Turku on Fire

The Turku Cathedral became a centre of the Turku on Fire prayer movement, with as many as 500 people meeting for prayer.

by Bill Sundstrom

A movement of prayer sweeps Finland

In 1827 a great fire destroyed 75 percent of Turku, a city set among birch trees on the southwest coast of Finland. Today a new fire is burning in Turku. This time, however, it’s spiritual, and it brings not destruction but renewal.

“Turku on Fire” is a movement of prayer and evangelism launched by university students in 2004. Last October these students held Christ Day Finland, which gathered nearly 9,000 believers for a day of prayer in a Turku hockey stadium.

People from across the spectrum of Christendom carried flags representing nearly every community in Finland. Representatives even came from the Sami people -indigenous reindeer herders in far northern Lapland. Each of the 400 flag carriers had a prayer partner, and many came with friends committed to pray for their home community, both at Christ Day and beyond.

Non Finns living in Finland carried flags representing their countries.

“Three main people have put this day together, all under 30,” says Kalevi Lehtinen, leading Finnish evangelist and former director of Agape Europe. “A new generation of Christian leaders is rising up, who are not using the old patterns from 30 years ago.”

Kalevi knows about spiritual fire. As one of the last living members of the Student Volunteer Movement and the first European to join Agape, Kalevi has always taken a radical approach to evangelism. “I see lots of leadership skills in this new generation,” he says. “They pray for movements and they lead movements.”

“We have been praying for God to raise up a new generation,” says Hanny Nyman (second from right). He, Markku and Kalevi are mentoring Hannu H (right) and other members of this new generation.

The prayer movement began in 2004, when Heidi Järvinen met fellow student Hannu Hatanpää. It turned out that both shared a vision for bringing students together to pray. “What if there was a prayer group in every faculty at the university?” they asked.

So Hannu and Heidi, together with a handful of other students, began to organise cell groups, and they began praying for their city and nation.

“We will pray until everybody knows somebody who is truly a Christian,” said Hannu, who studies management and leadership. “I’m convinced that if something big is going to happen, like many people getting a personal relationship with God, the Holy Spirit will have to come. We need a spiritual breakthrough.”

Mats Sundfors, a Swedish-speaking Finn, has brought the Swedish speaking churches into the prayer movement.

Soon they met Mats Sundfors, a Christian worker at the Swedish-speaking university in Turku. God had given Mats the same vision, and the young prayer movement became bi-lingual. Then Pasi Jaakkola, the young parish pastor of St. Michael’s Church, joined in. People began attending prayer meetings in ever increasing numbers.  Soon the students approached the dean of Turku Cathedral, who allowed them to meet in the cathedral itself. Eventually 500 people were meeting monthly to pray.

The prayer movement, dubbed Turku on Fire, spread throughout the city. Right from the start it brought unity to the Body of Christ, as it cut across traditional boundaries. Heidi was Pentecostal, while Hannu and Pasi were Lutheran. Hannu was involved with Logos Ministries (Agape), while Mats represented IFES. “When we came together,” says Mats, “it was like God lit a fire. We never thought about what group we were with.”

The little group set up different prayer events, including a 24-hour prayer chain in Autumn 2006, and they spread the vision to other parts of Finland. Hannu sought counsel from Markku Happonen, who told them how Switzerland held a National Day of Prayer with representatives from every community in the country.

The young leaders of Turku on Fire visited Switzerland and talked to Hanspeter Nüesch about Christ Day Switzerland. By the end of the visit, they dared to believe that God could use them to hold a similar day in Finland. Logos Ministries (Agape’s sister organisation in Finland) sponsored the event, though they kept a low profile, including choosing not to sell any of their materials, in order to promote unity.

Heidi Jarvinen dedicated countless hours to organising Christ Day.

Heidi handled much of the organisation, while Hannu travelled the country casting vision. “The aim was not to have an event,” points out Markku, “but rather to create a prayer network, which leads to a network of witness throughout the nation.”

The 400 flag carriers would consider themselves part of this “network of witness,” as would most of the participants. “Every morning I go to our sauna porch at 5 am to pray,” says Erkki Aaltonen, a retiree who carried the flag from Keuruu in Central Finland. “Then at 8 a group of us meets, and we go from one church to another and pray in each one – Lutheran, Pentecostal, Free Church.”

More than 400 people carried flags representing their home community.

“I felt this was a serious way to show I’m in this thing,” says Ritva Mönkkönen, a financial manager from Pori. “I can take it back to my congregation, get people together to pray, and discuss if we can do something like it in our community.”

“We have had a bad time in Finland,” explains Kari Valkonen, flag carrier from Jyväskalä, giving some perspective. “We have had two school shootings in the past two years, and many paper mills have gone out of business. So we need encouragement and hope. This kind of event is full of hope.”

Beyond Finland’s Frontiers

The Finns hope to see the fire spread beyond their borders. Some 140 people from 24 countries attended a Forum on Prayer and Evangelism held just before Christ Day, and considered how the concept could work at home. “We want people to take the spark of renewal and revival to their countries,” says Markku, “and to hold similar Christ Days. We hope to see this go across Europe and even globally.”

Hannu Hatanpaa (right) and Markku Happonen (left) pray for Finland during the Forum on Prayer and Revival.

Hannu and other members of the new generation share this vision. Perhaps it is because they are being mentored by Markku, Kalevi and Hannu Nyman (director of Logos Ministries). Perhaps it is because God put in their hearts this zeal from the very start. “Christ Day has three roots,” explains Hannu H. “The vision of Bill Bright in the USA, the heritage of Logos Ministries and its leaders, and Christ Day Switzerland.”

Hannu’s eyes sparkle as he talks about the next step – taking the Christ Day concept to all the Nordic countries. Then to all the lands surrounding the Baltic Sea. Then on to the rest of Europe.

“Bill Bright said small visions do not enflame the minds of men,” says Kalevi. “These guys do not have a small vision.”