Jacob Andelius is the Director of SOS Mission Bible School in Stockholm, Sweden, looking to expand into apologetics.
When did you trust Christ?
I was raised in a Christian family and decided to get baptised at 12 years old. After some tumultuous years in my teens, I recommitted my faith at the age of 18.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
When I came back to God at 18, some of my Christian friends were crucial. They were themselves influenced by the Word Faith movement, and being with them lit a fire inside me to read the Word and take God seriously. In 2015, my wife and I separated, and this affected me deeply. While I would never want to relive that year, it's clear to me now that amid that pain, my faith grew stronger.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I'm thinking a lot about my next professional move. I started as a strategy consultant and then had my own company for many years. Now, I've worked for my church for two years, and I believe God is taking me somewhere new. I believe my next step will be focused on cultural apologetics, finding a voice and a message that resonates with significant groups of people in Europe. Of course, I'm also really excited to dive deeper into materials, as well as the chance to meet interesting people from all over Europe with the same passion.
What is your ministry?
I'm currently the director of the SOS Mission Bible School. Our school is embedded within the SOS Church Stockholm. In my role, I teach a number of subjects and also handle administration and day-to-day issues such as counselling. Our mission is to provide a place where our students can grow in their faith as well as their knowledge of the Bible. Oftentimes, this is very rewarding, but it can also be tremendously challenging. Some of our students are recent converts to Christianity, whereas others have grown up in Christian homes, and it's sometimes difficult to strike the right balance between catering to the needs of each group. Often, the challenge in my role is to encourage students to keep going.
