{"id":25347,"date":"2026-01-28T16:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=25347"},"modified":"2026-01-28T15:21:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:21:03","slug":"adventist-web-church-reaches-hundreds-in-denmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/adventist-web-church-reaches-hundreds-in-denmark\/","title":{"rendered":"Adventist Web Church Reaches Hundreds in Denmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

19 January 2026 | Copenhagen and Viborg, Denmark\u00a0[Lisbeth Morell Jepsen\u00a0with tedNEWS<\/em>]<\/p>\n

The Adventist Church in Denmark is reaching hundreds of viewers each week through Web Church<\/a><\/em>, an online worship service designed specifically for online audiences rather than a streamed physical service. Launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative was developed in response to restrictions on in-person gatherings and the growing need for new ways to connect with people beyond church walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike traditional streaming, Web Church<\/em> is produced directly for viewers,\u201d said Jan-Gunnar Wold, one of the founders of the project. \u201cThe aim is to strengthen people\u2019s faith in Jesus, and meet them where they are on any digital device.\u201d<\/p>\n

The programmes are broadcast from studios in Copenhagen and Viborg and are viewed by around 400 anonymous viewers. Hosts speak directly to the online audience, emphasising a shared virtual community while respecting viewers\u2019 anonymity, a factor the producers say is important in a cultural context where faith is often regarded as a private matter.<\/p>\n

Peter Larsen, Communication Director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Denmark, said the format allows the church to reach people who may not feel ready to attend a physical congregation. \u201cWe can see how many screens are watching, but not who is watching,\u201d Larsen said. \u201cWe hope to reach those who find it difficult to take the first step into a church building, including people who may have been hurt by previous church experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each Web Church<\/em> programme lasts approximately 40 minutes and includes preaching, personal faith stories, and the podcast The Great Story<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Viewers can also submit prayer requests, with around 100 requests received, many from people outside the church\u2019s existing networks. An interdenominational prayer team then handles the requests confidentially.<\/p>\n

From one person to another<\/h2>\n

The programmes are produced with presenters speaking directly to online viewers, rather than addressing a physical congregation, a process Larsen describes as more demanding than simply streaming a church service. \u201cIt is a little more complicated because everything is created specifically for the broadcast, including preaching, hosting and music,\u201d he said.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Producers also see language as an ongoing challenge. Content is intentionally framed for both Christians and those unfamiliar with church life. \u201cWe have had to move away from internal church language and use a language that any Christian in Denmark can feel ownership of\u201d, Wold said.<\/p>\n

A supplement, not a replacement<\/h2>\n

Despite the complexity, Larsen said the impact makes the effort worthwhile. \u201cA viewer once wrote to say Web Church<\/em> was her lifeline,\u201d he said. \u201cFeedback like that shows there is a real need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside Web Church<\/em>, a Friday evening programme was introduced in 2021 and features interviews with Christians sharing personal life stories. Larsen said viewer feedback suggests the testimonies resonate with viewers and offer encouragement and hope.<\/p>\n

Web Church<\/em> is not intended to replace physical church life. Its creators describe it as a general Christian programme, one that other denominations can use to support their own members who are unable to attend a local church.\u201cIt has become a good alternative for people who cannot engage physically. We would rather offer something healthy than nothing at all,\u201d Larsen said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[Photo: Benjamin Lundquist]<\/em><\/p>\n

The original article<\/a> first appeared in Udfordringen<\/a>, a Danish Christian news outlet. It was translated and edited for republication in tedNEWS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An innovative approach to online worship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":25364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582,7,1577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-denmark-faeroe-islands-greenland","category-news","category-organisational-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25347"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25367,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25347\/revisions\/25367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}