Alaska: Thawing the Spiritual Winter
By Adam Swenson
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come.”
When I was in Alaska last month I had the chance to get real with many influential pastors and ministry leaders. These pastors said that many Alaskans are overly independent and hesitant to step foot in a church. Historically Alaska is a place that has attracted those fed up with conventionality—and many see the church as a remnant of the past.
Though there are many small churches, Alaska is the least-churched state in the US. A very small percentage of the population is actively engaged in a local church, and there are 87 completely unreached villages.
One pastor we met with runs a nonprofit for homeless and at-risk teens and he said, “Ministry is hard. It’s all relational. We have the highest percentage of homeless teens in the country. People are in a lot of pain.” Ministry can (and does) happen, but it happens in the context of relationship. Over and over pastors said we need to not tell them we care, we need to show them that we care. We need to show that God loves them unconditionally.
Alaska is in Spiritual Winter
Alaskans seasons are ridiculous in their extremes. Summers are lush, green, and full of life. The sun barely dips below the horizon at all. It’s a time for growing world-record tomatoes and cucumbers, staying outside until midnight, and catching your salmon for the year. Summers are great.
Winters are dark and cold—the sun barely crests the horizon, wind howls, snow mounds up against the walls and doors, furnaces run steady, and windows fight to keep the cold at bay.
As I reflected on it, Alaska is in a spiritual winter. God wants to give Alaskans new life. He wants to make them a new creation, but they need to experience real people embodying the good news.
Life Springs Forth 
One young pastor I met with has been essentially growing his church one person at a time through people he meets in an apartment complex or at a local park. He is a hyperlocal pastor meeting, evangelizing, and making disciples. His church meets in the meeting room at the apartment complex. He started from scratch and they are now at 25 people. He is devoted to seeing the kingdom of God penetrate this dark corner of the Mountainview neighborhood.
In just the same way that a snowy, barren landscape in January will be vibrant and green come July, we believe that God is ready to work in Alaska to grow the church. All of the Alaskans who are wary of church or who have been hurt before are like that snowy landscape. They don’t know the potential they have in Christ—our job is to draw that out.
He and other pastors like him want teams to come and help them do the work of reaching out into the community!
Come Serve in Alaska with Us
If you are still trying to decide on missions this summer, I can’t recommend Alaska highly enough. The ministry will change lives and we will have a great time enjoying this amazing land and growing together as a team. Please join us!
For more information, check out the Alaska page on our website here.
Adam Swenson is the Director of Alaska Operations at Thirst Missions. In his spare time he enjoys disc golf, playing guitar on his worship team, and hanging out with his family.
