PACC-GATHERING 2025

in Copenhagen

Be inspired to see Parliamentarians And Churches Connected (PACC) in your country

A gathering HELPING YOU CONNECT with the leaders of your nation

Hosted by Team Europe and the European Nehemiah Center

Parliamentarians visiting churches in Europe

How can we as churches have a real connection with and influence on the leaders of our nation?

This gathering will:

1. Present how a group of churches in Denmark succeeded in getting over 100 parliamentarians from the national parliament to come and visit more than 20 different churches each in their own constituency. This led to a connection with parliamentarians, in an unprecedented way. The parliamentarians, to a greater extend, see the value of church in society, and the churches are now being listened to and are trusted by a large group of parliamentarians.

2. Present how churches in other countrys than Denmark, have experienced some of the same results.

3. Tell of the effects on the nations of these relationships and visits by parlementarians. Here are some:

- They see what an asset churches are for society. Helping people in many ways.
- They get to ask all the questions and see that churches are very supportive to a democracy.
- They get to here testimonys of real peoples lives and through this, have a chance of being inspired by the christian faith.
- They get relationships with churches, so people later can ask questions on subjects before laws are made out.
- They see churches as a part of the solution to the many needs in society and are more open towards funding churches indirectly.
- They talk with other politicians and influencual people of the good things they see in churches and it opens for more free speech on christian topics and beliefs in society.
- They see that christians today are not stupid, quer or iresponsable people as they may think in advance. They are people strengthing the glue that keeps society together by believing in loving their nabour, honesty and so on.

We hope to see something similar happen in many countries in Europe through this gathering and its follow up.

What you can expect from this gathering

Below are some recent pictures of MP’s visiting churches:

Braunau 2024 (1:2)

Braunau 2024 (2:2)

Odense Baptist Church and City Church in 2024

City Church in Vejle in 2023

Højnæs State Church and Grøndalslund State Church in 2023

At this gathering, you will…

Hear how we did it in Denmark – how a group of churches succeeded in getting 100 parliamentarians from the national parliament to come and visit more than 20 churches.
Know the steps of each part of this process: Before connecting, arranging the church visits, and follow up on the connection.
1. How to connect with the parliamentarians starting from scratch.
2. How to invite parliamentarians to a local church and how to set up a meeting.
3. How to stay in touch and build even closer relationships with parliamentarians and how to grow your influence at a national level.
Have time to consider and even start planning (if you are ready), how something similar might happen in your country.

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Early bird price: 150 EUR (last registration on 30 April)

Regular price: 200 EUR (from 1 May)

Video presentation: What Danish parliamentarians said after visiting different churches in Denmark

Note: Most of the visits in Denmark were done to a network of free churches. Therefore, the parliamentarians constantly refer to “the free churches”. But it could be any denomination or group of churches. The important thing is that parliamentarians see the value of church in society… that will benefit all churches and denominations in any country.

Below you can read a few of the statements the parliamentarians made after their visit.

We need here in Denmark to get a much higher degree of knowledge about the free churches, what they can do and the significance they have for so many people.

Karen Ellemann

The Liberal Party of Denmark

It has been a bit of an eye-opener in relation to which religious communities we have outside the State Church (The Lutheran Church).

Mogens Jensen

The Social Democratic Party

For the first time in a very long time, I want to go to church and that is really something!

Karina Due

Danish People's Party

It has been an eye-opener, at least for me, to see how much the free churches are rooted in basic, humanitarian values that make a difference in Hillerød today.

Nick Hækkerup

The Social Democratic Party

Thank you for the invitation! When the need is there for Christmas aid, then I must say that I am pleased that the free churches contribute and make a social effort.

Jakob Sølvhøj

The Red-Green Alliance

I think it is really great to hear about the commitment of Roskilde Baptist Church, and all of the free churches. That is an expression we can be really proud.

Jacob Jensen

The Liberal Party of Denmark

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Early bird price: 150 EUR (last registration on 30 April)

Many Positive results from the church visits

The positive results from the church visits have been numerous. Please, find three key results below. In addition to the effect on parliamentarians, church leaders and the Christians were very much encouraged, seeing the responses by the politicians.

Better understanding of the value of the church in society

The Danish parliamentarians heard the stories of churches helping individuals and communities in the society. The church is now recognised as a force for good in society in a very practical way.

Better connections with parliamentarian and influence in the legislative process

Since the visits to the churches, better connections exist between Frikirkenet and parliamentarians. A key point of the visits was to connect with parliamentarians as human beings, and not just as a means of influence. Meanwhile, these connects have led to real influence for issues that are of interest to the church.

There was an unreasonable critical documentary in three parts about the Free Church network coming up on national tv. But because Mikael Wandt Laursen had developed a positive relationship with several MPs, he could send them an email ahead of time telling, what was coming and how the Free Churches had made changes to deal with what was critizised. Out of 50 parliamentarians receiving the email, 31 responded back, quite a few thanked Mikael for telling them ahead of time, so they knew what to answer, if they were asked by the media.

At another time, a proposal was coming up in the parliament, saying that undemocratic religious organisations could not receive money from foreign countries (aimed at Muslim extremists). One party suggested that being against gay marriages and abortion was undemocratic… meaning that churches with those views could not receive financial support from other countries. However, the viewpoint of the churches could be explained to parliamentarians with which good relationships had been built, and therefore, it was written in a footnote: “It is not considered undemocratic to be against gay marriages and abortion.”

In year 2024-25, The church group “Frikirkenet” have commented on many isues on harsh and very controlling laws towards churches. The politicians have been very open towards our comments, so they have followed our suggestions in a much more trusting way. A mandatory 2 day course on people’s government for danish preechers is now changed to only a test. A very controlling specification of gifts over kr. 20.000 to churches have been cancelled. And several more exsamples.

There are plenty of specific examples of influence on a parliamentarian level following the church visits.

Significant decrease in the number of negative statements about churches

There has been a significant decrease in negative statements about the church since parliamentarians saw with their own eyes the positive role of the church in society. Furthermore, parliamentarians who were quite sceptical beforehand are now quite eager to connect with churches.

What is this gathering all about?

How it happened in Denmark and Austria

At this gathering, we will present how a group of churches in Denmark managed to get 100 parliamentarians from the national parliament to come and visit more than 20 different churches and how that led to a connection with parliamentarians in an unprecedented way. We will also present the experiences at churches in Austria. All these churches have now real connections and a real influence on leaders of there nations.

You will hear how a church network in Denmark, Frikirkenet/Free Church Network, did this. It was a process from start to finish of over 3,5 years. Mikael Wandt Laursen, the General Secretary of Frikirkenet, will share what steps they took in Denmark to connect with the highest leaders of the country. We will start from scratch when there was no connection with parliamentarians, how to invite them to your churches, and how to set up meetings in the local church, sharing about the positive impact of the church on society. Further, you will also learn how we used these connections made in Denmark after that and how that has led to real, close relationships, but also to influence on national issues.

How to adjust this to your country

Each country is different, so there might be many different ways of connecting to parliamentarians in the country. Therefore, we are organising a gathering where there will be a presentation of what was done in three different steps: a) Before connecting with parliamentarians, b) Making a visit to local churches work, and c) How to follow up after that. After each presentation there will be ample time to talk and reflect on how the Danish approach could be copied in your own country. We don’t always have to reinvent the wheel.

Why a gathering?

We call it a gathering to make it clear, that this is not only a gathering, where you come to get inspired. There will be time for you and other people from your country to consider how to apply the teaching in your own country. If you come alone, you will be in a group with people from other countries.

What we hope to achieve

We hope that this gathering will help churches and church leaders to make a real impact on society in many countries in Europe and that this gathering will set something in motion in your context. After the gathering, the European Nehemiah Center will assist where needed, in the best way possible.

Programme