doctrine of the atonement came as a reaction against this preaching of the gospel. Nevertheless, the term new evangelism came to be used also within the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden , founded in 1878 as

168-564: Is a term for a branch of revivalist Protestant Christianity which emerged in Norrland , Sweden , at the beginning of the 19th century. The term, in opposition to Old Pietism ( gammalpietism ), has been in use since the 1850s. Nyevangelism arose within the Lutheran Church of Sweden but was not limited to it: a free church , Baptist -influenced strand also existed. Danish scholar Finn Rønne notes different views on

196-747: Is certainly present in the Swedish Alliance Mission; it follows the so-called "double baptismal practice" though its roots are clearly anchored in a Lutheran theological view. The ecumenical movement has meant that SAM today mainly cooperates with other free church denominations such as the Evangelical Free Church in Sweden and the Pentecostal movement (the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches ). The most obvious example of collaboration and

224-470: Is important. It was characterized by independent preachers who traveled from place to place, often preaching somewhat emotionally tinged sermons. The movement's foremost representative was Carl Olof Rosenius, who, in contrast to Enlightenment moralism and the emphasis on subjective conditions for salvation of Pietism and Schartauanism , placed Nyevangelism 's emphasis on the work of atonement accomplished through Christ. Here Nyevangelism represented

252-429: Is more economical for churches to share a minister, and because one very small congregation does not provide enough "work" for a full-time minister. Circuit preaching is a way to provide "trained" (as opposed to "lay") clergy for small congregations. Even in the 21st Century it is still common for small congregations of all denominations to share clergy, especially in rural areas of the U.S. Katarina Schuth has published

280-667: The Conventicle Act , which forbade religious gatherings without the participation of a priest. In 1853 the Jönköping Tract Society was founded with lecturer Knut Wilhelm Almqvist  [ sv ] as chairman, with the aim of spreading evangelical tracts . The organization was influenced by preacher Carl Olof Rosenius ' teachings. First Carl-Johan Lindberg  [ sv ] and later Svenning Johansson  [ sv ] were hired as colporteurs . After three years, Thor Hartwig Odencrants became

308-572: The Jönköpingskretsens Ynglingaförbund ('Jönköping District Youth Association') was formed by 18 local youth associations, whose main task was to send a missionary to China under their own auspices. Similarly, the girls formed young women's associations, which also cooperated in a joint association. The boys' and girls' associations gradually merged and were then called youth associations. In 1907, Jönköpingskretsens Ungdomsförbund ('Jönköping District Youth Association')

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336-544: The Methodist Episcopal Church , which had a polity allowing it to assign clergy without regard to what the individual minister might desire, assigned ministers to rural and frontier "circuits." They became known as circuit riders . With the increase in U.S. population and the rise of urban areas, most church members joined congregations that were large enough that they were not part of a circuit, but many small rural areas kept circuit preachers because it

364-754: The Svenska missionsförbundet when Waldenström's followers split off from the movement. "Come as you are" was a commonly used phrase in Nyevangelism . The movement existed throughout Sweden; however, it found less ground where other revivals had made an impact. Others associated with Nyevangelism in Sweden include Thor Hartwig Odencrants , Lars Vilhelm Henschen , and Adolphe Stackelberg . It reached Norway, Denmark, and Finland as well. It came to Norway in 1870, with some aspects adopted by revival movements such as Haugeanism ; preachers such as Paul Gerhard Sand and Johannes Jørgensen were associated with

392-563: The Alliance Mission, like much of the rest of the revivalist movement, used a form of civil disobedience to the Conventicle Act (1726–1858), i.e. the ban on gathering as a religious group without a priest present. A theological belief that characterized the roots of the Swedish Alliance Mission, as well as other parts of the revival movement, was the Pietist emphasis on personal conversion and sanctification . Preaching played

420-599: The Jönköping Mission Society. Palmberg, a priest in Månsarp parish, was a recognized public speaker and gathered large audiences. Gradually, more and more mission buildings were built by the local assistant associations, to be used for meetings when the traveling preacher came to visit, but also for auctions. Palmberg was a popular speaker at the inauguration of local mission buildings. In these buildings, local missionary associations were formed, sometimes

448-509: The Swedish Alliance Mission was formed through the merger of the Jönköping Mission Society, Scandinavian Alliance Mission in Sweden and the Youth Association. This was a natural step, as the three organizations had their roots in the same new evangelical revival and mainly involved the same people. The Swedish Alliance Mission subsequently evolved from an intra-church mission organization to a free church denomination. The legacy of

476-646: The Swedish Evangelical Mission and the Swedish Mission Covenant . In rural areas, local auxiliary associations were gradually formed, which received traveling preachers from the Jönköping Association and collected funds for the missionary activities recommended by the Jönköping Mission Society. A common way of raising money for the mission was for the local sewing association to organize mission auctions, where

504-432: The city, so the mission building soon felt too small. Thus, in 1876, a larger building was constructed at Odengatan/Målargatan på Öster in Jönköping, with room for about 3000 people. The number of traveling preachers gradually increased and they traveled to an increasingly large area, including Västergötland and Östergötland in addition to Småland . In 1886, pastor Karl Palmberg  [ sv ] became chairman of

532-533: The first association in the town, with a board, treasury and minutes. Some missionary societies joined the Jönköping Mission Society as auxiliary organizations, others joined the Swedish Mission Covenant; still others joined both. Initially, these associations had no employed preachers, but as finances allowed, circuit preachers or local preachers were employed in larger places, with the number of traveling preachers gradually decreasing. In 1855,

560-558: The influence of the ecumenical movement, of which the Alliance Mission is a part, is the joint theology and leadership training program Academy for Leadership and Theology  [ sv ] (ALT), run together with the Pentecostal Alliance of Independent Churches and the Evangelical Free Church in Sweden . [REDACTED] Media related to Swedish Alliance Mission at Wikimedia Commons Nyevangelism Nyevangelism ( lit.   ' New Evangelism ' )

588-414: The movement's origin: it has been argued that it can be traced back to the teachings of strongly Moravian -influenced priest Anders Carl Rutström  [ sv ] , while others posit it is an outgrowth of Carl Olof Rosenius ' beliefs. The movement's beliefs can be somewhat difficult to define precisely. It was often congregationalist in governance with low-church aspects where personal commitment

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616-448: The movement. Excerpts from Rosenius' and George Scott 's periodical Pietisten were circulated in the country. In Denmark, Bornholm became the center of Nyevangelism . In Finland, early Baptist founders such as Anna Heikel were also influenced by it. Circuit preacher A circuit preacher is a Christian minister who, in response to a shortage of ministers, officiates at multiple churches in an area, thus covering

644-524: The revival lives on through evangelism and mission. It has done extensive youth work, which has been a distinctive feature of the movement. The Swedish Alliance Mission's theology is linked to its historical heritage. In particular, the Swedish Alliance Mission has roots from the Lutheran state church ( Church of Sweden ) as an intra-church missionary association, which is reflected in the Alliance Mission's practice of infant baptism . The early roots of

672-420: The society's chairman, a position he held for 30 years until 1886. In 1861, with Odencrants still at the helm, this society was reorganized as the Jönköping Mission Society, whose activity mainly focused on sending lay preachers to various auxiliary associations. In addition, the association mediated funds collected, including from sewing associations, which were mainly distributed to international projects run by

700-462: The women's handicrafts were sold; these were usually held in the spring. In 1860, Jönköping's first mission building was built, with room for about 1000 people. It was mainly used for the association's four quarterly meetings, which were held in connection with Jönköping's market days in January, March, May and October. These gatherings attracted many visitors from an area tens of kilometers away from

728-534: Was Per Magnus Elmblad  [ sv ] , who in 1836 became the priest of Kristine Church in Jönköping. There he invited people to read the Bible, and an "awakened" group was formed. Elmblad was soon transferred due to protests and was later active in the Swedish Evangelical Mission ( Evangeliska Fosterlandsstiftelsen , EFS). The group in Jönköping continued to meet in homes, despite

756-856: Was formed in 1900 in Jönköping (the Scandiavian Alliance Mission in Sweden), with links to the Jönköping Mission Society and the Jönköping District Youth Association. The number of missionaries supported by this association increased and the commitment to missionary work, mainly in China, India and Southern Africa, grew rapidly. The chairman of the Scandinavian Alliance Mission was vicar Sven Emil Hagberg in Sandseryd. In 1919,

784-887: Was formed, bringing together both boys and girls, an organization that from 1919 was called the Swedish Alliance Mission Youth Association ( Svenska Alliansmissionens Ungdomsförbund , SAU). Swedish-American Fredrik Franson , a well-known world evangelist, visited Sweden several times. Through an American organization (the Scandinavian Alliance Mission ), he undertook the task of recruiting 200 missionaries, mainly to China. He searched primarily among Swedish immigrants in America, but he also visited Europe and Sweden to inspire missionary activity and recruit missionaries. Through short courses, Franson attracted several young Swedes to become missionaries. To provide support for these missionaries, an association

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