Engaging Norwegian Youth in Mission : An Empirical Study

Abstract

A reform of Christian education began in Norway in 2004 covering all those baptised in the Church of Norway from birth to 18. Mission is a significant dimension in the Plan for Christian Education but, despite the many projects initiated by congregations, relatively few deal with mission. The empirical material underpinning this article is a close study of four congregations’ projects on mission and youth aged from 14 to 18. Projects with good experience in this respect were selected and the main focus was on identifying factors which accounted for the success of projects designed to engage Norwegian youth in mission. Following a brief presentation of the Norwegian background regarding Christian education and an introduction to the empirical material the main part of the article discusses factors which were crucial to the projects’ success.