A story about Toby

This week I thought I'd tell you a story about someone that we have met and befriended here in Koge.
Toby, or Pastor Toby, as we all call him, is pastor of one of the local churches here in Koge.

His wife, Helle, and I were actually on the same OM team back in 1985, travelling around Austria doing drama. We met up again a few months ago after one of our ship prayer nights, for the first time in over 20 years. It was a great surprise and it has been nice to catch up over the past couple of months. Toby and Helle have 2 daughters and the eldest, Astrid (14), is very determined that she is going to join the ship when she is older.

Toby had been the pastor of a lively growing church in Copenhagen and then a few years ago felt called to apply to come to sleeply little Koge, to be pastor of a Lutheran State Church.

When he go the job, he discovered that only 1 person on the church board of 12 was actually a bible believing Christian. Most people join church boards in Denmark as a stepping stone to get into politics.

The previous minister certainly did not follow the same Christian beliefs and Toby's current assistant pastor follows New Age beliefs and his wife is a Spiritist. Many of the congregation do not have a personal relationship with Jesus.

But Toby believed that God wanted him in this church to make a difference and to try and bring light into the darkness so for the past 3 years he has been using his guitar and his unique brand of humour to bring the gospel to the lost members of his congregation.

Toby started coming to the ship soon after we arrived here. One Thursday night, during our prayer night, he rebuked us for not praying more for the town of Koge, but being too focused on our own needs.

Since then, there has been a growing conviction amongst the ships company that God has brought us to Koge for a purpose and that we need to really pray for this city and see what God is going to do here.

On Thursday evening, a group of 24 of us got into 3 ship vans and travelled across town to Toby's church to pray. We spent an hour and a half walking around the church, praying in every room and space. It was an amazing time of sensing God's presence in a church that is so steeped in tradition and dead orthodoxy. We are trusting God to do great things in and through the Boholt Kirke.

We are excited that the Logos Hope can be in Koge at this time. We believe God wants to do great things for this city.

I just want to share this great song with you, if you haven't already heard it. Written by Irish band - Bluetree, it has now been recorded by Chris Tomlin - God of this City. It is an amazing song- This is Bluetree's version.