Denmark

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Denmark*

Den evangelisk-lutherske Frikirke i Danmark (ELFD)

History:
The Danish Evangelical-Lutheran Freechurch was founded in 1855 by N.P. Grunnet in the midst of tension between Awakening Movements on the one side and secularism in the state church on the other side. There was a desperate need for a Gospel-centered church where the Sacraments were administered according to the will of the Lord. “The lost sheep of the Lord should be found and be given its fellowship back.” The heritage of Grunnet was Luther, Kingo, and Pondoppidan. His contemporaries were Bech, Grundtvig, and Kierkegaard. During the next two-three decades the church grew, and congregations were established in many parts of Denmark.

In 1882 N.P. Grunnet visited the Evangelical Lutheran Freechurch in Saxony, and church fellowship was established. Through this relationship the first contacts with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod were made. In 1898 a missionary from the United States, J.M. Michael, was called to serve in Hamburg where he founded Trinity congregation. Later he came to Denmark where he became the leader of The Evangelical-Lutheran Freechurch (from 1900 to 1925). Although the Freechurch did not experience growth in numbers, a little flock was fed with the Gospel and nurtured by the Sacraments. Two sons of J.M. Michael served the Freechurch before and after the second World War, and one of them, Pastor Paul Michael, D.D., served as the only pastor in the ELFD, 1955-1980. In the 1980s three national pastors were ordained and mission work was done, and a new congregation was established.

* Denotes Associate Member