Officially Greenland is a christian country. For many Jesus and the Bible have however become part of a superstitious spiritual system. The Bible has not been translated into East Greenlandic and is currently only available in West Greenlandic, which makes it hard to understand.
For those who have come to know Christ, the isolation, both in distance and language, means they mainly stand alone in their faith. There is very little christian media available to these believers. With little bible knowledge to start with and deeply wounded hearts there is a huge need for discipleship. Someone worded it this way: “we do not know how to live.”
The missionary work that has started in 2005 as short term work, has poured into this need. Over the years many people have made decisions for Christ and have been supported in their growth as followers of Christ. Since 2015 there is permanent christian work based in Tasiilaq and a small community is starting to rise up. In 2018 the believers have officially become part of the greenlandic free church INO (“New Life Church”). Besides the Lutheran state church, this is the only offical Greenlandic church. It is spread in various towns on the west coast.
For the first time there is a group of people gathering on a structural level enjoying fellowship on a day to day basis. The local christian work is striving to connect people with God. Those who have been touched by the love of God joyfully testify about the hope of the new life they have received. These stories start to go round in the village. People see that lives have changed for good and that families are experiencing healing and reconciliation. These developments are followed suspiciously.
However, there is a big limitation to the christian work: the lack of facility. All present activities are happening in a small home or a rented child care club. The rented facility is not structurally available which means for example that Sunday services can only be held every two to three weeks. The home setting can not accommodate the growing community any longer and is not fit for new initiatives that are growing out of the work. Childrens work, womens meetings, counseling etc. are therefore very restricted.
