Stomach acid burned Mikael’s throat as he vomited. How many people had noticed he had come to church hungover?
Mikael just wanted to belong. So, he began partying and drinking with friends.
If you could’ve met him back then and somehow seen his future, you’d be surprised to learn that not only does Mikael still attend church today (sober), but he’s also a church planter and the Finnish Teen Director for the Adventist Church—and people like you have played a significant role in his redemption.
Although he was raised by loving parents in rural Finland, Mikael struggled with his faith. As one of the few Christians in town—and bi-racial to boot—he just wanted to belong. So, he began partying and drinking with friends.
When Mikael reached high school, he went away to the only Adventist academy in Finland. He made new friends who believed in God and didn’t drink. Mikael was moved by their joy but felt powerless to change. After getting wasted one home leave, he prayed, “God, if You’re there, make me willing to be changed because I love sin.” Two weeks later, Mikael’s friends felt impressed to pray for him. The very next day, Mikael no longer wanted to drink or party.
Growth is a process, though. Looking to fill the void in his heart, Mikael got caught up in a charismatic movement. He and his friends spoke in tongues and prophesied. But then after several months, he stumbled on a sermon about Jesus’ role in the Bible. He realized he rarely thought of Jesus. He started studying and found that there’s much more to faith than feelings.
Mikael struggled to find the right balance in his relationship with his emotions. Are they bad? How do you know when to listen to them? While asking these questions, he simultaneously began studying end-time prophecies and the cross.
Listening to sermons on YouTube, he eventually discovered David Asscherick. As junior year ended, he heard a couple of seniors were attending ARISE Australia. The next year, Mikael decided to apply, and he attended in 2019.
ARISE was different from anything he’d heard before. “You come thinking God is good,” he says. “But discover He’s better.” He learned that the Bible isn’t a book of systematic theology—studies on faith, the Spirit, or Revelation—but a story about Jesus who loved him, and Mikael’s life was part of that story! He saw God’s covenant of love like a gold thread through Scripture. He got so excited, he stayed for the six-month follow-up Bible-working program, ARISE for Life.
Rather than despairing over the Church’s current state, Mikael believes she’s primed for revival.
After Mikael flew back to Finland, one of the world’s most secular countries, he helped plant a church named Oikos, where he pastors today. Oikos is the Greek word for “home” or “family.” Mikael wants young people to know that their lives are not random footnotes in history but part of the biblical narrative, and in it, they’ll find the belonging they seek. I wish I had the space to tell you about the inspiring young adults who’ve joined his church and attended ARISE Finland.
Rather than despairing over the Church’s current state, Mikael believes she’s primed for revival. An increasing number of young people in Finland are realizing that secularism is vacuous. They’re open to Jesus. He believes ARISE is well-positioned to root potential new believers not in religion that is void of relationships or consumed by emotional hype, but instead, in religion that is rooted in the story of Jesus.
If you’d like to help more people like Mikael discover ARISE and other Light Bearers initiatives, would you consider partnering with us financially?
Yes, want to impact more lives with my gift!
Ty Gibson
Ty is a speaker/director of Light Bearers. A passionate communicator with a message that opens minds and moves hearts, Ty teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love as the central theme of the Bible. Ty and his wife Sue have three adult children and two grandsons.
