Endeavoring To Reach All Finland With The “Good News”
IT TAKES effort to reach everyone with the “good news,” and that is especially true in Finland. Located in the far corner of Europe between Sweden and the Soviet Union, Finland is one of the northernmost countries of the world. And it is cold, but not as frigid and snowbound as you might think, thanks to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
Most of the 4,743,000 inhabitants of this “land of a thousand lakes” speak Finnish, although Swedish is the mother tongue of about 7 percent of the population. It is believed that the Finns originally migrated here from somewhere in southeastern Russia. They are closely related to the Estonians and, more distantly, to the Hungarians.
Officially, more than 92 percent of the people belong to the official state religion, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. But many persons contend that the Bible was merely written by men and seriously question what it has to say. In this they echo the teaching of some prominent clergymen. Church attendance is about 3 percent, but menfolk attend only for some special occasion, such as a wedding or a funeral. Of course, the Finns need the “good news,” and the more than 13,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses here are making strenuous efforts to reach them with this heartening message. But how did proclamation of the “good news” get started in Finland?
RAPID GROWTH IN A FERTILE FIELD
Back in 1909, colporteurs, or full-time workers, from Sweden first came to Finland and distributed some Bible literature. But a real start was made later the same year, when a religious man from Turku set out on a pilgrimage to Palestine but was delayed in Sweden. There he received a witness and obtained a Bible study aid written by C. T. Russell, the first president of the Watch Tower Society. Soon the man realized that it contained the truth. Abandoning his trip, he returned to Finland, took the book to his friend Kaarlo Harteva in Helsinki and asked him to translate it into Finnish. These two men soon were baptized and energetically went about the task of spreading the “good news” throughout this land, translating the literature and giving public Bible talks.
Their diligent efforts brought swift results. When C. T. Russell visited Finland in 1912, almost 2,000 persons came to hear him speak, and 140 attended the convention then held. Reports indicate that 477 public talks were given here in 1912, with 17 individuals sharing in the colporteur work. J. F. Rutherford addressed an audience of 3,000 when he visited Finland in 1913.
The fine evangelizing spirit evident among God’s people here in those early days has continued down to the present time. And from a “lightning” start, God’s work has made steady progress. Now there are 251 congregations spread throughout the country. Back in 1922, a “Freedom of Religion” Act became law. It then was possible for individuals so desiring to resign from the state church. Also, the new law guaranteed each one the right to practice his religion, as long as it did not conflict with good morals and habits. This provided the basis for the official registration, in 1945, of the Religious Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, a branch office of the Watch Tower Society had been established at Helsinki in 1911, and regular publication of the Finnish Watchtower had begun in 1912.
EFFORT NEEDED TO REACH THE PEOPLE
In those early years, it was far from easy to reach the people in this large, sparsely populated country, a third of which lies north of the Arctic Circle. Vast forests cover a third of the land, and water and swamps another tenth. There are beautiful lakes—not just 1,000, but almost 60,000—with more than twice as many islands, including some 30,000 around the coastline. Hence, traveling to reach the people is a slow process, and this was especially true in those early times. Today, roads and transportation have improved tremendously, and there are more cars, fine trains and buses and an excellent airline system.
Finland’s gaining of independence from Russia in December 1917 brought on a civil war, with the contending factions fighting for control. In spite of all the resulting problems, however, true Christians kept right on declaring the “good news,” and new congregations were formed.
During World War II Finnish witnesses of Jehovah had to contend with bans on their literature as well as arrests and imprisonment, particularly with regard to their Christian neutrality. (John 15:19) But their efforts in declaring the “good news” were blessed greatly. In 1944 there was a 62-percent increase in Kingdom proclaimers, and by 1945 the publisher total was up to 1,632 in 267 congregations. Today, there is one witness of Jehovah for every 373 persons in this land, surely evidence of God’s blessing.
Of course, the Arctic climate presents a challenge. But these bearers of the “good news” dress warmly and go out in the coldest weather to reach the people in their homes. Sometimes the cold can be a help. To illustrate: A certain man saw some Witnesses approaching his house one wintry day. Not wanting to talk to them, he headed for the attic, intending to remain there while his wife spoke to them. From his vantage point in the cold, unheated attic, he could hear the Kingdom publishers talking to his wife in the warm room below. Just as he was hoping that the visitors would quit speaking and leave, to his dismay he heard his wife offer to make coffee for them. Then, as he sat shivering, he heard the Witnesses offer to have a six-month Bible study with the wife. Well, that was too much! He could not possibly stay in the attic for six months! So down he came to join in the conversation and get some hot coffee. The study was started, the man joined in, and today he is one of our spiritual brothers.
CONSOLIDATING THE CONGREGATIONS
Back in 1949 there were 415 congregations with an average of nine publishers in each. This was so due to a lack of transportation and the relative isolation of the brothers in rural areas. But as conditions improved, more and more congregations were combined, and this greatly encouraged and strengthened Finnish Christians. Now there are only 251 congregations, but each has an average of 52 Kingdom publishers, making it possible to hold more instructive and faith-strengthening meetings.
Since 1968 about 100 new Kingdom Halls have been built, and now almost 200 congregations meet regularly in their own halls. The new Bethel home erected in 1961 proved too small for the expansion, and two large extensions were added to the building in the 1970’s. Then, in 1978, at Hämeenlinna, property was purchased for a circuit assembly hall. This fine, attractive structure seating 1,300 persons was completed early in 1979. It serves about 9,000 Witnesses in southern Finland.
ADAPTING TO THE PEOPLE
When calling from house to house, Witnesses endeavor to have friendly conversations. But this calls for adaptability. In the cities, householders seem to feel greater pressures, and there is a need to “get to the point” rather quickly. However, in certain rural areas, usually the Witnesses can go ahead with their Scriptural topic only after answering such questions as “Where did you say you came from?” and “Are you married?” In certain parts of Finland, it is rather difficult to start conversations with householders. But patient Kingdom proclaimers there often are rewarded with fine discussions. Interestingly, that part of the country has the highest ratio of Witnesses to population.
Some years ago, a circuit overseer told of a young man named Risto. Congregation meetings were held in the house where he lived. But Risto did not take part in them and hardly ever said a word. The others in the family said he was not interested. After working all the nearby territory, the circuit overseer asked Risto to guide him and his wife to the only group of houses not yet worked.
Seeing that there were not too many houses in that area, the circuit overseer asked Risto if he would like to go along with them. The young man agreed to this, and the neighbors gave them a friendly reception. After the first couple of calls, the circuit overseer suggested that it might be more appropriate for Risto to invite his neighbors to the public talk being held in his house, and this he gladly did. Later, he even offered the magazines to the householders. When the family heard that Risto had actually spoken to the people about the Bible, they were amazed. “We didn’t know you were interested!” they exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us?” “Well, you never asked,” replied Risto. After that he made fine progress and has been doing excellent work as a special pioneer (a full-time Kingdom proclaimer) for several years now.
OPPOSITION FAILS TO STOP OUR WORK
Finland has a tradition of freedom, and officials generally try to treat everyone fairly. But there have been some efforts to stop the witness work.
For example, a few years ago, the Association of Finnish Cities drew up a set of suggested ordinances for cities and towns, and one of the articles in these “police regulations” bans religious work that involves “endeavoring to go from house to house.” Their argument was that ringing doorbells, especially in apartment buildings, disturbed the peace of the householders. Many cities and towns adopted the new ordinances.
Realizing that there are many people ringing doorbells in apartment houses, and that the noise can disturb people in adjoining dwellings, Jehovah’s Witnesses have endeavored to stagger their calls instead of calling at each apartment in succession. Otherwise, they have continued witnessing from house to house, an activity that is very much appreciated by a great many people. For several years no actual difficulties were encountered. But one day, two pioneers in the small coastal town of Loviisa happened to call at the home of a policeman who contended that they were breaking the law. Later, they received notice to pay a fine, but chose instead to take the case to court.
COURT RECOGNIZES PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO BE CALLED UPON
In their legal brief, the brothers stated that ringing a person’s doorbell in a proper manner and for a legitimate reason cannot logically be viewed as disturbing the peace of the householder, for he has such a bell so that someone can ring it when desiring to speak to him. The brief showed that it is part of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses to take the Bible message to the people from house to house, and that the government approved this method of evangelizing when it granted a charter to the religious association of the Witnesses. It was shown that many people want Jehovah’s Witnesses to call on them and that it would be an abridgment of freedom to ban all house-to-house calls just because a minority do not desire to have such calls.
The young pioneer told the court that he had been a drug addict before meeting Jehovah’s Witnesses and would never have known that he could ask them for help with his problem; so he was very glad that they had made an unsolicited call on him. They had helped him to overcome the drug habit and become a useful citizen, and he said that many others would appreciate help but do not know where to obtain it. He pointed out that it is necessary to look for such people by calling at the doors.
After listening to the argument, the magistrate agreed that the brother had not broken the ordinance because he had not tried to go inside the houses. On this basis the charge was dismissed and the prosecutor did not appeal the decision. So, as the local newspaper said the next day, in Loviisa it is legal to go from house to house to talk about religion, so long as you do not try to go inside. Since then, many towns and cities have repealed the ordinance, and some officials have made favorable remarks on the good work that Jehovah’s Witnesses are doing by going from house to house with the Bible.
Finns have been living in comparative tranquillity for many years now. But as rising inflation, unemployment and crime add to the feeling of insecurity, more and more people are interested in knowing what the Bible has to say about the future. Truly, in Finland, as elsewhere in Christendom, there is ‘famine for hearing the words of Jehovah.’ (Amos 8:11) But in this land of many lakes, green forests and white snow, of light summer nights and wintry northern lights, Jehovah’s Witnesses are determined to keep on making the effort to reach all with the hope-inspiring “good news.”