Faeroe Islands

Faeroe Islands Factbook

Evangelicals are strong in this remote part of the world. There is still much work to do, but the church has shown a strong missionary vision by sending a proportionately large number out to foreign fields.

The Faeroes are a group of 18 islands (17 of which are inhabited) in the North Atlantic between Iceland and the northern coast of Scotland. The terrain is rugged and rocky. Most of the people live in the coastal lowlands. The weather is usually cool, windy and foggy.

Approximately 50,000 people live on the islands. The native Faeroese people are related to the ancient Vikings who first settled there in the 9th century. The economy of the Faeroe Islands is based almost entirely on fishing. After a boom in the 1970s and 80s, an unexpected drop in the fish catch in the early 1990's brought hard times to the islands. Conditions have improved significantly since then. The average income on the islands is approximately the same as the average income in the United States.

The Faeroe Islands have maintained strong political ties to Denmark since the 14th century. In 1948 they became a self-governing territory of Denmark. There is freedom of religion on the islands, but the Lutheran Church is the official state church and is supported by a government imposed tax.

There is much to praise the Lord for on the Faeroe Islands. Although the Lutheran church is the largest group and many are nominal (only a small percentage of Lutherans actually attend church), there are several strong evangelical groups both within and outside the Lutheran church. Evangelicals make up approximately one quarter of the population. This is a marked contrast to Denmark where evangelicals are much fewer in number.

The churches have shown a strong vision for missions. A proportionately large number of Christians are serving as missionaries on foreign fields. Pray for those who are ministering and those preparing to go.

Pray also for continued growth of evangelical churches. Many who are Lutheran in name only need to hear the gospel. The evangelical churches need more leaders who are well taught and grounded in the scriptures.

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