Missionary work

Missionary work is a shared responsibility that is given to Christians, and it stems from Jesus’ Great Commission and call to baptise. Every person must have the right to hear the gospel from God, who loves humanity so much that he gave his Son’s life for our salvation. Through missionary work, we can bring hope for the future.

You can support missionary work by, for example, donating straight to the organisation or by adopting yourself a godchild. You can also support missionary work by:

• Donating to the missionary work collection box or by signing up to be a collector.
• Doing handicrafts to sell at Nurmon Olotila, Hyllykamari ja Lähetyssoppi or buying them from these shops.
• Visiting the summer café at Mission Café, located in the lobby of Lakeuden Risti church.
• Taking part in the parish’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day lunches and charity sales, the proceeds of which go to supporting missionary work. 
• Taking part in the Most Beautiful Christmas Carols event and donating to the collection, the proceeds of which will go to missionary work. 

Media work supported by: Peräseinäjoki chapel parish, Ylistaro chapel parish, Seinäjoki regional parish
Missionary organisation: 

Literacy work supported by: Seinäjoki parish
Missionary organisation: 

The program Literacy for women in Africa extends to 13 African language minorities in Etiopia, Kenia, Malawi, Namibia ja Tanzania. The program supports over 20 000 women to learn how to read. As of now, over on 8 000 women have attended the classes. In the year 2021, there were 200 teachers. A study carried out among the first literacy groups reveals that, of these women who started their studies in a literacy group from an absolute beginning, as many as 70% pass the literacy test.

In the world, there are still over 773 million illiterate adults, of whom 2/3 are women. 75% of the children in the world who don’t enter the education system are girls.

Learning to read your own native language is a basic human right and the biggest turning point in a person’s life. The ability to read becomes a part of a person and can not be taken away. The education of girls and women improves the life of the whole family in many ways and through many generations. A literate mother will make sure her children attend school. A positive cycle grows. 

Only those who are literate can participate meaningfully in society and in the activities of their community. 

The Happy Child programme provides children living in the impoverished area of Lubango with a basic education and good health, so that they may gain access to better jobs and thus break the cycle of poverty in the future. 

We support efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe

Work supported by: Seinäjoki parish
Missionary organisation: 

Working family.

Project supported by: Seinäjoki parish 
Missionary organisation:

Radio work in India  

One in six people in the world is Indian. India is a land of contrasts; some Indians live in extreme poverty in rural areas, whilst others live in palaces. The media reaches them all! 

The caste system has been officially abolished, but it continues to influence attitudes. Indians who have been stripped of their human dignity are told that God loves them and that everyone’s life has a purpose. Many listeners have said that, through the programmes, they have found a connection with the Lord and, as a result, regained their human dignity and joy.

Sansa supports programmes in the following minority languages of India: Dhodia, Kharia, Kukna, Kurukh, Kutchi, Magahi, Maithili, Mauchi, Mundari and Vasavi.  

Radio work supported by: Nurmo chapel parish 
Missionary organisation: 

We are supporting a family involved in a minority language project in East Asia.

The family has been working amongst a minority people for several years in a region where believers in Christ face persecution due to both opposition from their own people and the general climate in the country. The work’s goal is to spread the Saviour’s message of hope, to support the growth of Christians in their faith, and to strengthen them in sharing the good news amongst their own people and neighbouring peoples.

A central focus of the work is translating the Bible into the people’s own language.

In the field of translation, the family supports those local Christians who have dedicated their lives to translating the Bible into their own language. A key aspect of this work is training translators in the content of the Bible, translation principles and technical skills. 

Project supported by: Seinäjoki regional parish and Ylistaro chapel parish 
Missionary organisation:

Joanna and Petteri Rantamäki 

The Rantamäkis graduated as missionaries from the Kansanlähetys missionary training programme in February 2021. Petteri is a qualified social worker specialising in youth work. He is also studying film production via distance learning in the United States. Petteri moved into missionary studies from his role as a junior staff member at Kansanlähetys. Joanna studied social work in English at Diak, specialising in community development, and subsequently fulfilled a childhood dream by training as a hairdresser before applying for missionary training.

Rantamäkis’ work supported by: Nurmo chapel parish 
Missionary organisation:

Tiina Latva-Rasku

Online work. Tiina carries out outreach work to Japan through the internet, from Finland. She answers Japanese people’s questions about the Bible and maintains a website called Bible Toolbox, which presents the basics of the Christian faith in nine languages. Tiina also worked in Japan from 2008 to 2013 doing parochial and online work.

Project supported by: Seinäjoki regional parish
Missionary organisation:

Orphan work 

In the Orphan work circle are around 300 children and young people who receive assistance either in their own homes or with foster families. The children have Finnish godparents, and with our support, we help these children and young people to get education, healthcare and food. The goal is to give direct assistance to the very poorest. The support is holistic, and it also includes a strong spiritual aspect. The contact person for the orphan care programme is Marja Ochieng, known as Maikki, from Finland. 

Marja’s work supported by: Ylistaro chapel parish and Seinäjoki regional parish
Missionary organisation:

Risto Heikkinen

We support efforts to promote peace and reconciliation. We work to promote peace education amongst young people and children.

Work supported by: Seinäjoki parish
Missionary organisation: 

Maija Leena 

Maija Leena is a youth worker who has previously been involved in Jewish community work in England and is now working in the Middle East. She meets with local people and representatives of other faiths, is involved in anti-trafficking work, and takes responsibility for children’s and youth work within the local congregation, particularly in the field of sacred music.

Maija Leena’s work is supported by: Peräseinäjoki chapel parish 

Missionary organisation:

Kirsi and Rami Haaponiemi 

Work supported by: Nurmo chapel parish 
Missionary organisation:

Pia ja Tero Ruotsala

Pia’s role consists of 60 per cent training work for the Church of Estonia (EELK) and 40 per cent as a trainer in family counselling for the global church, with a view to strengthening the capacity of church workers in their own contexts. She is a trainer in family counselling for the global church.

Tero Ruotsala has been involved in, and continues to support, the churches’ outreach work, specialising in church music, media and events. The Estonian evangelical lutheran church has invited him to serve under the Estonian church’s Missionary Centre, meeting the diverse needs of parishes and supporting them in areas such as international and missionary education.

Ruotsala’s work is supported by: Seinäjoki regional parish, Nurmo chapel parish, Ylistaro chapel parish
Missionary organisation:

The partners of the Seinäjoki parish are the Sopron parish in Hungary and the Hietamäki parish in Ingria.

The partner parish activity means cooperation between the parishes of two churches, to which both have committed.

The scope of the partner parish activity is to promote services and connection, interaction and growth united in the Christian faith between the churches, parishes and their members. Cooperation is most active in the areas of youth work, diaconal work and music. Material assistance may be provided to parishes in financial difficulty.

Most of the partner parishes’ agreements between Finnish Evangelical Lutheran parishes have been signed with parishes belonging to the Lutheran churches in Estonia, Ingria and Hungary – but there are friendship parishes all over the world. These also include Anglican and Orthodox parishes.

Sopron, whose parish is a partner of the Seinäjoki parish, is a town of similar size to Seinäjoki and is situated about an hour’s drive from Vienna, close to the Austrian border.

Visits and contact between our parishes have primarily focused on youth work. A group of young people has travelled to Sopron every two years. A group of young people from Sopron has visited Seinäjoki twice, whilst also taking part in the Partaharju summer camp alongside young people from Seinäjoki.

Are you interested? Get in touch with the Seinäjoki parish’s director of education, Pete Ketola, pete.ketola@evl.fi, 044 477 7777

The collaboration began in the 1990s, and several aid and voluntary work trips were organised to Hietamäki. The largest and most visible result of this voluntary work is the church built in 1995. The church was initially a building assembled from prefabricated units, to which a church tower with bells was added.