Team Sweden 2017
Tax deductible
Instagram: @TeamSweden17
Facebook: Facebook.com/TeamSweden17
Our Team:
Samuel Alex
Zach Rogalski
Riley Corbett 
Ivan Uribe
Mission Trip Dates:
June 30th, 2017 - July 8th, 2017
Vision Statement:
By the grace of God, Team Sweden endeavors to radiate the love of Christ which has been so richly lavished upon us for the purpose of the further glorification of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Team Statement:
Mere acquaintances forged into a brotherhood, united by our stories of redemption and our passion to see Christ’s name furthered.
Our History:
During the summer of 2015, my friend Jarrod and I co-led an all guys' mission trip to Sweden. Our plan was to go in and utilize sports camps to evangelize to the youth within the town of Olofstrom, where we were going to be. We also partnered directly with a church in the town where one of our friends from Biola grew up, which took the middle man Missions Organization out of the picture (this dramatically decreased the amount we had to raise for the trip). Still, we were sent by SMU or, Biola's own Student Missionary Union.
We spent 18 days in Sweden that were filled with literal joy - we saw the Lord's hand in all that we did apart from anything we tried to do. Our time over there consisted of four main components: The first thing were the sports camps. We ran sports camps during the week in the afternoons. During the sport camps, we taught the Swedes football, ultimate frisbee, and baseball, but we predominantly spent our time playing soccer...which they loved. We would play for about an hour and a half during our first session then call a break, and it was during these breaks that one of the team members would share their testimony. The second thing that we did were our nightly sessions. After the sports camps, we would send the kids home to get showered up and eat dinner with their families, then invite them back to the church that was hosting us and do some sort of activity; for example, the first night we had a Mario Kart party, the second night we did a bonfire and sang worship songs then had smore's after, and the third night we had a "station night" which consisted of kids going to different stations for different gospel demonstrations - These nights were great. The third thing that we found ourselves doing was engaging the refugees in Sweden. We knew this was going to be a part of our ministry in some capacity, but we were unaware that it would be a significant part of our time there. We worked with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and a small, African country north of Ethiopia called Eritrea. When we return to Sweden, we hope to engage the refugees more, especially because now we know what to expect. The fourth thing, and maybe the most important thing I think we did while we were overseas, was encourage the existing church - our mission had always been to do this short term mission well; meaning, we wanted to have a trip that had eternal significance, not just short term significance. In light of that, we knew that the most important thing to do while we were there was to work with the existing church - we wanted to build up their leaders, teach them, have them go out into their community, and serve them as best as we could. We were only there for three weeks, but they would be there long after we were gone. When we return, we hope to do this even more.
Some Pictures From Our Last Trip:
After our first week of Sports Camp!
Campfire worship with the church on our first night in Sweden.
U.S.A. vs. Sweden vs. Eritrea - 4th of July Soccer Tournament.
Biola Team Sweden 2015 in front of our host church!
The middle of one of our camps!
Our Heart:
As a team of four, our primary goal is to do this short-term mission well; meaning, we don’t want our short-term mission to have short-term significance, instead, we want our trip to have eternal significance. Our heart behind this trip is, yes, to minister to the students in the youth group, and yes, to minister to the refugees that we will be spending time with, playing sports with, and hopefully inviting to our nightly sessions – these two aspects are very important to us. Most importantly though, our primary objective is to encourage the church and pour into the leaders already there. We want the youth group to not only thrive while we are there, but grow and thrive while we are gone. We want to put the reigns into the hands of the leaders that are local so the Swedes won’t feel like Jesus left with “the team from America”.
Ultimately, we want to do this trip because we love Jesus and we want to see His Kingdom furthered. Our hearts break for Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries. Man is their god and any talk of a benevolent God is openly dismissed. Secular humanism openly rules these countries and Christians are mocked almost daily. No one really hears about this...especially with all the focus on the 10-40 window, which isn't bad by any means! Still, our passion as a team comes from the Lord's call to make disciples of all nations, not just in the 10-40 window; we want to pick up the slack and do what we can do minister to our forgotten Scandinavian brothers and sisters. The nation of Sweden is often forgotten in missions. We know that the statistics on child abuse and suicide in Sweden are astronomical. We know that the global refugee crisis is heavy on the Lord's heart and that these refugees need Jesus. And we know that we want to do something about all of those things...as small as it may be.
We Need YOUR Help:
Though there may be only 4 team members going over seas to Sweden, the reality is that there are many more people that are actually members of Team Sweden 17 - you can be a member. We cannot do this trip without your help, and we pray that you would consider helping us in two primary ways: first, we ask that you would join our team by praying for us. Here are a few of our prayer requests:
1. That God would soften the hearts of the Swedes we will encounter (due to Sweden's hardened spiritual state)
2. That the love of God would shine onto them through our team and all of our interactions; that their hearts would melt and the Gospel would penetrate their hearts.
3. That God would use our team to spiritually encourage the leaders and members of the church.
4. For team unity - that God would make us all like-minded and fill our minds and our hearts with His plan and His mission for Sweden.
5. For safety, since we are doing sports ministry we pray that all of our team members would stay healthy throughout the entire trip.
6. For God to fill us each personally, so that our ministry would be an overflow from the recognition of God's love for us.
We know that this trip absolutely, cannot happen without the Lord; additionally, we fully believe in the power of prayer and that prayer matters. So please join us in prayer and intercede on our behalf.
Secondly, this trip cannot happen without being financially backed - we pray that you would consider partnering with us financially. Ultimately, we understand that giving money towards a mission like this is sacrificial, so we want to be as transparent as possible, especially considering that we are a team of four guys going to Sweden for a missions trip - it can sound a little sketchy.
Our Budget: Financial Needs:
Total for Tickets [LAX -> Copenhagen/Return] (4): $5530
Total for Train Tickets in Sweden [Copenhagen -> Malmo, Sweden) (4): $200
Food during Travel: $100
In-Country Food + Supplies: $200
Emergency Budget/Expenses: $200
Gift to Trinity Church: $500
GoFundMe Charge: 7.9% + $.30 per donation = 531.67
Total: 7261.67 + estimated 100 donations (100x.30) = $30 = $7291.67
Total: $7300 | Amount each member needs to raise: $1,825
We cannot do this trip without your help, please consider joining our team through prayer and giving financially. We pray that you would be a member of Team Sweden 2017.
Lastly:
Team Sweden 2017 would like to thank Trinity Church (http://tcphilly.org) Philadelphia [Sam's Church] for parternering with us and sending us. They have been an IMMENSE help to our team; and, thanks to them, are able to make your donations TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Facebook: Facebook.com/TeamSweden17
Our Team:
Samuel Alex
Zach RogalskiRiley Corbett Ivan UribeMission Trip Dates:
June 30th, 2017 - July 8th, 2017
Vision Statement:
By the grace of God, Team Sweden endeavors to radiate the love of Christ which has been so richly lavished upon us for the purpose of the further glorification of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Team Statement:
Mere acquaintances forged into a brotherhood, united by our stories of redemption and our passion to see Christ’s name furthered.
Our History:
During the summer of 2015, my friend Jarrod and I co-led an all guys' mission trip to Sweden. Our plan was to go in and utilize sports camps to evangelize to the youth within the town of Olofstrom, where we were going to be. We also partnered directly with a church in the town where one of our friends from Biola grew up, which took the middle man Missions Organization out of the picture (this dramatically decreased the amount we had to raise for the trip). Still, we were sent by SMU or, Biola's own Student Missionary Union.
We spent 18 days in Sweden that were filled with literal joy - we saw the Lord's hand in all that we did apart from anything we tried to do. Our time over there consisted of four main components: The first thing were the sports camps. We ran sports camps during the week in the afternoons. During the sport camps, we taught the Swedes football, ultimate frisbee, and baseball, but we predominantly spent our time playing soccer...which they loved. We would play for about an hour and a half during our first session then call a break, and it was during these breaks that one of the team members would share their testimony. The second thing that we did were our nightly sessions. After the sports camps, we would send the kids home to get showered up and eat dinner with their families, then invite them back to the church that was hosting us and do some sort of activity; for example, the first night we had a Mario Kart party, the second night we did a bonfire and sang worship songs then had smore's after, and the third night we had a "station night" which consisted of kids going to different stations for different gospel demonstrations - These nights were great. The third thing that we found ourselves doing was engaging the refugees in Sweden. We knew this was going to be a part of our ministry in some capacity, but we were unaware that it would be a significant part of our time there. We worked with refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and a small, African country north of Ethiopia called Eritrea. When we return to Sweden, we hope to engage the refugees more, especially because now we know what to expect. The fourth thing, and maybe the most important thing I think we did while we were overseas, was encourage the existing church - our mission had always been to do this short term mission well; meaning, we wanted to have a trip that had eternal significance, not just short term significance. In light of that, we knew that the most important thing to do while we were there was to work with the existing church - we wanted to build up their leaders, teach them, have them go out into their community, and serve them as best as we could. We were only there for three weeks, but they would be there long after we were gone. When we return, we hope to do this even more.
Some Pictures From Our Last Trip:
After our first week of Sports Camp! Campfire worship with the church on our first night in Sweden.U.S.A. vs. Sweden vs. Eritrea - 4th of July Soccer Tournament.Biola Team Sweden 2015 in front of our host church! The middle of one of our camps!Our Heart:
As a team of four, our primary goal is to do this short-term mission well; meaning, we don’t want our short-term mission to have short-term significance, instead, we want our trip to have eternal significance. Our heart behind this trip is, yes, to minister to the students in the youth group, and yes, to minister to the refugees that we will be spending time with, playing sports with, and hopefully inviting to our nightly sessions – these two aspects are very important to us. Most importantly though, our primary objective is to encourage the church and pour into the leaders already there. We want the youth group to not only thrive while we are there, but grow and thrive while we are gone. We want to put the reigns into the hands of the leaders that are local so the Swedes won’t feel like Jesus left with “the team from America”.
Ultimately, we want to do this trip because we love Jesus and we want to see His Kingdom furthered. Our hearts break for Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries. Man is their god and any talk of a benevolent God is openly dismissed. Secular humanism openly rules these countries and Christians are mocked almost daily. No one really hears about this...especially with all the focus on the 10-40 window, which isn't bad by any means! Still, our passion as a team comes from the Lord's call to make disciples of all nations, not just in the 10-40 window; we want to pick up the slack and do what we can do minister to our forgotten Scandinavian brothers and sisters. The nation of Sweden is often forgotten in missions. We know that the statistics on child abuse and suicide in Sweden are astronomical. We know that the global refugee crisis is heavy on the Lord's heart and that these refugees need Jesus. And we know that we want to do something about all of those things...as small as it may be.
We Need YOUR Help:
Though there may be only 4 team members going over seas to Sweden, the reality is that there are many more people that are actually members of Team Sweden 17 - you can be a member. We cannot do this trip without your help, and we pray that you would consider helping us in two primary ways: first, we ask that you would join our team by praying for us. Here are a few of our prayer requests:
1. That God would soften the hearts of the Swedes we will encounter (due to Sweden's hardened spiritual state)
2. That the love of God would shine onto them through our team and all of our interactions; that their hearts would melt and the Gospel would penetrate their hearts.
3. That God would use our team to spiritually encourage the leaders and members of the church.
4. For team unity - that God would make us all like-minded and fill our minds and our hearts with His plan and His mission for Sweden.
5. For safety, since we are doing sports ministry we pray that all of our team members would stay healthy throughout the entire trip.
6. For God to fill us each personally, so that our ministry would be an overflow from the recognition of God's love for us.
We know that this trip absolutely, cannot happen without the Lord; additionally, we fully believe in the power of prayer and that prayer matters. So please join us in prayer and intercede on our behalf.
Secondly, this trip cannot happen without being financially backed - we pray that you would consider partnering with us financially. Ultimately, we understand that giving money towards a mission like this is sacrificial, so we want to be as transparent as possible, especially considering that we are a team of four guys going to Sweden for a missions trip - it can sound a little sketchy.
Our Budget: Financial Needs:
Total for Tickets [LAX -> Copenhagen/Return] (4): $5530
Total for Train Tickets in Sweden [Copenhagen -> Malmo, Sweden) (4): $200
Food during Travel: $100
In-Country Food + Supplies: $200
Emergency Budget/Expenses: $200
Gift to Trinity Church: $500
GoFundMe Charge: 7.9% + $.30 per donation = 531.67
Total: 7261.67 + estimated 100 donations (100x.30) = $30 = $7291.67
Total: $7300 | Amount each member needs to raise: $1,825
We cannot do this trip without your help, please consider joining our team through prayer and giving financially. We pray that you would be a member of Team Sweden 2017.
Lastly:
Team Sweden 2017 would like to thank Trinity Church (http://tcphilly.org) Philadelphia [Sam's Church] for parternering with us and sending us. They have been an IMMENSE help to our team; and, thanks to them, are able to make your donations TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Organizer
Samuel Alex
Organizer
Willow Grove, PA
Trinity Church
Beneficiary