Following the death of Moses, God placed His seal of approval upon Joshua and said, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given that to you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:3-5, MKJV)

After this, he sent several spies into the land of Jericho to scout out the territory; he was interested in their strengths and weaknesses, and what it would take to conquer the city.  We, too, have been c, have been commissioned by God to set our feet upon the land of Finland and claim it for Him.  We have scouted out the portion of Finland that we were able to reach in the time that we were overseas; He has also provided other opportunities for us to educate ourselves about the country.  We believe that we understand Finland’s strengths and weaknesses, and what it will take to reach the Finnish people.

Notice that Joshua did not attempt to defeat Jericho on his own.  Rather, he enlisted all of the children of Israel to help him!  The armed men went before, then the priests...the remainder of the people followed.  (Joshua 6:9-16)  While this account is speaking of a physical foe, we fight for Finland against spiritual ones.  “For though walking about in flesh, we do not war according to flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, MKJV)

It is our belief that God wants to do a great work in Finland; we also believe that our efforts will garner more spiritual fruit if the land is ripe and ready for harvest when we arrive.  We would be remiss to wait for “field preparation” until our physical arrival on Finnish soil. 

What are some of our obstacles?

· Finland is predominantly Lutheran and Catholic, with 50% attending church just once a year and only 6% of the entire population attends once a month.

· Of the recorded deaths in 2005, 17% of men and 11% of women were directly attributed to alcohol.

· Due to 52% of Finnish marriages ending in divorce, 60% of adults are choosing to live their lives without a marriage partner.

· 41% of Finnish children are born outside of marriage

· Of the nearly 70,000 viable pregnancies each year, 1 in 6 end in an abortion

We would appreciate your prayers for the people’s hearts to be made ready for receipt of His Word… will you agree with us?  If “yes,” please click here. As a praying member of TEAM FINLAND, you will be added to our team roster and e-mailing list.

We are anticipating the opening of doors in the spirit world, for while we may not physically be in Finland for some time, there are other individuals involved who can oversee Finnish contacts as needed.