StL
The Challenge
Over 2 billion people still have little to no biblical teaching in their own language to help them become mature disciples.
Most people on earth have access to a Bible in their language, but lack sound, Christian teaching to help them apply it to their lives.
Together, we’re closing the gap.
We are pioneers in a global discipleship revolution.
In some countries, people have never even seen a book in their own language besides the Bible. People need biblical teaching to help them apply scripture to their lives and become mature disciples. In addition to distributing physical, printed resources, our publishing partner Galilee.com enables us to digitally distribute ebooks, audiobooks, and courses to a potential 7.33 billion people with smartphones, even in closed and persecuted nations. At Send the Light Mission, we believe that everyone deserves access to Biblical teaching regardless of language, location, or financial position. That’s why we’re on a mission to get these translated resources into the hands of everyone on the planet who needs them.
The Mission
Connecting people to God
Every Euro invested in services has an investment return of €8. Your contribution will make a difference.
50M
Is the number of resources given
123
Is the number of translated languages
228
Is the number of nations reached
18M
Is the number of people reached
Sending the Light is not limited to being on a stage or platform. It involves being a transformative presence, radiating hope, love, and forgiveness to those who are most in need of them. One must embody these qualities to truly send the Light!
The StL Collective is our community of passionate and determined monthly givers on a mission to close the global discipleship gap.
How can €1 a day disciple a village?
We find people groups with discipleship needs and help determine the most critical teaching resources that would address it.
Current translations in production include Javanese, Somali, Danish, and over 10+ other languages.
Our media department Galilee.com produces the resources in their respective languages.
In 2024 alone, we will translate discipleship resources into languages spoken by a cumulative 2 billion people.
We distribute both physical and digital resources to pastors, leaders, and church networks around the globe, who use this teaching to equip the local body of believers.
For every €1 you give, we reach an estimated 4 people.
John and Shakila cofounded Send the Light Mission in 2004. Over the last few decades, StL Mission has grown into a discipleship organization that makes millions of resources available to people across the globe, regardless of their location, language, or financial position. John and Shakila are also international speakers and passionate about investing in people, empowering individuals to break free from limiting beliefs structures and reaching their full potential When they’re at home in beautiful Amsterdam, you’ll find John and Shakila teaching Taekwon-do to a whole new generation.
Worship with Us
We warmly welcome everyone from all nationalities and denominations as we encourage and inspire a community of Christians across the region.
Agenda
Help us to actively share the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel through exciting innovating projects and partner networking, reaching those with a distance from the Gospel. Double Your Impact by volunteering!
Be the Light
Next Step ...
The Call
Conversion
Baptism
Re-Birth
Commission
Community
Worship
Equip
Events
Go & Tell
Donate
Your contribution has the power to change lives! At StL, we are committed to investing in people and bringing hope, support, and salvation.
Our passion is fueled by the belief that giving back is the key to becoming our best selves. That’s why we are dedicated to creating programs in schools, fighting against human trafficking and child sexual abuse, providing food to thousands of families around the world, and advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. We work closely with specialized partners and professionals to ensure that our efforts are impactful and sustainable.
We invite you to join us in our mission to make a positive impact on people’s lives and make a difference in the world. You can support us by making a donation through our secure donation form, or by becoming a volunteer and contributing your time and skills to our cause. By taking action today, you can help us create a more balanced and sustainable world for future generations. Together, we have the power to make a difference
StL-Home
We are Church
Connecting people to God
We are a community of Christians seeking an intimacy with God. We want to hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice in our everyday lives. Our aim is to bring the liberating truth of the good news of Jesus Christ to those around us. We long to see God’s kingdom grow and be established like light that brings and sustains new life.
Do everything in Love
Worship with Us
We warmly welcome everyone from all nationalities and denominations as we encourage and inspire a community of Christians across the region.
#wearechurch
We are Church — literary means we are the Church; the gathering of people devoted to worship God any day, at any given moment, everywhere! The church is often viewed as an organization, but is actually more of an ‘organism.’ We believe that it is important to understand that a church is not a building.
Connecting people to God!
Pursuing a Kingdom-minded society and community where individuals not only acquire knowledge and skills through reason and logic, but also make a tangible impact on society through a vibrant personal relationship with God the Father. We strive to fulfil our part within the great commission by actively contributing to the growth and advancement of God’s kingdom. Our focus is on combining intellectual development with spiritual growth and applying these principles to benefit our community and beyond.
Empowering individuals to become fully engaged disciples of Christ, dedicated to teaching and spreading the values and principles of Kingdom culture. As the living Church of God, we come together as one family in Christ, celebrating His reign over all creation. We seek God’s presence collectively, putting aside religious boundaries such as doctrines, titles, positions, buildings, and organizations. Our focus is on uniting in faith and love to fulfill our purpose as followers of Christ.
We’re John and Shakila Olsen, and we’re passionate about breaking old mindsets and spreading the message of liberty through a transformative renewal of the mindset from within. We are all about investing in people, empowering individuals to break free from limiting beliefs and achieve their full potential. Read more …
Agenda
Help us to actively share the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel through exciting innovating projects and partner networking, reaching those with a distance from the Gospel. Double Your Impact by volunteering!
Be the Light
Next Step ...
The Call
Conversion
Baptism
Re-Birth
Commission
Community
Worship
Equip
Events
Go & Tell
Donate
Your contribution has the power to change lives! At StL, we are committed to investing in people and bringing hope, support, and salvation.
Our passion is fueled by the belief that giving back is the key to becoming our best selves. That’s why we are dedicated to creating programs in schools, fighting against human trafficking and child sexual abuse, providing food to thousands of families around the world, and advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. We work closely with specialized partners and professionals to ensure that our efforts are impactful and sustainable.
We invite you to join us in our mission to make a positive impact on people’s lives and make a difference in the world. You can support us by making a donation through our secure donation form, or by becoming a volunteer and contributing your time and skills to our cause. By taking action today, you can help us create a more balanced and sustainable world for future generations. Together, we have the power to make a difference
StL - We are Church
We are church.
AMSTERDAM • LISBON • PARIS • PRAGUE • EDINBURG • BANGKOK • PARAMARIBO • BUENOS AIRES
TOKYO • SÃO PAULO • DELHI • MEXICO CITY • MANILA • LOMÉ • KIGALI • GEORGETOWN
AMSTERDAM • LISBON • PARIS • PRAGUE • EDINBURG • BANGKOK • PARAMARIBO • BUENOS AIRES
TOKYO • SÃO PAULO • DELHI • MEXICO CITY • MANILA • LOMÉ • KIGALI • GEORGETOWN
‘We are Church’ literary means we are the Church; the gathering of people devoted to worship God any day, at any given moment, everywhere! We believe that it is important to understand that a church is not a building.
The church is often viewed as an organization, but is actually more of an ‘organism.’ It is the united fellowship of all Christians with their God — the wondrous union of Christ’s Spirit indwelling the hearts of all true believers. — “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
Collectively we seek Gods presence regardless religious boundaries like doctrines, titles and positions, buildings and organisations. In our existence as the living Church of God, we join together from time to time being one family in Chirst celebrating His Reign over all creation!
Church is not a building
nor an institute.
It is important to understand that a church is not a building, although many people frequently use that term to describe the facility built for the use of the church. History shows the New Testament church met primarily in private homes — Christian cathedrals or tabernacles designed specifically for believers to gather for worship did not exist until almost three centuries after the church got started. Unlike the Old Testament temple, in which the presence of God habitated, the new covenant of Jesus Christ made every believer a temple of the Holy Spirit. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).
The church is often viewed as an organization, but is actually more of an “organism.” It is the united fellowship of all Christians with their God — the wondrous union of Christ’s Spirit indwelling the hearts of all true believers.
People often think that the most distinctive or important part of Church is the structure or model. It is not. The most important part of our church are the values—the DNA—that will be the foundation of godly leaders who shepherd godly churches.
What is church?
In the New Testament, the term “church,” also sometimes translated as “assembly,” comes from the Greek word EKKLESIA which means the “called out.” The word was used by the Greeks to describe the assembling or gathering of citizens who were called out to meet together for public hearings. The heralds would walk through the streets and literally call for people to come out from what they were doing to gather for public business. In the scriptures EKKLESIA refers to those whom Christ has “called out” from the world to be His own, and to assemble together in His name.
The primary meaning of the church is used in a universal sense, referring to all Christian believers everywhere. Irrespective of denominational or doctrinal differences, all persons who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are members of His church, also called the body of Christ, over which Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22-23).
Secondarily, the church also refers to a local congregation of believers. While the scriptures tell us that there is only one true church, yet it is made up of many individual churches. Most of the Apostle Paul’s epistles were written to the local churches such as at Rome, Corinth, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Philippi, Galatia, and Colosse, and he makes mention of many other churches which had been established in various cities at that time.
Values
We want to be people who are devoted to worshiping Jesus. We want to carve out time daily to be alone for prayer and Bible reading. We make time to join with others to pray and study His Word. We regularly celebrate the Lord’s Supper and can’t stop thanking Him for His mercy. These are not obligations we try to squeeze in, but cravings we can’t live without. We don’t require gifted communicators or musicians; we just love to worship Jesus even in the most basic settings. It is the Object of worship that makes worship exciting to us.
The body of believers is supposed to be closer to us than our own families (Matt. 12:46, Luke 14:26). Jesus said that “all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). He also prayed that his disciples would be so “perfectly one” that the world may believe that the Father sent Jesus (John 17:20-23).
We want to be people who love each other deeply and show this by our sacrifice. We seek a bond that surpasses that of our natural families and is only possible because of our common fellowship with Jesus. We share our possessions and our lives with each other. We seek to obey all of the “one another” commands in Scripture. Christ wants us to be known for our love, and He claimed that our unity would cause others to believe in Him. Our goal is not merely to get along but to love each other to the extent that Christ loved us, and to be united to the extent that the Father is one with the Son.
We want our people to become fully trained for greater works of service. We believe that all believers are called be disciple-makers. No one should come as a consumer, but all should come as servants. The Holy Spirit has given each of us a gift that is to be used for building up the body. We want our leaders to teach us how to lead and help us develop in character through their modeling and teaching. Our goal is that each one of us becomes like Christ, and develops the ability to lead others to Him, make disciples, and plant churches.