Adventism in Norway came from the Pietist revival that was caused by Norwegian Lutheran preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. Evidence suggests that four families in southern Norway became the nucleus of Norwegian Adventism after discovering the seventh-day Sabbath, though it is not believed to have been the result of contact from keepers of the Sabbath. Instead, it is believed that it was derived from their reading of the Bible. The Danish AmericanJohn Gottlieb Matteson came to Norway in 1878 and began working as a missionary for the Seventh-day Adventists. Gottlieb composed the first Dano-Norwegian Adventist hymnal. He became the editor of Avent Tidende in 1872, which was eventually distributed to Scandinavian countries. It experienced good reception, leading to Matteson to go to Denmark and Kristiania to preach. He later participated in the construction of the first church organized in Oslo. Matteson continued to work on publication work, including on Tidernes Tegn and Sunnhetsbladet. These were one of only few periodicals at the time and allowed members of the congregation to earn money through distribution. The church runs a number of private schools in Norway.
Congregation
Early on in 1879, his congregation in Norway consisted of 34 people who were mostly working-class women. There were 652 Adventists in Norway in 1901, and 1,826 in 1921. In 2013, there were approximately 4,600 Adventists in Norway. As of June 30, 2018, the Adventist church had a total membership count of 4,535 people. The Church is split into three districts:
Between these districts, as of 2013, there are 62 congregations and 43 churches. On September 20, 2015, the Norwegian Union Conference Executive Committee of the Adventist Church voted to cease the ordaining of both male and female pastors due to a disagreement on Biblical readings on ordination. Seventh-day AdventistChurch in Norway pays pastoral employees the same wages and under the same terms regardless of gender.
Institutions
Adventists in Norway own and operate the following institutions:
