Wycliffe Sweden’s Director reflects on how God has transformed his organisation over the past decade.
By Mats-Jan Söderberg
When I began as director for Wycliffe Sweden in 2016, I stepped into a world I knew little about. Despite nearly two decades as a missionary pastor and church planter, Bible translation was new territory. Our organization faced challenges—monthly deficits, declining membership, and a financial model that couldn’t sustain operations.
Finding direction through God’s leading
The Lord’s guidance became clear as I attended my first Global Alliance meetings in Germany and Thailand. It was there that Hannes Wiesmann, at that time the new Europe Area Director, helped me forge vital connections within the global Bible translation family.
My first task was establishing clarity. When I asked people in Wycliffe Sweden about our purpose, I received different answers. We needed something clear, so we adopted Matthew 28:18-20 as our vision: making disciples of all nations. Our mission became straightforward—giving the Bible to people around the world through translation.
Three values that helped us change
Through God’s providence, I participated in several consultations that revealed three values that would reshape our approach:
- Friendship in mission: Coming from church planting, which sometimes felt competitive, I was moved by the friendship I encountered in the Bible translation world. From my first interactions, I witnessed a different attitude—one of brotherhood and sisterhood in Christ. This was true friendship that went beyond organisational boundaries.
- Generosity without expectation of return. This meant looking beyond our organisation to see God’s work through various ministries. Our God is generous, and he calls us to reflect that generosity in our approach to mission.
- Collaboration, not just partnership: This value emerged more gradually. As Edwin Caurona noted, “Sometimes the best collaboration is to stay out of the way.” This concept means supporting rather than competing with fellow workers in God’s kingdom.
Practical steps in Sweden
These values changed our local approach. When visiting Swedish churches, I made it a point to serve them first, focusing on messages that would build the body of Christ in that location rather than primarily seeking financial support. My goal became helping each congregation flourish in their God-given vision, whether or not they chose to partner with Wycliffe.
Though we needed funds, this servant-hearted approach prioritised the kingdom over organisational needs. Change took time, but a foundation was being laid.
Generosity in action: The Engage conference
Embracing generosity in mission, we partnered with Go Out Mission to create the Engage youth conference, focused on reaching the unreached. We intentionally avoided organisational branding, fundraising or platform advertisements. Our focus was creating space for Jesus to speak directly to young hearts about missions.
What began with 100 attendees has grown to become one of Sweden’s largest missions conferences for young people, now drawing 600 to 700 participants annually. Multiple organisations have joined this collaborative effort, united by a shared vision rather than institutional recognition.
Building broader collaboration
This spirit of generosity extended to establishing the Swedish Evangelical Missions Alliance, an umbrella organisation for Protestant evangelical and Pentecostal missions that didn’t previously exist. Beginning with just five founding organisations, it has grown to include nearly 20 members and recently launched another successful missions conference.
Global Partnerships: A step forward
Our international work was transformed through the principle of collaboration. A conversation with Chris Winkler, then Vice President of Advancement for Wycliffe USA, led to our involvement in what became known as Global Partnerships—a multi-organisational, collaborative space where organisations of different sizes combine their capacities to advance Bible translation worldwide. This wasn’t just about financial resources, but about sharing human resources and knowledge.
The fruits of kingdom values
Today, nearly a decade later, we’ve witnessed change. Our organisation has turned around, with some 20 staff in various capacities across Sweden. We’ve welcomed new members serving as field coordinators with Global Partnerships and consultants with SIL and IBT.
Financial partnerships have expanded from a handful of supporting churches to nearly 150, along with almost 100 Christian-owned businesses. This growth stems not from self-focused strategies but from embracing kingdom values that put Jesus and his Great Commission at the center.
Learning from the global church
I’ve been influenced by brothers and sisters from the Global South—the Church of Jesus Christ in Africa and beyond. Their prayers, joy and perseverance amid challenging circumstances have been a constant inspiration. Their example reminds me to remain humble and dependent on Jesus, seeking his help so we can help others and be a blessing worldwide.
An invitation to fellow leaders
To my fellow directors of Wycliffe organisations around the world, I encourage you to embrace these core values. Read through the materials on wycliffe.net, but look beyond the words to grasp the heart of our shared mission. Ask the Lord how these principles might take shape in your specific context.
As leaders, our motivation must never be power, money or pride, but rather the guidance of God’s Spirit in fulfilling Jesus’ commission. This sometimes requires sacrifice—sending our “bread across the waters” to help brothers and sisters in need.
Don’t fear what financial donors might think. Instead, focus on following Jesus faithfully. He is the Lord we serve, and his ways, though sometimes counterintuitive to worldly wisdom, always lead to abundance.
The journey may be long—our transformation took nearly a decade—but the fruit is worth the patience. When we center our work on friendship, generosity and collaboration, we create space for God to work in ways that exceed our expectations.
May we continue growing in these values, adapting our methods when necessary, and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. As we do, we’ll see his kingdom advance and his name glorified among all people.
To him be all glory, now and forever.
