This episode is a unique one. Since starting the podcast, Luke has sat down with a number of strong European church leaders across Europe. Each of these have individually brought powerful, practical insights. In this episode, Luke and Victoria - the other half of the ECGI leadership, and the other half of Luke’s life (Victoria is Luke’s awesome wife that he refers to often in the other episodes) - to synthesize their learnings and share more about the vision for ECGI. 

The episode kicks off with some banter on important topics in the framing of “would you rather”. No spoilers on the responses, but we challenge you to listen to this without audibly laughing. 

Luke and Victoria then go on to share more about the vision of ECGI, the progress and learnings so far, and what next steps look like. 

They unpack three core topics: 

• Who ECGI seeks to serve
• The problem ECGI seeks to solve
• The change ECGI seeks to make

Luke and Victoria then go on to share about how they are working in each of these areas with ECGI, and how each of us can contribute. 

What’s been evident since the Genesis of ECGI is that God is building strong momentum in Europe for his kingdom. The conversations in this podcast have accentuated that, and we’re hearing from more and more of these leaders pushing this forward. ECGI is helping bridge this momentum into a movement by connecting and amplifying the good work of the people serving all across Europe. This episode is a great foundational overview of that, with practical next steps for anyone listening to contribute. We know you will enjoy it, and at minimum, you’ll get some good laughs.

In this episode Luke sits down with Ulrica Stenstrand, pastor at Lifecenter Church in Sweden. Ulrica is also Luke’s mother-in-law, which makes for a fun dynamic in this conversation. 

This discussion kicks off with an overview of Ulrica’s background, starting from when she was a child growing up in a family that were committed volunteers and leaders in their local church in the south of Sweden. Ulrica then shares a story of how a new family moved into town - the father being one of the new ministers, and the oldest son, Per-Johan (PJ), a new classmate who happened to have almost the same birthday. Ulrica shares that her and PJ celebrated their fifteenth birthday together, and eventually started dating. 

Sidenote: PJ, if you recall, was the first guest on On Point. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet we recommend you do. Hearing the story of Ulrica and PJ’s ministry journey from both perspectives further illuminates the power of God’s pull in people’s lives and how he can shape the direction to make an impact. 

Ulrica talks about how God had a calling on PJ’s life for ministry, and at the time, Ulrica was not thinking about ministry for herself, but that as this path became more clear for PJ, and their life together became more clear, that became a direction that Ulrica started to lean into more. 

Luke and Ulrica then go on to talk about Ulrica’s journey contributing full time to ministry while also balancing motherhood and a full time job in media. Ulrica went on to work in media for 25 years while raising two kids. Ulrica talks about how she was able to perform in these three areas and how God provided both opportunity and energy. There is a lot of good wisdom in this conversation with practical tools and a lot of encouragement to anyone out there balancing work, family, and church.

Ulrica and Luke then unpack the ways in which people can contribute to the church and how many people begin, and sometimes stay, in a position where church is not a full time vocation. This is a good reminder that the church was built on people who had full time professions and balanced family commitments as well. 

Ulrica does a great job sharing wisdom on how listening to God’s calling and pursuing excellence in all areas of life have led to a lasting impact. There will be pulls on priorities at times but there is a way to make it all work. 

This conversation is full of practical lessons and encouragement for people contributing in all ways to the church, and for those who are building a family. 

No matter what stage of life you are in or to what degree you are involved in leadership inside or outside of church, there is strong wisdom in this discussion and we are sure you will get a lot out of this.

Daniel Darcey

Luke sits (virtually) down with Daniel Darcey who pastors at Hillsong Geneva. This is a unique conversation because Luke and Daniel were actually housemates while attending college together. 

Daniel and Luke kick off by talking about the leadership journey and the bias for leadership to become lonely over time. Daniel and Luke then go on to share how they have been able to cultivate strong relationships and avoid this “loneliness trap” that can manifest in leadership. They talk about the importance of strong relationships and building trust. Daniel takes it a step further and talks about how important humility and teachability are to building this trust. Daniel goes on to share some practical examples of how to do so. 

Daniel then goes on to talk about the trust/control paradox and how challenging it can be to find the balance between the two while continuing to empower your team. Daniel talks about his own scars from the past of being too controlling and the challenges that emerged from that. 

Daniel and Luke unpack this further, sharing learnings they’ve had in their leadership journey. Luke talked about how early on in his church planting journey he would be stressing about all the little things and that detracted from his focus on the important things, and became disempowering to others on the team over time. 

This transitions to the important concept of feedback. Daniel and Luke talk about their experience delivering feedback. The importance of balanced feedback. Daniel talks about a principle he tries to adhere to of a 3:1 ratio of positive to constructive feedback. This is a common challenge for high performers as the positive feedback can sometimes feel “unnecessary” when the expectation is excellence, but there is importance in delivering director feedback to empower others. Daniel and Luke go on to unpack some more principles and practical applications of feedback that have helped them grow their teams. 

Daniel and Luke close the conversation talking about their belief of revival coming to Europe. The challenges of the pandemic have created an openness and desire for community, hope, and a desire for a connection to something beyond our physical experience on earth. 

The wrap up of this discussion features a good summary of the principles discussed and resources that have been helpful to each of them. One book that was recommended by Daniel was The Leadership Pipeline (link below). 

https://ram-charan.com/books/the-leadership-pipeline/

This was a wide ranging conversation that had a mix of wisdom, principles, and practical applications for leaders at all levels. We hope you enjoy it. 

And don’t forget to rate and review the On Point podcast. It enables us the opportunity to reach more people and build a strong community.

Daniel and his wife Paulina are an example of people who live through faith and even in spite of challenges, continue to push forward. Daniel grew up in Sweden and was part of missionary work from a young age as his family were missionaries. Daniel and his wife dedicated their lives to missionary work, and immediately they were challenged. 

In 1998, Daniel and Paulina were captured at gunpoint by Chechen rebels and were held captive for 165 days. The people responsible were ruthless. They were the early seeds of ISIS and had a deep loathing of the Christian movement. 

Daniel goes on to talk about this experience. How he and his wife were captured, what that experience was like, and what their expectations were during this time. 

Daniel speaks about going almost six months without seeing sunlight. His only time to leave their small make-shift prison cell was to go empty the bucket they were given for their waste. That would happen at the dead of night and he was often beaten during this exercise. 

There is a story of hope in this though. Daniel and Paulina were able to negotiate access to their bag which had a Bible in it. There is a good story about a scripture verse that was shared with them by Daniel’s sister right before the kidnapping that became foundational to their hope and expectation of the future in this scenario. 

Daniel then goes on to share how the church was the driving force behind their release. The government had their hands tied so a task force was set up by the local church in Sweden. After 165 days in captivity they were finally released. Daniel talks about that experience and how the story and the subsequent release was an opportunity to minister through that testimony. 

After being in captive, Daniel and Paulina took a break from ministry to assimilate back into the regular ebb and flow of life. Daniel worked as a teacher for a year but then got back into ministry, working at Life Church. 

Daniel and Luke talk about that time as a youth minister in Sweden. There are some fun anecdotes about Victoria, Luke’s wife, who leads ECGI with Luke. 

Daniel then goes on to talk about a prophetic word he got to pursue ministry in Bangkok. Not somewhere he had spent time prior, but had a clear calling to go. Daniel talks about how Pastor PJ and the Life Center team empowered him and Paulina to go and live this out. 

There are strong examples of how their faith and relentlessness planted the seeds of people who were saved and set the foundation for a strong ministry. This did not come easy though. Daniel talks about how broken people there were, and how challenging it was to get traction initially. But through God’s work and their faithfulness they have been able to make a strong impact.

There is a lot of nuance to this discussion and a lot we can all pull from this on faith, bravery, perseverance, and hope. This conversation will bring perspective and energy - there’s something in here for everyone. We hope you enjoy.

John Borefelt, along with his wife Tennille, is the Lead Pastor of Hillsong Italy, with locations in Milan, Naples, and Rome. John is originally from Sweden but his journey to Italy has been anything but linear. John has spent time ministering in Canada, Australia, and England along the way. John brings a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and experience that Luke gets the chance to unpack on this episode of On Point. 

This episode combines stories from John’s past and wisdom on building the church of the future. We’re sure you’ll enjoy this. 

John talks about his experience growing up in a Christian home, but that it wasn’t until, through some chance circumstances, John ended up studying at Bible college in Canada at the age of 16 (the youngest ever to do so), he became on fire for God and for ministry. This was also where John’s passion for Italy started to flourish. Prior to moving to Canada, John used to listen to Italian worship music even though he had no idea what they were singing. But the woman who sat in front of him in Bible college in Canada was Italian, and when she started translating the lyrics it all clicked and Italy was put on John’s heart.

After graduating high school, John went to Hillsong college in Australia. He opens up about the initial challenge and his thoughts about leaving after six months, but that one of his close friends challenged him to go all in and immerse himself in the experience. And that proved to be pivotal advice that set the trajectory for an impactful career in ministry. 

John talks about his experience after Hillsong college and how he turned down an opportunity to join PJ Stenstrand (the first guest on On Point) at Lifecenter church in Sweden to pursue an opportunity in London England, but after a short time there he was called back to Sweden to join Lifecenter. John talks about the importance of timing and the importance of listening to God’s calling. 

John then goes on to talk about what he calls “The University of Life”, where every season is a learning season. John talks about being humble to learn and adapt when building church, among other lessons for building a community and the local church. 

After 5.5 years in Sweden John moved back to England, this time with the right timing, to join his - now wife - Tennille who was living in England. John talks about how going back to England was a challenge after the disappointment from his first stint. John shares wisdom about how to move with God, trusting both him, and trusting your own discernment as well. 

John then goes on to talk about his journey volunteering at Hillsong London while managing coffee shops and how he continued to approach this with a servant’s heart, with no expectation beyond making an impact in the church, until one day he did join the staff and he was able to turn this passion he’d had since he was a teenager to a vocation. 

The next parts of John’s journey you will have to listen to to truly appreciate how God worked in his life and in that situation. It involves a calling to Italy, the provision from his team at Hillsong London, and an 8 week old child, culminating in a worship night in Italy with 600 people, 10 days after he lands. 

Luke and John go on to talk about the experience of building church during a time where physical gathering restrictions are in place and how they have been navigating building an online audience while making the most of the physical presence. Luke puts it well by saying that church has been forced into a “go to them movement”, not just a “come to us” movement - which is healthy for the church. 

The episode wraps up with encouragement to keep seeking faith, seeking the Lord, and that nothing is impossible through God.

On Point begins with a simple question: Where have you been?

For Andreas, his answer has many chapters. He grew up in a pastor’s family in Sweden and moved around a lot growing up. 

As a teen Andreas had a “faith crisis” where he had an increased hunger to see and experience God. That passion manifested in a yearning for mission’s work beyond Sweden. 

Right as Andreas was graduating the Iron Wall fell and Russia was open to missionary work. 

At 19 moved to Russia and lived there for 6 years. It was supposed to be a year, but after one year the leader he served under passed away so Andreas took on an expanded role, leading a network of churches and leaders. 

Luke asks: Why Russia?

Andreas’s answer was simple: To see revival. It was an interesting cultural moment where it had gone from a nation of atheists under communist regime to Andreas seeing thousands of people giving their life to God. 

After 6 years was called back to Sweden with his wife to help plant churches. At the time there was not a lot of support for that work but they felt called. They felt called to plant churches for people who didn’t already have a church home. A place he could feel comfortable inviting people who were not embedded in church. 

After 12 years he and his wife moved back to Russia, with a lot of lessons learned. Carrying out that same mission back in Russia. And after a decade, they didn’t want to leave but Andreas lost his residency status so had to come back to Sweden. He is now focused on coaching missionaries, church planters, church leaders through an online format. 

Luke asks Andreas if he has some lessons for church planters. 

Andreas summarized the following: 

• Lead yourself before leading others; Invest in yourself: both spiritually and in leadership
• Don’t lose sight of the vision
• Recruit the right people and don’t rush

Andreas also talks about the biggest challenge being the time between service. We often focus on the individual journey and the church experience, but miss the third pillar of community. 

He also talks about the importance of following a calling. Church planting is a calling and a privilege. If you don’t have the calling then you should not do it. But if you have that call you have no other choice. 

Andreas talks about how Europe is in a post-Christian era and we need to see a revival, and for that revival, church leaders need to be focused on equipping people, not just delivering an experience. Andreas closes by talking about how encouraged he is about what ECGI is doing to equip European church leaders.

On Point invites you into the conversation with church leaders across Europe. To learn where they’ve been, where they’re going, and how they’re getting there. 

On Point is hosted by Luke Boettger, Executive Director of the European Church Growth Initiative (ECGI), whose mission is to equip churches, pastors, and leaders for influential ministry. ECGI makes connections, creates experiences, and tells stories. This podcast is one of the ways in which we create a platform for leaders to tell their stories. 

Whether you are a church leader, a church goer, or someone interested in learning more about what it means to be a part of the Church, we hope that you get value from this podcast.